I'm With Cupid

by Anna Staniszewski

Overview

Marcus is a Cupid. Lena is a Reaper. Opposites attract in the exciting new Switched At First Kiss series by the acclaimed author of The Dirt Diary.

Dared to kiss the adorkable Marcus Torelli at a party, Lena thinks it's the perfect opportunity to cross First Kiss off her list of "Things to Accomplish Before I Turn Fourteen."

It's only when she gets sent on an assignment the next day she realizes something went horribly wrong. That ZING she felt wasn't the thrill of her first kiss—she and Marcus have swapped powers! Lena is not your average eighth grader, she's a soul collector with an serious job to do. And Marcus turns out to be a supernatural matchmaker (like cupid, but without the diaper).

Now logical Lena finds herself with the love touch, and sweet, sentimental Marcus has death at his fingertips. The truth is that Lena should never have taken that dare…because one little kiss has Lena and Marcus in a whole lotta trouble.

Praise for Anna Staniszewski's The Dirt Diary:

"Holy fried onion rings! Fun from beginning to end."—Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling author of 11 Birthdays and The Candymakers

"I LOVED it...sweet, sensitive, and delicious!"—Erin Dionne, author of Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492615460
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	07/07/2015
Series:	Switched at First Kiss Series , #1
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Anna Staniszewski lives outside of Boston with her husband and an adorably crazy dog. She was named the Boston Public Library's 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and not cleaning her house. Visit her at www.annastan.com.

Read an Excerpt

Prologue

The mess all started with a kiss. Or, really, with a dare.

It was the first party of the year, and most of the eighth grade was in attendance. Lena was hovering near a bowl of Cheetos, counting the uncomfortable seconds until her friends came back from the bathroom. How long did it take to fix a "glitter emergency" anyway?

She noticed Marcus Torelli giving her a shy smile from near the Ping-Pong table. For a second, Lena considered going to talk to him. After all, they'd had fun doing their math project together last spring. But then she spotted the ratty book in his hands and glanced down at her feet instead. Someone who brought reading material to a party clearly wasn't interested in being social.

Suddenly, Connie Reynolds clapped her hands and called out, "All right, everybody! It's time to play Dare or Dare." She laughed as her guests gave her blank looks. "The ‘truth' part of the game is a total waste of time," she explained before scanning the crowd, looking for her first victim. When she spotted Marcus, Connie smiled. "You! I dare you to kiss Lena Perris for five seconds."

Lena swallowed a Cheeto and whirled around to find Marcus staring back at her in horror.

"You want us to what?" Marcus asked. He shoved the book into his pocket and took a step toward the door. Lena wondered if he was going to make a run for it.

"Do it!" Connie said. "Or I'll make you both lick the toilet."

A chorus of "oohs" echoed through the room. Choosing toilet licking was social suicide, but saying no to Connie Reynolds was even worse.

Lena hesitated. She'd planned for her first kiss to be with Brent Adamson because of his plump lips. Marcus was nice enough and even kind of cute, but his nose was a little big. What if it got in the way?

"Remember, five seconds!" Connie squawked as she pushed Lena and Marcus toward a closet.

Then she shut the door, and they were alone.

Lena firmly planted her feet for balance and closed her eyes tight. Everything she'd read had said your eyes could not be open during your first kiss.

Meanwhile, Marcus's head swam at the thought of kissing Lena. He'd come to the party determined to ask her out-something he regretted not doing during their math project last year-but so far he'd spent the whole party hiding behind the Ping-Pong table. And now, here he was, alone in a closet with Lena, his lips only inches away from hers.

"So...do you want to...?" Marcus asked. His brain was screaming at him to flee before things got even more embarrassing.

"Okay," she said softly.

Marcus sucked in a breath, closed his eyes, and tipped his face forward.

At first they bumped noses. Then they bumped chins. And the third time, for some reason, it felt like they bumped ears. But finally, their lips found each other. And then-

Wow, Marcus thought as a bolt of energy zinged from the top of his skull to the bottoms of his heels. When their lips broke apart, the air around them felt charged with electricity. For a second, Marcus even thought he saw glowing wisps of smoke coming out of his shoes.

