Flip

By David Lubar

Book Overview

If you could become anyone in the world...who would you be? For Ryan and Taylor McKenzie the answer is simple: anyone but me! Eighth-graders Taylor and Ryan are twins. But that's where the similarities end. Ryan never met a test he couldn't fail. Give him a foot, he'll take an inch. Given half a chance, there isn't anything he won't screw up. According to his teachers and parents, Ryan is the Big Disappointment. Taylor, on the other hand, always turns in her homework on time. She's the perfect student. Her idea of fun is reading entries from the encyclopedia or planning long trips to the museum. But lately Taylor and Ryan share at least one thing in common: nothing seems to be working out as they planned. It's like the rules have changed, and nobody told them what the new rules are. No matter who you are, everyone wants you to be someone else. But who? They may have found an answer: mysterious disks that magically allow them to transform - to "flip" - into legendary figures from the past. Hercules. Cleopatra. Amelia Earhart. Einstein. The possibilities are endless! Who knew being a hero could be so easy! But as Ryan and Taylor will discover, it's being yourself that is really hard.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765301490
• ISBN13: 9780765301499
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 1.1" x 5.7"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

A Little Contrived but Still a Good Read!

I liked the twins Taylor and Ryan (especially Taylor) a lot and thought she was very realistically depicted. I also liked their friend Ellis with all his idiosyncrasies. I thought the bully Billy was a little too stereotyped and one-dimensional, but the story itself was fun and a good read.

The Greatest Book I've ever read

Flip is a really good book. It is about some kids who find a bunch of discs that were made by aleins. Even though that sounds like Sci-Fi, it isn't. (If it is, it's not like any Sci-Fi book I've ever read.) When they "Flip" the discs, they become someone else. It's a story about courage, and being who you are, even when it's hard. During the story, I got really emotionally attached to the characters. David Lubar did a great job of making the characters and the story seem intensly real. I have never read a better book, and I don't think I ever will.

Lubar fans sure to Flip over his new novel

Anyone who remembers being a kid will recall the joys of discovering a cool book. David Lubar remembers childhood so well that he's made a specialty of writing just that sort of book for kids to discover. In Flip, twins Ryan and Taylor stumble across a cache of alien discs that contain the personalities of legendary humans from throughout history. For Ryan it's a blessed escape from the confusion of ordinary life, but for Taylor it means twice the bother as she tries to keep her brother out of trouble. Lubar shares valuable lessons about the difficulties of youth, and it's not just kids that are his intended audience. Want to discover a really cool book even if you're all grown up? Any of Lubar's books will do the trick, but Flip and Dunk are my favorites.

excellent book, very entertaining

This is an entertaining young adult novel about twins who discover alien disks that allow them to become historical figures for a short time. Ryan especially loves the disks, and begins to use them almost like drugs to escape from his screw-up life, while his twin sister Taylor tries to keep him out of trouble. The book is fast-paced and, in places, funny; the twins are likable and believable. The most engaging character is Ellis, a friend of the twins.I have a few minor quibbles with the book, the most important being with the ending. The McKenzies have some family problems, and we don't see these get resolved by the conclusion of the book, yet we are clearly supposed to believe that the final confrontation provides a way out of the family difficulties. But the young people themselves discover some truths about life and their own identities, and do it in an interesting way.