This is a story of adolescent boys in an exclusive boarding school who rate the girl’s sexual performance and post it on a secret website. At the end of the year they give the “winner “ the Dulcinea award. This is typical boys will be boys stuff. When the girls find out,all hell breaks loose. This is war. Think Sigourney Weaver in “Alien”,or Linda Hamilton in “Terminator.”. Maybe they took it too far,but I understand the need for revenge. The adults tried to help,but they were clueless and the students were clever and powerful. This is well-written and well-thought out.Lisa Lutz is a great writer and I highly recommend this book.

This book has kept me thinking and stayed with me days after I finished reading the last page. It was a fascinating blend of humor, darkness, and tragedy. I found this story of a gender war at a New England prep school to be a unique way of demonstrating misogyny.

There were times when things were sexually graphic and disturbing. This was more so since it involved high school students and a faculty that was, for various reasons, unable or unwilling to address serious issues. I found the lack of a single adult who was ethically and professionally competent and unafraid of high school students hard to accept as a reader and required a significant suspension of disbelief. This will likely not be as much of an issue for other readers.

I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, especially how it snuck up on me. What I expected to happen took an unexpected and gripping twist. I believe this is a book that is best read without knowing too many plot details.

I did find that story dragged in parts, and I think that perhaps some of the characters didn’t seem to serve a purpose. This started out as an enjoyable read for me, and I became less satisfied as the book progressed. However, there were many elements I liked, and I believe it met a goal of inspiring more thought about the issue of respect among genders. So, in the end, this is difficult to assign a star rating, but with a content caution for sexual predators, I think there are many readers who will enjoy this book.

Hig school creative writing teacher Alex Witt doesn't realize what she is getting into when she takes a job at a New England boarding school. Through a writing assignment that she has given to her students, she discovers an online forum where the boys give the girls scores for their sexual encounters. Alex soon discovers that this is a culture that is deeply rooted at the school. When the girls discovers the online forum, they vow revenge and the situation quickly escalates. Well written and timely novel that will keep the reader engaged.

Three and a half stars for me. I enjoyed this private boarding school story that revolved around a young instructor and her unusual approach to her students and their affairs. The teachers at this school are all a bit of a mess, intrigue abounds, and of course there is an elite student clique known as The Ten and a dangerous game being played by the students. The POV shifted around from teachers to students, but the definite protagonist here is the instructor, a bit of a shift from the usual secret society/elite school/mystery set-up where the focus is more on the students or one student.

An interesting take on the genre, with characters who are easier to like than we often find in books of this nature. Not entirely believable, yet not completely shocking either, which perhaps is a sad commentary. I think I would have liked this more had the focus been more purely on Gemma (student) and Ms. Witt. The POVs from some of the other characters were not necessary.

I'm not sure this story succeeds in showing the best way to combat "boys will be boys" stereotypes; the women are portrayed as behaving just as badly - probably accurate though. I think this book might have been better with more humor injected into it. It felt like it wasn't sure if it wanted to be one of those dark secret society intrigue stories, or if it was a more fun take on a female revenge type story. It works, but I think could have worked even better by going in the more fun direction.

Lisa Lutz is one of my favorite authors and her Spellman Files series is on my all time favorites list. I really loved The Swallows and continue to enjoy her special talent for snarky, smart humor alongside some really serious and thought-provoking messages. Will write a more in depth review soon.

I absolutely fell in love with Lutz's writing when I first read The Spellman Files in 2008. Any time I catch wind of a new book of hers about to hit the shelves, I can't wait to read it! And this one is another great read! It. actually has some of the same vibes as the Spellman series (there's even a Get Smart reference!) and Alex Witt reminds me a little bit of Isabella. The boarding school setting though. gives this one a slightly more YA edge to it - although the whole mystery revolves around the very adult activities of these teens.

The book offers several points of view, but the main characters are the best developed and really come to life the most - there are a few strands of plot and character that are a bit truncated. by the ending. And I definitely found myself laughing out loud several times here. I just love Lutz's writing style and sense of humor. The 2009 setting works well here to take the edge off of some of the technology. The short chapters invite the reader to easily justify reading just one more chapter and I can easily see this being a delightful one sitting read. I do think that the embedded artwork is fun, but found some of the omniscient asides to be a bit distracting. Overall, I really enjoyed it and am back to looking forward to seeing what she will write next!