Then someone threw open the door, and it was over.

"Well, how was it?" Connie asked.

Marcus glanced at Lena and found her smiling back at him. Neither of them said a word. Seeing the end of her fun, Connie lasered in on someone else in the crowd. "Nick! I dare you to kiss Brittany!"

Marcus and Lena wandered through the party, their hands almost touching.

Something felt different. Lena thought it was the fact that she'd finally been kissed. Marcus thought it was the fact that his crush on Lena had finally turned into something more.

Of course, they were both wrong.

Editorial Reviews

"As always, Staniszewski provides a deft mix of comedy and sensitive, deeper themes, making her book not only entertaining, but one that offers wisdom. She knows where to mine the humor from middle school life but does not sacrifice her characterizations for easy laughs. Light—but not lightweight—fun for preteens." — Kirkus Reviews

" A cute and mild love story with a dash of supernatural charm that dives a little deeper with its exploration of death and love." — School Library Journal

"Staniszewski works tween humor very well, and if this is any indication, readers are in for a wild and hilarious ride from upcoming installments in the Switched at First Kiss series." — Booklist

"Lena is a reaper. When people are about to die, she touches them and sends them on their way. Marcus is a cupid. When he touches people, they fall in love. Lena and Marcus are both at the same eighth grade party when Connie pushes them into a closet and dares them to kiss. But this is no ordinary first kiss—it's electric, and now Lena is a cupid and Marcus is a reaper. What follows is chaos at its funniest. This is the start of a new series that promises to be great fun!" — Shelf Awareness

"The story is a cute twist on Freaky Friday and the trouble the two find themselves in is laughably funny. Though alternately heartbreaking and humorous, this is a great romance story for tweens and teens, who want something lighthearted, fun, and magical." — San Francisco Book Review

From the Publisher

05/01/2015
Gr 6–10—Thirteen-year-old Lena can cross First Kiss off her list of "Things to Accomplish Before I Turn Fourteen." After working with the shy and awkward Marcus Torelli on a math project, Lena felt a spark of interest but denied it as mere brain chemicals, as described by her scientist father, rather than a genuine attraction. Since her mother left when Lena was in fifth grade, she and her father have worked hard to keep their emotions and feelings locked away. Perhaps this is why Lena is perfect for her job as a soul collector. But that kiss with Marcus becomes more than just a milestone to cross off her list. Somehow, her powers of soul collection and Marcus's powers as a matchmaker are switched and now the "balance of things" is upset. Struggling to deal with abilities that are not their own binds them together in a new friendship. Lena learns of Marcus's struggles with his place in his family and the neighborhood bully. Marcus supports Lena in her quest to move past her robotic facade and feel the emotions she needs to land her a spot in the school play. As they work to get their own powers back, they learn that fate has more surprises in store for them. VERDICT A cute and mild love story with a dash of supernatural charm that dives a little deeper with its exploration of death and love.—Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD

School Library Journal

2015-04-15
Two middle schoolers with secret paranormal powers accidentally swap those powers when they kiss each other at a party in this series opener. Thirteen-year-old Lena really doesn't want to be a soul collector, but she's the one with the power to help the dying along to After. If she refuses to do it, she knows their souls will wander aimlessly, a dismal fate. Likewise, her classmate Marcus, who's had his eye on Lena as potential girlfriend material for some time, really doesn't want to be a matchmaker, but he's stuck with the talent. They even have the same boss, Eddie, who gives them their assignments. Neither, of course, knows the other has paranormal abilities until they kiss on a dare, experience an amazing spark of energy, and later realize that they've swapped powers. Both inexperienced in their new fields, they start to make mistakes, driving Eddie to distraction. Try as they might, they can't seem to switch powers back again. As always, Staniszewski provides a deft mix of comedy and sensitive, deeper themes, making her book not only entertaining, but one that offers wisdom. She knows where to mine the humor from middle school life but does not sacrifice her characterizations for easy laughs. Light—but not lightweight—fun for preteens. (Paranormal comedy. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews