Review of "The Great Quarterback Switch," by Matt Christopher

 Review of

The Great Quarterback Switch, by Matt Christopher, ISBN 0316140775

Three out of five stars

More fiction than the usual sports fiction book

 Michael and Tom Curtis are identical twins and both love football. Tom is an athlete and the quarterback of the Eagles football team. Due to an accident, Michael is confined to a wheelchair, so he is limited to watching and yelling encouragement.

 However, they have an adult friend named Ollie Pruitt that believes that believes in transmigration of bodies and personalities. It turns out that if both boys wish it very hard, their bodies can be interchanged to the extent that Michael becomes the ambulatory one while Tom is the one confided to a wheelchair.

 This trick is used to give Tom respites in the games, for when he gets tired or banged up Michael can go in for him. It works very well, for Michael has memorized all the plays, has an excellent understanding of football and is also athletic.

 The season moves forward and there are a couple of girls that go out of their way to interact with Michael and Tom. Unlike many other adolescent sports fiction, there is no dramatic last second win at the end, which is positive, for such things rarely happen.

 If it were not for the fantasy aspects of partial physical transmigration, this would have been a good story. The only characteristic that is swapped between the two boys is the ability to be ambulatory. Other than that, their bodies swap. Which is more along the line of magic rather than fantasy.