The Swallows by Lisa Lutz was more of a literary thriller than a mystery. I enjoyed the first part and the ending. The middle lagged a bit and not much happened. The payoff at the end was worth the read though. I think most of Lutz's readers will definitely like this book! Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting but it wasn't what I got. There are several different viewpoints and I hated them all. Yes, even the kids. The teachers were all assholes, the boys are all douchebags, and the girls are ridiculously overdone. The story wasn't that interesting and nothing super major happened until the end and by then there had been a whole lot of buildup for not much of an explosion.

2 out of 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Utterly timely, Lisa Lutz's THE SWALLOWS is a solid choice for most general fiction collections and also crossover appeal for high school collections.

This book was such an interesting commentary on sexism and how young women are treated by young men. I also thought it was clever to tell the story through multiple viewpoints, including adults at the school. All in all, worth the read but I wouldn’t consider it groundbreaking.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it town. I loved the story as it became more intertwined and I felt like it wonderfully written. The only thing I have that I did enjoy with the abrupt ending. I was left wanting more because the story was so complex. I was wanting a more detailed ending because the entire plot itself was so detailed. I still loved all the twist and turns and all the secrets. I also enjoyed the characters and girls coming together to show their worth.

This is my first Lisa Lutz book and I really enjoyed the read. This was so off the wall that I didn't take any of it seriously and just went with it - I don't think the book was meant to be serious although there are some deep-seated male/female issues shining through. You can read the intro to find out what the book it about, but let me tell you what I liked.

I thought the character Alex Witt was badass - her mother was as well so she got it honest. Gemma was a true leader and her decisiveness helped move the story along. Most of the males were immature jerks. The headmaster was totally clueless! I thought the "blowchart" was a nice touch.
The writing, the characters, and the plot all kept me interested. I will probably pick up another of Lisa Lutz's books soon because I enjoyed the writing.

The only thing I didn't really like was the number of points of view the story was told from. Sometimes it was hard to remember whose head you were in while reading what they were thinking/doing.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy.

This was a skillfully constructed story and masterfully written. At first I did not like the fact that there were so many characters, but as the story unfolded I came to accept that they were necessary. Each chapter builds for the ending and sweet revenge.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine and Net Galley for providing me with a copy of The Swallows by Lisa Lutz in exchange for my honest review.

Let’s start with the description/genre of this book. Mystery/Thriller, Women’s Fiction. NO!!! That is HORRIBLE branding for this story. It’s not a mystery; there was no big reveal. It is not a thriller. It is not for women; this is for teens – older teens. It should be a YA.

Next, let’s talk about the number of characters and POV. The story takes place at a boarding school. First we meet the new teacher, Alex Witt, and then we add in Gemma (one of the female students), then Mr. Finn (one of the male teachers) and another student, Norman (a male). On top of that, we meet at least 30ish students and only 6, maybe 8 adults. The adults introduced are all messed up, so messed up they seem like teenagers themselves. All of these adults know what’s going on at their school but ignore it, except for the Dean, who knows nothing…no!

The changing of POV was frustrating. Ms. Witt is our first POV, and she comes to the school from another boarding school where there was a scandal. The scandal is so bad that we don’t talk about it until finally, it’s out. It’s a huge letdown. I’m not saying it wasn’t a disturbing event, but the buildup makes you think it’s much worse. Then we have Gemma’s POV as the ringleader of the revolution, she tells us what’s going on at the school. Honestly, we just needed her POV. I maybe get having Ms. Witt’s. Then the male teacher, who is a pervert, is added to the mix. Sometimes he’s teaching and but Ms. Witt ends up taking on most of his classes so he can write a novel, which we learn is a boarding school with a naughty secret. Then we add in one of the male students, who admits he’s a coward. Although he tried to make up for his mistakes as the book goes on, it’s an unnecessary added POV.

The Plot! There was so much going on in this story that didn’t help it along. Ms. Witt’s parents are all over the place. Her dad is an author and womanizer who kept showing up for no apparent reason. And her mother, who I actually liked, she was strong, independent, smart, and brave. But were they necessary to push the story forward? No. If you cut them out the book, nothing would change.

The story is about a boarding school whose students are terrible to each other. Moreover, the boys treat the girls like toys. Then you have a student sleeping with a teacher and blackmailing them, and you have inappropriate pictures of girls (some underage) being shared with the students, you have a teacher sleeping with just about everyone. The boys have a website that was created to track the girl's ability to perform certain sexual acts. The main act they focus on is blowjobs, and the only part of this book that I liked was the Blow Chart that was created to help girls decide if they should be doing them.

