If, like us, you’ve considered an international house exchange, this book’s for you. The Family Hitchcock is a comic children’s adventure novel centered around a house exchange gone awry.
The Hitchcocks have been going on adventurous family vacations for years, driven mostly by the earnest Modern-Family-style-glass-half-full dad. This year, however, oldest daughter Maddy would rather hang out by the pool in the hopes of catching her heartthrob’s attention, and intellectual younger brother Benji would be happy to go to science camp. It seems as though the kids’ dreams will come true since the family is short on funds and may have to cancel their annual vacation. But, at the last minute, dad comes through with a money-saving plan: a house exchange with a family they have never met in Paris. They barely have time to settle in to their swank Parisian digs before they get tangled up, against their will, in an international plot that takes them from Paris to Sofia. The story is full of twists and turns, and a healthy, but not overly annoying, dose of teen attitude and realistic family dynamics.
The Family Hitchcock was written by married writing duo, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, who are best known for their writing for the hit TV series The Wonder Years and, one of my all-time favorite shows, Beverly Hills 90210. I wouldn’t be surprised if a sequel or even a series was in the works and it seems a movie is in development. I’d see it in a heartbeat.
Find out more about house exchanges (minus the intrigue) at www.homeexchange.com or www.exchangeaway.com.