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A review by yas_sezer
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
3.0
3 stars
as we can tell, i am not the target audience for this book, but it is the january kids BOTM at my bookstore and i wanted to read at least one of the options, and i was thoroughly entertained
it’s your classic whodunnit, but for a younger audience, with shenanigan as your mc. she’s completely annoying and unbearable but you love her all the same. her inner dialogue reminded me of me when i was younger, and it was refreshing to be exposed to such a young mentality again and think the way they think
the side characters were a joy and gave me roald dahl vibes. the descriptions of them - flora, fauna, uncle maelstrom, aunt schadelfreude (to name a few), felt very roald dahl coded. i liked that aspect. i don’t really feel the need to go into detail about each character because i didn’t LOVE anybody or really connect too deeply with the characters. but they were fun to be around within this world
side note: the descriptions of specific words and their different definitions was very lemony snicketesque. i liked that
the plot is easy to follow with cute little misdirects and reveals. the sisters felicity and phenomena were distinct from one another but still had relatively complex stories within themselves which i appreciated. i do think the whole parent plot line got a bit forgotten about and thrown to the side and i hoped it would come full circle at the end but alas it did not.
there is representation within this book for the lgbtq community, which seemed respectful to me (erf, flora, pique, maybe fauna?) and easy for younger readers to understand
the reveal was not very revealing for me, but again i’m not the target audience. it felt obvious (cmon candor really?) and didn’t give me the GASP reaction i normally get from YA or adult mysteries BUT i wasn’t expecting that so it’s fine.
it was fun going along the ride with the twists in the house and the little “ghost” shakespeare easter egg was fun at the end with aunt shadenfreude (i will not be spelling this right i’m aware).
overall, this will not be a memorable book for me, and the simplest word i can use to describe it is fun. it’s not mind blowing, it’s not something i connected to or will ever think about unless asked - but it was fun while i was in that world, and an easy start to 2024’s reading journey
as we can tell, i am not the target audience for this book, but it is the january kids BOTM at my bookstore and i wanted to read at least one of the options, and i was thoroughly entertained
it’s your classic whodunnit, but for a younger audience, with shenanigan as your mc. she’s completely annoying and unbearable but you love her all the same. her inner dialogue reminded me of me when i was younger, and it was refreshing to be exposed to such a young mentality again and think the way they think
the side characters were a joy and gave me roald dahl vibes. the descriptions of them - flora, fauna, uncle maelstrom, aunt schadelfreude (to name a few), felt very roald dahl coded. i liked that aspect. i don’t really feel the need to go into detail about each character because i didn’t LOVE anybody or really connect too deeply with the characters. but they were fun to be around within this world
side note: the descriptions of specific words and their different definitions was very lemony snicketesque. i liked that
the plot is easy to follow with cute little misdirects and reveals. the sisters felicity and phenomena were distinct from one another but still had relatively complex stories within themselves which i appreciated. i do think the whole parent plot line got a bit forgotten about and thrown to the side and i hoped it would come full circle at the end but alas it did not.
there is representation within this book for the lgbtq community, which seemed respectful to me (erf, flora, pique, maybe fauna?) and easy for younger readers to understand
the reveal was not very revealing for me, but again i’m not the target audience. it felt obvious (cmon candor really?) and didn’t give me the GASP reaction i normally get from YA or adult mysteries BUT i wasn’t expecting that so it’s fine.
it was fun going along the ride with the twists in the house and the little “ghost” shakespeare easter egg was fun at the end with aunt shadenfreude (i will not be spelling this right i’m aware).
overall, this will not be a memorable book for me, and the simplest word i can use to describe it is fun. it’s not mind blowing, it’s not something i connected to or will ever think about unless asked - but it was fun while i was in that world, and an easy start to 2024’s reading journey