missprint_'s review against another edition
5.0
You could say Polly Martin wrote the book on love--specifically on why to avoid it all costs. Despite all of the sensible advice from her grandmother's syndicated advice column Miss Swoon and the cautionary tale of her own mother's divorce, Polly's junior year was filled with dating disaster after disaster. After disaster. And a few more disasters besides.
Polly has learned her lesson and is trying to focus on making her life a boyfriend free zone and making up to her best friend for spending the better part of a year focusing on guys instead of, you know, being a best friend.
The only problem is that Polly's exes keep turning up in all the wrong places. A misguided job application has her working with Sawyer at the Wild Waves water park where he keeps asking her about her feelings. Running for student council to impress Hayden has landed her the unenviable position of planning the senior prom.
Then there's Xander Cooper who seems determined to become Polly's next ex boyfriend. Except Polly is done with boys. For real.
Polly is surrounded by people, especially ex boyfriends, who think they know her. Except Polly has spent so much time trying impress or please other people that she isn't even sure who she is herself anymore. But maybe a self-declared relationship failure really can find herself and fall in love while working at a Western-themed water park in Swoon at Your Own Risk (2010) by Sydney Salter.
Swoon at Your Own Risk is a light, summery book that packs a punch and won't disappoint readers looking for a book with some depth. Salter writing effortlessly brings to mind summer and madness of a water park during summer vacation to create a setting so vivid readers would be advised to keep their inner tubes handy.
Beyond that, Polly is a really astute character and one of my favorite narrators so far this year. Emotionally, Polly is a mess. She can't tell where her own interests end or where her efforts to pursue boys starts. In a lot of ways Polly does everything wrong; she does things she dislikes to attract boys and she pretends she isn't smart to avoid attention and she avoids talking about her feelings like nobody's business. But even at her lowest, Polly is endearing and so incredibly smart that readers are willing to follow her crazy journey throughout the book to see where it all ends.
The amazing thing is all of Polly's crazy mixed emotions and motivations are conveyed so clearly with Salter's writing. Her narrative voice is strong and original, tossing around SAT vocabulary words and chemistry(?) references in the same breath as she explains how important it was, at the time, to be interested cars so that she could have something to talk about with a boy.
As the title might suggest Swoon at Your Own Risk is part romance and part humor. But it's also a lot more. And it's really clever. Salter has has created a delightful story and introduced a complex heroine that is a breath of fresh air.
Possible Pairings: The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, Sea Change by Aimee Friedman, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Polly has learned her lesson and is trying to focus on making her life a boyfriend free zone and making up to her best friend for spending the better part of a year focusing on guys instead of, you know, being a best friend.
The only problem is that Polly's exes keep turning up in all the wrong places. A misguided job application has her working with Sawyer at the Wild Waves water park where he keeps asking her about her feelings. Running for student council to impress Hayden has landed her the unenviable position of planning the senior prom.
Then there's Xander Cooper who seems determined to become Polly's next ex boyfriend. Except Polly is done with boys. For real.
Polly is surrounded by people, especially ex boyfriends, who think they know her. Except Polly has spent so much time trying impress or please other people that she isn't even sure who she is herself anymore. But maybe a self-declared relationship failure really can find herself and fall in love while working at a Western-themed water park in Swoon at Your Own Risk (2010) by Sydney Salter.
Swoon at Your Own Risk is a light, summery book that packs a punch and won't disappoint readers looking for a book with some depth. Salter writing effortlessly brings to mind summer and madness of a water park during summer vacation to create a setting so vivid readers would be advised to keep their inner tubes handy.
Beyond that, Polly is a really astute character and one of my favorite narrators so far this year. Emotionally, Polly is a mess. She can't tell where her own interests end or where her efforts to pursue boys starts. In a lot of ways Polly does everything wrong; she does things she dislikes to attract boys and she pretends she isn't smart to avoid attention and she avoids talking about her feelings like nobody's business. But even at her lowest, Polly is endearing and so incredibly smart that readers are willing to follow her crazy journey throughout the book to see where it all ends.
