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A review by abitbetterbooks
Swing by Mary Rand Hess, Kwame Alexander
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I’m really not sure why but this book just didn’t quite work for me! I think the writing is objectively good and I liked that the audio was narrated by the author, but I just didn’t really find myself connecting to the story or the characters in a meaningful way.
It felt fast paced and punchy because of it being in verse, but I felt that it meant some of the more deep character work fell through because of it. Most of the time I didn’t really like how the main “point” of the story was centred around Noah and his obsession / unrequited love with his best friend Sam, and his best friend Walt (aka Swing) generally being focused on “getting girls”. I think I would have liked this more if Walt had been the main character and not Noah.
The ending completely blindsided me and I’m still not sure what to make of it. The conclusion felt way too abrupt and I was left with a sense of having no idea how the entire beginning of the story was even really relevant as it just felt so… inconsequential to the last 5%. Maybe that’s the point? That one day the most important thing is your crush on a girl and the next your life is irreparably broken?
I also feel like there were too many elements of the story that took me out of it— is it normal for parents to leave their 17 year old children at home ALONE for 3 weeks? Why does the grandma not want to connect with her grandson AT ALL over these 3 weeks when he’s reaching out? Why or how is a 19 year old girl even remotely interested in dating a 17 year old boy? Anyways! That’s all my thoughts for now but I’m still percolating on it.
It felt fast paced and punchy because of it being in verse, but I felt that it meant some of the more deep character work fell through because of it. Most of the time I didn’t really like how the main “point” of the story was centred around Noah and his obsession / unrequited love with his best friend Sam, and his best friend Walt (aka Swing) generally being focused on “getting girls”. I think I would have liked this more if Walt had been the main character and not Noah.
The ending completely blindsided me and I’m still not sure what to make of it. The conclusion felt way too abrupt and I was left with a sense of having no idea how the entire beginning of the story was even really relevant as it just felt so… inconsequential to the last 5%. Maybe that’s the point? That one day the most important thing is your crush on a girl and the next your life is irreparably broken?
I also feel like there were too many elements of the story that took me out of it— is it normal for parents to leave their 17 year old children at home ALONE for 3 weeks? Why does the grandma not want to connect with her grandson AT ALL over these 3 weeks when he’s reaching out? Why or how is a 19 year old girl even remotely interested in dating a 17 year old boy? Anyways! That’s all my thoughts for now but I’m still percolating on it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Violence
Moderate: Murder