November 22, 2009

Review: Swoon by Nina Malkin

Swoon by Nina Malkin
Release Date: 2009
Summary:
Sin is coming... Prepare to Swoon.

Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him—but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent—and irresistible—adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him. What do you do when the boy of your dreams is too bad to be true?

Review:
I started reading Swoon thinking that I was going to be entertained. I was completely wrong. Not only did it entertain me, it completely blew me away. My first reaction was: OMG! Is this still YA?!?!?! I mean, I've never read anything remotely like it before.

The characters all deviate from the standard YA molds they're supposed to fit into. First of all, Sin, the male protagonist, defines bad. Imagine a delicious-looking teenage boy driving a sleepy town mad with lust. That's how charismatic (I don't think that's the right word) he is. I mean, I've read about characters who are supposed to be bad before. Basically, they were just the Backstreet Boys with eyeliner and dark clothes, but Sin is different.

Dice, the protagonist, is also quite different from other YA heroines. She knows she's different and she embraces it. I've seen the I'm-different-so-I-want-to-fit-in act so many times that Dice was like a breath of fresh air.

The other characters were quite well-developed. There wasn't a character that was just plopped in. Every single character helped move the plot forward, and that's why I like Swoon so much. The plot was also unpredictable. Every time you think you know what's going to happen next, the author swoops down and totally surprises you.

Basically, Swoon is different from all the other YA novels I've read, but in a totally good way. From the plot to the writer's voice, it was just so fresh and different.

However, I don't think Swoon should be read by younger readers, since Swoon is more sensual than the typical YA novel. Also, I did like the writing voice but it got a little confusing at times. I know the author tried to convey how typical teens talk, but it didn't make sense in some scenes.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

6 comments :

Justine said...

Glad to know you really liked it! I've gotta read this then ;)

ExtremeReader said...

I have this book on my shelf and haven't gotten to it yet! Nice review! Thanks for grabbing my button! I became a follower an grabbed your button too!

Lizzy said...

I actually originally found this book in the regular fiction section of my library. I knew that it was YA, but I guess that the library had chosen to put it into fiction because they thought it was "too mature" for teens. I disagreed, but they didn't listen haha. Great review!

Alexia561 said...

Enjoyed your review! Hadn't heard of this one before, but sounds right up my alley and I've added it to my wishlist. Thanks! :)

Brianne said...

See, I originally wanted to read this book, but I read a bad review on it, so I decided to not read it. But I guess I shouldn't make a desiscion like that off of one bad review. ;)
This helped alot. Great review!

Brianne said...

See, I originally wanted to read this book, but I read a bad review on it, so I decided to not read it. But I guess I shouldn't make a desiscion like that off of one bad review. ;)
This helped alot. Great review!