The amazing thing is all of Polly's crazy mixed emotions and motivations are conveyed so clearly with Salter's writing. Her narrative voice is strong and original, tossing around SAT vocabulary words and chemistry(?) references in the same breath as she explains how important it was, at the time, to be interested cars so that she could have something to talk about with a boy.
As the title might suggest Swoon at Your Own Risk is part romance and part humor. But it's also a lot more. And it's really clever. Salter has has created a delightful story and introduced a complex heroine that is a breath of fresh air.
Possible Pairings: The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, Sea Change by Aimee Friedman, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
The writing style bugged me: I've never been a fan of the "write as you talk", uh, you know, school of writing. And some of the gimmick wore thin but... I think that younger girls might, possibly, learn something from this book.
There are many girls (I know, I'm related to at least one and went to school with many others) who "become" their boyfriend. They share his taste in music, wear his favorite color (when I was in junior high, his favorite flavor Bonnie Belle Lip Smacker was, apparently, a make-or-break relationship factor). By the end of this book, Polly's starting to realize that you might be able to have a relationship without all that, by just being your self.
Communication is also stressed, and the characters - particularly Polly - spend too much time talking and not listening. Again, by the end, that's starting to change.
ARC provided by publisher.
There are many girls (I know, I'm related to at least one and went to school with many others) who "become" their boyfriend. They share his taste in music, wear his favorite color (when I was in junior high, his favorite flavor Bonnie Belle Lip Smacker was, apparently, a make-or-break relationship factor). By the end of this book, Polly's starting to realize that you might be able to have a relationship without all that, by just being your self.
Communication is also stressed, and the characters - particularly Polly - spend too much time talking and not listening. Again, by the end, that's starting to change.
ARC provided by publisher.
suey's review against another edition
4.0
A fun fluffy book, with a lesson thrown in. The lesson? Be yourself! :)
simplyreading's review against another edition
4.0
Sophmore Switch is about Natasha (or as the "famous" Tasha) and Emily while they take part of a student exchange program during the last few months of their sophomore year in college.
They both decide to do it to escape for their own reasons.
Emily's was to get away from an ex and Natasha is doing it to get away from a incident at school with her hooking up with a guy(which happens to be in a major popular tv show) and ends up being in all the US tabloids.
So they decide to switch but not really thinking about how much of a change it is between sunny California and snobby oxford.
But will they make it?
Sophomore switch was very delightful giving the not so pretty side of student exchange programs.And it was also very easy to get into which was a major plus!
Overall a really cute read :)
They both decide to do it to escape for their own reasons.
Emily's was to get away from an ex and Natasha is doing it to get away from a incident at school with her hooking up with a guy(which happens to be in a major popular tv show) and ends up being in all the US tabloids.
So they decide to switch but not really thinking about how much of a change it is between sunny California and snobby oxford.
But will they make it?
Sophomore switch was very delightful giving the not so pretty side of student exchange programs.And it was also very easy to get into which was a major plus!
Overall a really cute read :)
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
125 pages and quit. I just didn't care at ALL for Polly. She was kind of an annoying character and I couldn't see where this book was going. Seemed like it was going in circles.
kristid's review against another edition
3.0
I loved Salter's My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, so I was beyond ecstatic to read her newest novel Swoon at Your Own Risk. Unfortunately, Swoon at Your Own Risk wasn't quite as impressive.
I liked this one... but didn't love it. The plot sounded really interesting, but there was just too many boys... not exactly copacetic. I could possibly understand Polly 'dating' a handful of guys durning a single school year, but having them all be her 'boyfriends'... that was just too much. (Not to mention... I couldn't keep them all straight!) I guess it was just a little unbelievable because Polly didn't seem like the kind of girl people would like in general! Let alone all those boys wanting to be romantically involved with her.
Which takes me to my next point. Polly. I did not like her. I understood her and her frustrations, but she just didn't seem like a genuine character. I felt no empathy toward her what-so-ever. She annoyed me more than anything. However, I did like how Salter touched on Polly's automatic adoption of her current boyfriends interest. How many times does that happen in real life!? I know I'm an offender myself. I don't think you can ever stress enough how important it is to be true to yourself and find people that like you, for you!
Swoon still had the same quirky and fun writing as My Big Nose and it (the writing) was just as impressive and enjoyable the second time around.
