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Title details for I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins - Wait list

I Am the Swarm

by Hayley Chewins
Hayley Chewins
Audiobook
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Wait time: About 10 weeks
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 10 weeks
A propulsive YA novel in verse that blends the contemporary magic of Jandy Nelson with the simmering feminist rage of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Shout
As far back as anyone can remember, the women of the Strand family have been magical.
Their gifts manifest when they each turn fifteen, always in different ways. But Nell Strand knows that her family's magic is a curse. Her mother’s age changes every day; she's often too young to be the mother Nell needs. Her older sister bleeds music and will do anything to release the songs inside her. Nell sees the way magic rips her family apart again and again. 
When Nell’s own magic arrives in the form of ladybugs alighting on the keys of her beloved piano, the first thing she feels is joy. The ladybugs are a piece of her, a harmless and delicate manifestation of her creativity. But soon enough, the rest come. Thick-shelled glossy beetles that creep along her collarbone when her piano teacher stares at her. Soft gray moths that appear and die alongside a rush of disappointment. Worst of all are the wasps. It doesn’t matter how deep she buries her rage, the wasps always come. Nell will have to decide just how much of herself she’s willing to lock away to stop them—or if she can find the strength to feel, no matter the consequences.
An intense, emotional read simmering with rage and magic, I Am the Swarm is a captivating YA novel in verse that beautifully speaks to the complicated nature of growing up as a girl.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 25, 2025

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798217019281
      • File size: 116237 KB
      • Duration: 04:02:09

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from December 2, 2024
      Three days after her 15th birthday, Nell Strand manifests her matrilineal magic in the form of yellow ladybugs that alight on her piano keys as she searches for the perfect melody. But Nell’s joy is immediately undercut by her acute awareness of the dangers of her bloodline’s abilities. Her older sister Mora was recently institutionalized because she utilizes self-harm methods to release the music in her blood, and her mother’s appearance vacillates between ages based on her mood—she often looks and acts more like an antagonistic sibling than a parent. In dealing with the stress of her family dynamic as well as unwanted, escalating sexual attention from her piano teacher, Nell learns that she manifests other creatures as well: stick insects for sadness, beetles for shame, and wasps for anger. As Nell develops increasingly maladaptive coping mechanisms, she finds that her emotions are not so easily suppressed. In this deeply felt verse novel, Chewins (The Sisters of Straygarden Place) expertly leverages evocative language and extended poetry metaphors for a moving tale of self-discovery and healing through connection. The novel takes place in Cape Town; Nell is half Afrikaner and half English. Ages 14–up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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