This is an excellent read,. Funny and provocative, the plot builds with each page. Told from the point of view of the participants, students and staff at an elite private academy, Lisa Lutz mixes humor and intrigue in each chapter. Sexual content prevents me from recommending on a wide scale, but for me specifically, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This is a twisted, darkly humorous, and somewhat disturbing addition to all of the #metoo books popping up. We find ourselves at a boarding school where the few faculty members that seem to exist don't do a whole lot of actual work. The students are allowed to take three hours of creative writing or P.E. as an individual study course where spear fishing in a pond is not seen as too weird of an activity. The boys (or at least the 5 popular ones) are somehow able to convince a large population of the girls to give them blow jobs on the regular and the girls don't seem to know how to get themselves out of this pickle. So then the story becomes, can the girls drop their issues with each other long enough to join together and put an end to the status quo?

At face value, the plot is over the top and unrealistic, but if you start substituting the characters and their actions for the real people that seem to almost pop up daily in the news and their crimes, then it doesn't sound all that far fetched. And the takeaway is the same- will women be able to put a stop to all of this nonsense? I guess only time will tell.

This was a creepy good book. The story centers on Stonebridge Academy, a private prep school in Vermont. The arrival of Alex Witt, the new English literature (and much too her chagrin, creative writing) teacher coincides with efforts by senior Gemma Russo and fellow students to expose the incredibly exploitative and abusive behavior of a select group of male students towards the female students. Ms. Witt soon discovers that something inappropriate is going on and that most of the faculty have some knowledge, except for the clueless headmaster, Gregory Stinson. She attempts to assist Gemma, but she is limited in what she can discover and she has her own unpleasant history, strange occurrences, and visits from her parents (her father is a semi-famous author and her mother is the secret behind her father's success, but they are divorced and their relationship is contentious) to contend with.

I don't want to discuss the plot too much, because the fun of the book is going along with the characters as they try to gain a full understanding of what the influential boys are doing (Gemma and some of the other female students, Ms. Witt), try to secretly assist the girls (Norman and Jonah), navigate the school dynamics (everyone), and exact revenge. The chapters alternate between the perspectives of Ms. Witt, Gemma Russo, Norman Crowley, and Finn Ford (another professor). The characters are creative and well-developed, all with flaws that impact the final tragic outcome. My favorite character is Linny; once you get to know her, it will not be hard to figure out why she is such an appealing character.

This book is well worth the read.

I received an uncorrected proof via NetGalley.

Thanks to Netgalley, for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was a "can't put it down." A group of girls in a boarding school, who have passively allowed themselves to be exploited by the group of boys who basically run things, finally get fed up. Since the catalyst for the action is their new teacher, our protagonist, we aren't restricted to a teenage point of view, but instead see what's going on from the perspective of several adults at the school well as the teenagers.

The book shifts perspective with each chapter, and I think this device gave a lot of depth to the plot - it allowed us to see things that just one character wouldn't necessarily be aware of, and allowed more exploration of how people felt about what was going on.

While I thought it was going to be predictable, there were definitely twists and turns that deepened the plot and changed the plot from what I had expected.

Terrific book - well worth reading.

This book.... wow. Incredibly topical and thought-provoking, a perfect companion to the #MeToo world we currently live in. I was deeply engaged in the story and found the ending to be utterly satisfying. My only criticism is the sheer number of characters to keep track of- at times it was overwhelming and confusing, but didn't detract from the ultimate story. Thank you for the advance copy!

I lived the storyline. I thought it was unique. The writing was well developed as well as the characters. Great job!

Even though the contest in the book really upset me, the book held my interest. Boarding school settings have become more popular the last few years. Having previously taught at a private boarding school where none of these issues were present added to the unrealistic tone of this read. Most of the many many characters were not likable and some seemed to serve no purpose at all. Gemma, Linny, and Ms. Witt proved to be the exception. To me, the book seemed somewhat disjointed and hard to follow at times with many bizarre events that didn’t seem to move the plot forward. My thanks to Lisa Lutz, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this ARC of this soon to be published book.

3.5 stars. This one took me too long to finish, and by the end, I was just wanting to get it over with. That's not to say that the story itself and writing weren't good, because they absolutely were. There were just so many characters - I had to write them down with little notes as to who was who, because I wasn't sure who was going to turn out to be important. And they all were. They all played a part.

So, this is the story of what goes on behind the walls of Stonebridge Academy, and private boarding school, with a long history. Over the years, the "boys" have created a secrfet website where they rate the girls and their sexual activities. Of course, the girls are oblivious to this (mostly). To make matters worse, the boys created a competition for the girl who gives the best oral audition. You simply submit your nomination, your review, and any others who partake also review. Nothing can wrong with THAT plan, right? Secrets, lies, manipulations, and just plain looking the other way abounds. Enter Ms. Witt, a teacher who left her other position for some unknown reasons, but gets a position at Stonebridge because of who her mother and father were. She helps uncover what is going on and helps the girls get their ultimate revenge...but at what cost?

The storyline was great, the writing was great, the characters were snarky perfection. It was just a bit confusing for me at time and took a bit long to get to the conclusion, and by the time I got there, I was just glad for it to be done.

This is a novel of revenge. This is a novel of vigilante justice. This is a novel that says if you can’t fight fair, that doesn’t mean you stop fighting. This is a novel about a group of young women who decided to take control of their own fate, and it’s brilliant and it’s beautiful.