Even though I didn't enjoy this Salter novel as much, I'll still be picking up her future novels and am looking forward to reading more from her!
I liked this one... but didn't love it. The plot sounded really interesting, but there was just too many boys... not exactly copacetic. I could possibly understand Polly 'dating' a handful of guys durning a single school year, but having them all be her 'boyfriends'... that was just too much. (Not to mention... I couldn't keep them all straight!) I guess it was just a little unbelievable because Polly didn't seem like the kind of girl people would like in general! Let alone all those boys wanting to be romantically involved with her.
Which takes me to my next point. Polly. I did not like her. I understood her and her frustrations, but she just didn't seem like a genuine character. I felt no empathy toward her what-so-ever. She annoyed me more than anything. However, I did like how Salter touched on Polly's automatic adoption of her current boyfriends interest. How many times does that happen in real life!? I know I'm an offender myself. I don't think you can ever stress enough how important it is to be true to yourself and find people that like you, for you!
Swoon still had the same quirky and fun writing as My Big Nose and it (the writing) was just as impressive and enjoyable the second time around.
Even though I didn't enjoy this Salter novel as much, I'll still be picking up her future novels and am looking forward to reading more from her!
saragrochowski's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved Sydney Salter's sophmore novel, SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK! I was pulled in to Polly's story quickly and didn't want to the novel to end! While, at first glance, SWOON simply addresses the common theme of a girl with "daddy issues" turning to boys to deal with her problems, it is also a fun novel with hilarious dialogue.
I wasn't sure if I would really connect with or like Polly, but I was a bit attached to her by the end of the novel. She was spunky, sarcastic, and witty! While she is confused, fake, and prickly at the start of the novel, she really grows throughout the novel.
The secondary characters in SWOON were all perfectly written. I have a soft spot for each and every one of them. Polly's little sister was my favorite though - her stuffed animal collection reminded me of my Beanie Baby days!
And oh my gosh: Xander. He was so unbelievably adorable. It was definitely obvious from the beginning of the novel that Xander is the perfect guy for Polly but in her confused and boy phobic state there would be a bit of a journey to her realization of this fact. I loved the tension and buildup to this point. Xander definitely joins the ranks of my favorite book boys!
I will definitely be reading MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS, Salter's debut novel, sometimes soon! I think I've found a new author to add to my favorites!
I wasn't sure if I would really connect with or like Polly, but I was a bit attached to her by the end of the novel. She was spunky, sarcastic, and witty! While she is confused, fake, and prickly at the start of the novel, she really grows throughout the novel.
The secondary characters in SWOON were all perfectly written. I have a soft spot for each and every one of them. Polly's little sister was my favorite though - her stuffed animal collection reminded me of my Beanie Baby days!
And oh my gosh: Xander. He was so unbelievably adorable. It was definitely obvious from the beginning of the novel that Xander is the perfect guy for Polly but in her confused and boy phobic state there would be a bit of a journey to her realization of this fact. I loved the tension and buildup to this point. Xander definitely joins the ranks of my favorite book boys!
I will definitely be reading MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS, Salter's debut novel, sometimes soon! I think I've found a new author to add to my favorites!
liliandherbooks's review against another edition
4.0
The multitude of ex's hasn't really sunk in for Polly yet. When she gets stuck with a job with ex #2 Sawyer, she finally sees how dating the most active people in her junior year might just backfire. Active meaning that, for each one of them she's had to do something in order to keep up with what they were interested in, and mold herself to keep them interested in her. Having enough with the male species for a while, Polly wishes to disconnect herself from the testosterone population. Being focused on work because of the amount of bills piling up and having her "Miss Swoon" advice columnist grandmother in the house seem like perfect ways to distract herself. However, when she starts to get the feeling that "Miss Swoon" doesn't heed her own advice, and her mother takes a job at the Hamburger Heaven--local burger joint that Polly's friends populate frequently--she finds that she needs to escape from her own life in order to feel any semblance of control. Xander Cooper's hot new appearance plans to splash that thought out of the water.
