Book ~ "The Swap" (2020) Robyn Harding

From Goodreads ~ Low Morrison is not your average teen. You could blame her hippie parents or her looming height or her dreary, isolated hometown on an island in the Pacific Northwest. But whatever the reason, Low just doesn’t fit in - and neither does Freya, a once-famous social media influencer who now owns the pottery studio in town.

After signing up for a class, Low quickly falls under Freya’s spell. And Freya, buoyed by Low’s adoration, is compelled to share her darkest secrets and deepest desires. Finally, both feel a sense of belonging ... that is, until Jamie walks through the studio door. Desperate for a baby, she and her husband have moved to the island hoping that the healthy environment will result in a pregnancy. Freya and Jamie become fast friends, as do their husbands, leaving Low alone once again.

Then one night, after a boozy dinner party, Freya suggests swapping partners. It should have been a harmless fling between consenting adults, one night of debauchery that they would put behind them but when one of the women becomes pregnant, Low finds the perfect opportunity to unleash her growing resentment.

Low is a high school senior who will be graduating in a couple months. She is an awkward loner, lives with her polyamorous parents (and their partners) and her siblings on a farm and has no friends. When she sees a sign for pottery lessons, she signs up and becomes friends with Freya, the teacher. Freya and Max, her retired hockey player husband, recently moved to the isolated island after a controversy involving Max. Low is happy to finally have someone who seems to care about her. 

When Freya meets shop owner, Jamie, they become friends and Low is left out which pisses her off. Freya and Max started hanging out with Jamie and Brian, her husband, and one night they are partying and doing mushrooms. Some time during the night, they swap partners and one of the women becomes pregnant, possibly from that encounter. Low knows who the father of the baby is as she'd been watching the couples and uses this knowledge to her advantage.

I thought this story had an interesting premise and it turned out to be a crazy mess. Teenager Low and adult Jamie were lonely and desperate for company and Freya seemed to be the only one wanting to hang out with them ... but not together or at the same time. Freya was mean and rude to both but they still kept coming back for more. Freya didn't treat Max very well either but he felt like he deserved it. None of the characters were likeable. The ending was unbelievable and over the top and I wasn't buying it.

This story is written in third person perspective in Low, Max, Jamie and Brian's voices. As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.