*The article contains spoilers from the book: Switched
On her sixth birthday Wendy Everly, the protagonist, is attacked by her mother with a knife, trying to kill her claiming that she is not her child and instead is a monster when she is stopped by Wendy’s brother Matt and sent to a mental hospital.
That was the day when Wendy realized she might be different since she feels she doesn’t fit in most of the time, though not the monster that her mother claims she is.
Eleven years pass and now she lives with her brother Matt and their aunt Maggie who took guardianship after their mother was gone.
After having troubles with multiple schools, Wendy goes to a new school where she meets Finn another student who has a type of mysterious charm, and whenever they encounter each other Wendy is left shaken up because of her feelings for him, one day Finn asks her out to the school dance which she accepts.
At the dance, Finn makes a few rude comments which upset Wendy and cause her to want to leave so she goes up to a student and somehow makes him take her home with a certain ability where she looks into his eyes and tells him what she wants.
When she performs this ability in front of Finn, he becomes alarmed immediately, and later that very night, he comes to Wendy’s window to tell her the reason why she always felt different from the others and how she has her ability.
Finn reveals Wendy is actually a changeling, and the real reason he was here was to get her back with her biological family he also explains that her ability to somehow persuade people to do anything she wanted was because she is a Trylle.
Although at the beginning she is hesitant to believe what Finn says she recalls all the differences between herself and the ones she is told are apparently not her family so she persuades Matt to take her to her mother who is in the mental institution after the stunt she pulled on Wendy.
Kim still says she does not believe Wendy to be her daughter and one of the reasons for that is that the doctor had told her that she was to expect a boy.
Later Wendy starts to consider that she may be a changeling, and she goes on a walk to think about the stuff that Finn had told her when she gets attacked by two trackers from an enemy Trylle band from which Finn saves her but still tells her that she is not safe here so he takes her away.
Finn takes her to a protected community located in Minnesota called Forening where she is taken to meet her real mother, who happens to be the ruler of the land Queen Elora who also for some reason is distant and not quite fond of Wendy.
Wendy is surprised to find the fact that she is a princess and she is also to take the throne and rule after Queen Elora’s death.
Wendy also stumbles upon Rhys who is the real son of Kim and brother of Matt but was taken on when they left Wendy behind, which makes him a Mansklig.
In Forening Wendy also learns that many of the Trylle have abilities in various different strengths and she also starts to train her ability for her to develop it and have better control over it.
Later Wendy gets invited to join in on the Royal meeting much to her mother Elora’s displeasure since Wendy still doesn’t know much of how things are in Trylle but Wendy is still able to grasp that there is some background information being hidden.
When Wendy is wandering around the palace, she comes across a locked room that is filled with undisplayed paintings. When Finn finds her and enlightens her that Queen Elora’s power is of recognition which she can only express through her paintings.
Finn also starts telling her of things like how in Trylle society The Queen, the princess, and the nobles who are known as Marksinna are the highest when it comes to status whereas the Trackers and the Mansklig are considered lower than peasants.
Since Wendy’s knowledge of the Trylle is very limited, Finn starts to teach her the history and etiquette required in Trylle so that in the future when she becomes Queen, she can make Elora proud.
Finn also warns her to not become too close to Rhys as that would supposedly “corrupt” the bloodline of the Royalty and the strong household would cease to exist if that happens.
An introduction ball is being prepared for the honor of Wendy. Queen Elora also tells Wendy to choose a different name so it could fit better for her new stature but she says she does not want to and denies which annoys Elora to no end who also later speaks to Finn to resign as he was getting too close to Wendy but before leaving Wendy meets him and the two share goodbye.
At the ball, The Vittra band attacks suddenly which ensues a whole fight with those Tryll with helpful abilities to try and retaliate but as the rest become too busy, Jen who is the same tracker who had attacked Wendy once before when he was trying to kidnap her, starts coming towards Wendy to target her once again but Finn suddenly returns and counter attacks but he nearly loses his life trying to save the princess but Tove a young Markis, uses his abilities of psychogenesis to save Finn’s life and they successfully get rid of the danger of Jen.
Queen Elora joins the other Trylle to try and keep off the Vittra attack and they finally become successful.
Wendy and Finn reunite again but only to be told later on by Elora that Finn left since he’s been transferred again. This angers Wendy and she uses powers of persuasion to persuade Rhys as he was the only human there, to take her back to her brother Matt and her aunt Maggie as she no longer wished to remain here. And that’s how Switched by Amanda Hocking ends.