Knowing that any relationship with Xander Cooper can only end up with more activities and her than she can handle, Polly chooses to distance her as much as her hormones deem possible. When she starts seeing him more and more frequently with his nieces and nephews and her Wild Waves job, she realizes that avoiding him will be more difficult than she ever thought.
Swoon at Your Own Risk was more of an enjoyable and touching story to read than I ever expected it to be. SAYOR was a lighthearted, psychological read of the common household missing a male-father figure. Polly's way of pushing away anyone that tried to get close enough to see under the surface was well interpreted and had a meaningful understanding when you see how tough of a childhood she experienced. Salter's writing of Polly's experiences when life gets too complicated dealing so many of her ex's was well-crafted and developed into the harsh tale of how Polly deals with such situations. Running away and hiding her problems behind jokes seemed common for her, pushing away from her loved ones looked like second-nature. When a new character breaks into the mix, he doesn't seem to faze Polly at first. Finding that he has his own issues somehow makes her slowly realize her mistakes and regrets. Polly's wide-ranged knowledge, vocabulary words, and charismatic-positive attitude developed her character in the book progressively.
SAYOR is recommended with the heartiest of character revelations.
Grade: A-
Knowing that any relationship with Xander Cooper can only end up with more activities and her than she can handle, Polly chooses to distance her as much as her hormones deem possible. When she starts seeing him more and more frequently with his nieces and nephews and her Wild Waves job, she realizes that avoiding him will be more difficult than she ever thought.
Swoon at Your Own Risk was more of an enjoyable and touching story to read than I ever expected it to be. SAYOR was a lighthearted, psychological read of the common household missing a male-father figure. Polly's way of pushing away anyone that tried to get close enough to see under the surface was well interpreted and had a meaningful understanding when you see how tough of a childhood she experienced. Salter's writing of Polly's experiences when life gets too complicated dealing so many of her ex's was well-crafted and developed into the harsh tale of how Polly deals with such situations. Running away and hiding her problems behind jokes seemed common for her, pushing away from her loved ones looked like second-nature. When a new character breaks into the mix, he doesn't seem to faze Polly at first. Finding that he has his own issues somehow makes her slowly realize her mistakes and regrets. Polly's wide-ranged knowledge, vocabulary words, and charismatic-positive attitude developed her character in the book progressively.
SAYOR is recommended with the heartiest of character revelations.
Grade: A-
bykaitrose's review against another edition
5.0
Swoon At Your Own Risk is beyond cute. I loved it. After I started it I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading it and I finished in a very short amount of time, something I haven't been doing a lot of lately. I juust had to put everything aside and read. =]
Polly was hilarious. She made me laugh so much but that wasn't the only side to her. She was scared and vulnerable and it led to her making a lot of bad choices when it came to guys. She was trying to change her ways but then Xander came into the picture and screwed all that up. I adored him. He was so sweet and funny. I want a guy like him. Of course, there were some other characters but they didn't really stand out to me. I didn't understand Polly's friendship with Jane and I didn't actually like Jane. I much preferred Sonnet and her blog posts. Those might have been the best part of the book.
There wasn't a whole lot going on with the plot but there was enough to keep me entertained and that's all that mattered. It was cute and funny but there was some serious stuff thrown in to change it up a bit.
Overall, Swoon At Your Own Risk is the perfect summer read. I can't recommend it enough. Now I have to go check out Sydney Salter's debut novel, My Big Nose (And Other Natural Disasters).
Polly was hilarious. She made me laugh so much but that wasn't the only side to her. She was scared and vulnerable and it led to her making a lot of bad choices when it came to guys. She was trying to change her ways but then Xander came into the picture and screwed all that up. I adored him. He was so sweet and funny. I want a guy like him. Of course, there were some other characters but they didn't really stand out to me. I didn't understand Polly's friendship with Jane and I didn't actually like Jane. I much preferred Sonnet and her blog posts. Those might have been the best part of the book.
There wasn't a whole lot going on with the plot but there was enough to keep me entertained and that's all that mattered. It was cute and funny but there was some serious stuff thrown in to change it up a bit.
Overall, Swoon At Your Own Risk is the perfect summer read. I can't recommend it enough. Now I have to go check out Sydney Salter's debut novel, My Big Nose (And Other Natural Disasters).