A review by faithl
Swarm by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti

4.0

THE ACTION! OMG THE ACTION!
It's heart-racing, brilliant and thoroughly engaging!

It's a band of teenagers with super cools powers banding together to save the world! WHY WOULD YOU NOT READ A BOOK LIKE THIS?!

One the main reasons I love this series is so much is because a) all the characters don't claim to be heroes or want to be heroes. They're all average teenagers. Like real average teenagers who talk like one, party, have relationships, make stupid mistakes. And b) their powers aren't the conventional types like flying or having super strength, etc. Their powers are like super original and creative. Scam's voice, Crash's ability with tech, Anon's forgetful face, Flicker's eyes, Mob's ability to heighten emotions and Nate's naturalness as a leader - they are all astounding! Their abilities are complex, dynamic and bring so much originality and dimension to the characters.

I love how this book perfectly balances the story of every character's personal dilemmas whilst also connecting it with the main plot. Swarm is our villain with powers like Mob's, trying to kill other super-powered teens like our gang! There is never a not interesting part in this book. It's filled with constant action, twists and turns!

Swarm is a teen psychopath, trying to manipulate Mob to be like him but NO, SHE WILL NOT FALL FOR HIS TRICKS AND WORDS. SHE WILL NOT TURN TO THE BAD SIDE. This book really challenges all the characters. I loved seeing Flicker taking the lead. I honestly prefer her as their leader because of her humility and intelligence. I love Thibault and Flicker's relationship so much! It's just so genuinely sweet and heart-felt. THEY'RE LIKE TWO AWESOME PEAS IN A POD. I love Flicker's efforts to remember Thibault - the bracelet and the blazer. And also how they don't bring each other down. Scam is as hilarious as always. HE IS SO FUNNY! I always wonder why the gang don't really like Scam because I love him! Sure, his voice is pretty annoying and can hurt people but Scam, himself, is so down-to-earth and freaking hilarious. Mob and Crash is seriously my OTP at the moment!  Like OMG, they are made for each other! And Nate, he was so redeeming in this book! I thought he was pretentious and arrogant in Zeroes but in this book - especially towards the end - HE IS AMAZING. He sacrifices his dream to be politician to save his friends, knowing that his reputation will always be tainted but he did it anyway! Ah I LOVE REDEEMING CHARACTERS!

All in all, such an amazing, engaging and action-packed sequel! The book is really thin compared to the first book but that does not negatively affect any of it's awesomeness. The book continues it's immense originality, the high-action plot and vivid characters.