If You Meet the Devil, Don't Shake Hands

by Sylvia Whitman

Twelve-year-old Gavin Baker, son of a warrior, is a born worrier. With his father serving overseas, Gavin assumes that he’ s already imagined the worst that can happen— until he shakes hands with his best friend Javi’ s long-lost grandfather and finds himself trapped in the old magician’ s ailing body. Help! As the trickster takes over Gavin’ s life, fooling the girl of his dreams and even his own family, Gavin wonders if the imposter is a better version of Gavin than Gavin himself. He has to convince Javi that the real Gavin now has hairy knuckles and a love of Pablo Neruda’ s poetry. Then the boys can try some tricks of their own. But will the two friends be able to reverse the old devil’ s magic? Or will both of their families get their hearts broken?

Genres: Fantasy

190 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2023

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This snuck up on me. It really caught me up in the sensations and the emotions of the characters, and I liked that how wasn’t explored so much as “howto fixthis”. The families and kids seemed really authentic and I cared a lot about everything, even about the roller derby win.

[Jennifer Rinehart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freaky Friday boy version. Throw in some military and soccer and you’ve got a story written for boys.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This twist on Freaky Friday looks at the heart of family trauma and perspective. It was fascinating to see how the switch into an unwelcome visitor led to a conclusion that I would not have guessed. Through the eyes of Javi’s returned abuelo, but with Gavin’s narrative, we learn the truth of the past and the present. Though the story focuses on Gavin and “El Diablo,” there are side stories that add heart to the story and flesh out the supporting character. Whitman does a wonderful job showing the reader both reasons for sympathy and anger while validating all of the emotions of all of the characters.

Review with teaching tools: https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26823