A Tale of Many Reviews
‘I ate this book up. I could barely put it down before bed, and was also trying to sneak time in my busy morning to read some extra sentences. This was an awesome first book in a series that I’m dying to read. Amanda, please write the next one soon. I’m dying!!’
Midnight Glance
‘I loved this book! The characters are quite likeable . . . and there is never a dull moment. I highly suggest you take a look at this book if you want to read some fantasy that leaves you panting for the next installment’
Light Under The Covers
‘Filled with action, suspense and romance . . . I found the story completely fascinating’
A True Reality
‘This page-turner . . . is definitely a must-read by an author whose storytelling skills keep getting better and better’
Bewitched Bookworms
‘This series has a bit of everything – magic, myth, action, romance . . . ah, the romance! There is something so appealing about forbidden love, especially when it leads to a happily-ever-after. I have to say, I love the way this ended. Of course, I won’t give spoilers, but the ending was perfect’
Diary of a Bibliophile
‘Amanda Hocking is like a breath of fresh air in the young adult paranormal market. I’ve read countless books about vampires, werewolves and faeries, but never one about trolls . . . Switched was an impressive start to a series that was chock-full of excitement, adventure and attitude’
That Bookish Girl
‘An addictive, easy-to-digest book that can be devoured in an afternoon’
Feeding My Book Addiction
‘I absolutely loooooveeed Switched. From the first pages I found myself totally caught up, stealing moments to read this book. Visually I “saw” this book so well in my head. Just an awesome read that makes you feel for the characters’
Novels on the Run
‘I read these three books back-to-back-to-back on my Kindle. The story had me so engaged that I could not put it down. I was reading in the car, at school, on my bed, at the dinner table and in the media room. You could call it an obsession’
Reading Vacation
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I have to thank the readers and book bloggers. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating—I could never have gotten this far without all your support and encouragement. I want to thank you all by name, but if I did that, the acknowledgments would become a novel itself. So I just want to say thank you to every person who read Switched, told their friends about it, left a review, tweeted about it, blogged about it, or liked it on Facebook, thank you a million times over.
I want to thank my mom for being ridiculously supportive and understanding in all my endeavors, no matter how insane or far out they might be. The actions of the mothers in this book—namely, Kim and Elora—in no way reflect my experiences with my own mother or my stepmom. Both of them are caring, intelligent, strong women who have always had my back and loved me even when I didn’t deserve it.
I need to thank my platonic lifemate/roommate Eric Goldman for being the only person in the whole world who can tolerate my random but frequent obsessions, the sheer volume of my voice, and the fact that I spend more time with people I make up in my head than with people in the real world.
I can’t forget the rest of the Clique—Fifi, Valerie, Greggor, Pete, Matthew, Bronson, and Baby Gels. You guys are the greatest friends in the whole world. Seriously. I have no idea why you’re friends with me, but I’m grateful for it every day.
The whole writing process I’ve gone through to get here has allowed me to meet other fantastic authors, including the Indie Author Mafia: Daniel Arenson, David Dalglish, David McAfee, Robert Duperre, Sean Sweeney, Mike Crane, and Jason Letts. Not only are these guys awesome writers (and if you haven’t checked out their books, you definitely should), but they are funny, smart, fiercely loyal, and incredibly nice. They’ve definitely helped me keep a saner head in times of insanity. I have to give a shout-out to the rest of my author support team: Stacey Wallace Benefiel and Jeff Bryan, and to everyone over at the Kindleboards.
Last but not least, I have to thank my current writing team. People often ask me if I feel bitterness or resentment toward all the agents who passed on my work before, and to that I say a resounding no. It wasn’t the right time or the right place, and I needed all those no’s to get to the right agent and the right publisher.
From day one, my agent, Steve Axelrod, has been working hard for my books and for me. I daresay he’s the greatest agent on the planet. My new publishers at St. Martin’s Press, namely, my editor, Rose Hilliard, and the SVP Matthew Shear are so tremendous. Rose has believed in me since long before I signed with them.
And finally, I want to thank you for reading this. Without the support of readers like you, I’d just be a dreamer. You’re the ones who make my dreams come true every day.
First published 2012 by St Martin’s Press, New York
This edition first published 2012 by Tor
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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ISBN 978-1-4472-0569-2 EPUB
Copyright © Amanda Hocking 2010
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
The Vittra Attacks
Torn
An interview with Amanda Hocking