Tales for a winter's eve Book

I read the book "Switchers" by Kate Thompson for an honest review. I wanted to give it 3 1/2 stars but the rating system didn't allow for that. By Mousehead standards this book received 4 $ $ $ $ and $0.50 ( 4 1/2 ).
Just for the cover alone this book earned points. It caught my eye immediately. It's defiantly a head turner IMO. The book itself is another matter. It was put in the genre YA/ fantasy/sci-fi. I'm a fan of all those categories so I jumped at the chance to read it.
It is defiantly meant for the younger side of the young adult category, 12/14 yr. olds max. In my estimation . That didn't stop me from getting wrapped up in the story anyways. It has some great character's & was very different from most supernatural shape-shifter themed books. One of the major differences was the types of animals the main characters in the story changed into. From rats,deer,goats,polar bears, dragons, dolphins, whales and more! With each switch you were also given insight into each creatures way of communication , travel, fears, and instincts. It was educational as well as entertaining . This can be a rarity in literature lately.
There was no swearing, love triangles, steamy sex scenes. Just friendship. This was a change of pace from the current popularity of love between humans & "other" that is strictly against the rules.
This was the first of a trilogy and ended with a little teaser into the next book. It snagged me. I'll be reading book 2 after I get through a heaping stack of tbr books I've made commitments to.
In all this talking about the beautiful cover and age appropriate readers I haven't given you much of a review. Here's the synopsis ...

Tess a 13 yr. old has the ability to "Switch" into whatever type of animal , alive, fabled, or extinct. The only catch being that she loses the ability at the age of 15 & can choose to turn into anything she wants at that point, but no longer can switch back.
A boy named Kevin has spotted Tess as a fellow "Switcher" and asks her to help him on a monumental task that he's not even sure what it is.
Tess is the main pov in the story and as an only child in a very well to do family, what Kevin; a scrubby, loner, with seemingly no family is a puzzle to Tess. Kevin is a year and a bit more than a half older than Tess. The streets & Switching lifestyle has made him older than his years, but not to old to be nervous to make the journey alone.
Meanwhile the world is facing very unusual weather that has everyone from the government to the local meteorologist baffled. Most people & animals are heading for warmer climates that are becoming nearly impossible to find. This is where Tess & Kevin come into play. With their "Switcher" abilities they might be able to succeed where everyone else has failed.
Through a network of rodents, cat collecting lonely old spinsters and each other Tess and Kevin head directly into the storm to find out what is causing what might be an ice age.
The book "Switchers" had it's high points as well as a few low points that I honestly think were not flawed writing but more a bit to clean cut for my personal taste.
It would be a great book for that in between age bracket that is still innocent to the more suggestive and less clean cut books I'm used to reading. It's a quick fun read meant for tweens. Look to your local book store for this trilogy and more by Kate Thompson. You'll defiantly notice them because even outside this trilogy the covers of her novels are pure art! Keep turning those pages!