I read The Swallows much faster than I have been reading lately, but it wasn’t a good thing. I found myself skipping full paragraphs because I just didn’t care what the character had to say or was thinking. I wanted this to be a female empowerment story. I wanted to see the girls stand up for themselves and fight back and they do, but their retaliation ends in tragedy. Is it tragic if no one cares? I don’t know, the book wasn’t what I hoped it would be and it just made me want to get it over with as quickly as possible.

I did not finish it.....a little over the top for me. As a former secondary teacher, I found the characters to be black and white.....no grey! They were not believable.

I like Lisa Lutz. I thought the Spellman books were very entertaining. This one is a whole different animal and it flows pretty well. I never like it when the chapters are named after the people they feature in them, it is always a little tricky to follow, but we do have a very interesting cast of characters here that almost makes it work. This is a quirky (what a surprise), well written book with a very contemporary theme. It keeps you engaged almost the whole way. Good stuff.

I've been thinking about doing a display in my library in a fancy private high school on books set in fancy private high schools. Such recent novels as Mary McCoy's I, Claudia, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, and even Tana French's The Secret Place would all fit in well with the theme. And The Swallows looked like an excellent addition (thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine for the digital review copy).

However, though the themes of power manipulation, male dominance and female acquiescence, the role of social media, and teacher complicity are appealing if not exactly true of my school, at least not to this degree : ), the raunchiness of it makes it a no go for our library.

On a personal basis, though, I enjoyed it very much and would highly recommend it to adults who are interested in the goings on of teenagers in fancy private schools.

This compelling read has you wondering how often things like this happen. Some may feel it is unrealistic, but in this day and age I have no doubt that some readers will relate. The characters are complex and the different points of view in each chapter add depth to the plot. Female empowerment as a result of a horrible game is a nice change of pace for a story. There were a lot of twists and surprises. While we know at the beginning that people die, the ending is shocking and brilliant. The snarky humor and wit that I have always enjoyed about this author's books is present here and keeps the story from being too dark. A highly recommended read!

4.5 stars, rounded up

I was a huge fan of Lutz’s The Passenger and the entire Spellman series. While the Spellman books were all just great fun, The Passenger showed she had the chops to do an intriguing, serious mystery.

With The Swallows, we get something different again. Alex Witt arrives at a New England boarding school thinking she’s going to teach English Lit, but gets handed creative writing instead. This isn't some posh school, it seems to be more half baked than serious. And what a cast of characters! We hear not only from Alex, but a variety of teachers and students. The students run the gamut of teenage personalities, but the adults (other than Alex) are off the chart weird (as you would expect of anyone teaching at a third rate boarding school).

Lutz retains her wicked turn of phrase ability - “Stonebridge May look like Green Gables, but it’s the Bada Bing Club for the preppy set.”

Normally this subject matter wouldn’t enthrall me. Pissy, entitled teenager boys lord it over the girls in the school. But, it just kept me engrossed. I wanted to see if/how the boys got their comeuppance. It’s sad to think that in 2009, the girls are still seen as objects, things to be manipulated. And the ending, well, I couldn’t read that ending fast enough. Wow, wow, wow.

I had one minor quibble with the book. Admittedly, we only see a microcosm of the entire school population, but I can’t believe that a majority of the school officials and teachers would have been willing to turn a blind eye to the goings on.

My thanks to netgalley and Random House- Ballantine for an advance copy of this book.

The Swallows
by Lisa Lutz
due 8-13-2019
Random House/ Ballantine
4.5 / 5.0
#netgalley. #TheSwallows

When Alex Witt accepts a teaching assignment for a creative writing course ( a course he never taught before ) at Stonebridge Academy in Lowland, Vermont. He didnt realize just how much there was to learn at this elite boarding school. The dark secrets of the group of The Ten, the top students who oversee the Darkroom and give the award to one female student, deemed most beautiful, and given the title of Dulcinea. But there are rules and conditions to being given this status. To be eligible you had to give blow jobs to one of the Ten- many girls saw it as an easy trade off. However, it's worse than it seems- these girls don't realize the Ten have a code system, using numbers and names of birds to grade the girls on their performance. How far they will go...
Things heat up when a group is formed to fight Dulcinea and the Darkroom. Lutz shows excellent timing and a plot that feeds the reader. I became invested in the plot, and had to find out what would happen, if these boys would be found and outed....
Witty, well-written and engaging.
Thanks to netgalley, Random House, and Lisa Lutz for sending this e-book ARC for review.