I happen to love revenge novels. If you do not, this is not the book for you. This is also nothing like Lutz’s beloved Spellman Files series. Fair warning.

Lutz’s feminist revenge tour de force, The Swallows, concerns a group of young women at a C-list boarding school who are tired of being mercilessly degraded by their male peers and decide to take action.

It should go without saying that the subject of this novel is very of the moment, “Me Too” movement and all. That said, Lutz has taken a far more original and far braver approach to the topic that what we often see.

Her character-driven approach to the subject, whether you love or hate the people involved, will certainly make you think. Personally, I felt proud and energized by what I read, particularly with regard to the ending, but hoooooo boy, it’s gonna make some people mad.

I should also note with regard to triggers that this book has a near-constant focus on sexual harassment. It’s harassment rather than assault, which I think under the circumstances is an important distinction to make and may allow you to read the book if you have a trigger for rape or violent sexual assault, which is mostly not what we’re dealing with here. Still, if this type of subject matter is sensitive for you, proceed with caution.

Otherwise, I think this is something that EVERY woman should read. It’s empowering and energizing and though it toes the line of absurdity at the climax of the story, it’s the ultimate feminist revenge tale, and I loved it.

I felt a lot of things reading this, sad, outraged and angry, and then a little happy, then shocked. The girls at the school in this book face a troubling situation, and instead of keeping quiet and shoving down their rage, they decide to fight back against the boys who have objectified and used them in a game they didn't know they were playing. I like a revenge story. I liked Alex Witt - the new teacher at school who doesn't actually love teaching, and who claims not to like children, but acts to the contrary. I love when the main female character of a book shows up disheveled with their life generally in a mess, instead of always having perfect hair, being perfectly moral, and being slender and beautiful "but she doesn't know it" .
I found this book compelling. There are a lot of characters, and with chapters alternating POVs it was a little difficult to follow at times. Some voices were so similar I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to figure out who was speaking, but I still followed fairly easily. Overall solid read. Not as wonderfully awesome as The Spellman Files, but still highly readable.

I very much enjoyed this novel, set at Stoneridge, a boarding school that seems full of strange people and lots of secrets. The narration switched up by character kept this book a refreshing and exciting read. I much enjoyed headstrong Gemma Rosso, and awesome, wise Ms. Witt. I definitely would read more in this universe!

I absolutely adored the Spellman Files from Lisa Lutz, which is probably why I'm giving this three stars rather than two. While some of this book was reminiscent of the snark I loved with the Spellmans, it was also reminiscent of her last book, which I really did not care for at all. I wish she would stick to snarky humor, I just don't care for all this dark brooding writing. This despicable school with the despicable students (both boys and girls were culpable in the controversy) and the mostly despicable staff, had no redeeming qualities and I was quite glad it was finished. I nearly stopped reading several times. I really do like Lisa Lutz, but that is the best I can say here.

I really wanted to like this book but I found the entire reading experience unenjoyable. The idea for the plot at its core is really fascinating and relevant, but all of the characters are so deeply unlikable that it was hard to find anyone to root for, even though there should've been an obvious hero! I also found it difficult to really dig deep into the story because I didn't think the plot or characters were well fleshed out enough to create any sense of attachment. However, it was a quick read and I think I would still be willing to try more from this author.

Dang it. Honestly, it pains me to give this one anything less than a stellar review, as Lisa Lutz is one of my favorite authors, and I credit her Spellman Files series to getting me out of a multi-year reading slump. All that to say, please take this review with a grain of salt, and know full well that I could be the outlier here, due to the fact that I know she can write the heck out of a story.

Perhaps the fact that this one felt so off base from her previous works is what threw me off initially, so the predictable nature of this story left me underwhelmed and unsatisfied. There are a lot of characters in this story, and it was quite difficult keeping them all straight and determining just why some were even included. I love a good challenge in my reading, but I need for it to have purpose and meaning, not to just be used as a plot device to bloat the page count.

Upon finishing this book, I'm hard pressed to tell you what genre this book technically falls. Overall, I got a heavy YA vibe from the voices of the characters, setting, and plot, yet I'm unsure that this would actually appeal to the YA audience, which could be why I'm waffling around this detail. I guess there is a mystery at hand, but I can guarantee at least half of the reading population will figure it out early and be sorely disappointed at the payoff after such buildup.

Overall, I'm sure you can tell I didn't connect well with this one, but I still hold the author in the highest regard and will continue to search for future work from her. I highly recommend you give this one a try for yourself, as this could be the book for you if the synopsis sounds appealing!

Alexander, the newest teacher at Stonebridge, keeps hearing comments about the Darkroom. When she realizes that the guys have an underground blow job contest, she is disgusted. Some of the girls band together, determined to put the boys back in their place and end the contest forever.

This book featured strong and powerful female characters determined to fight back. I like a strong female character, however most of the characters came across as stereotypical and one dimensional. The plot was pretty predictable. Overall, not a book I would re-read or recommend.

This functions as a feminist manifesto befitting the “me too” movement much better than the Whisper Network did. While I found some aspects of this story unrealistic, it truly captures the viciousness of teenagers and the cruelty of high school.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Private school. Kids behaving badly and getting away with it. Some girls tired of the game and ready to make things change. You know something bad is going to happen at the end since it is mentioned again and again. Told from several points of view, but with headings as to who is speaking, it was easy to keep track of who was telling which part.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of The Swallows from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Wow! This was easily one of the most captivating books I have read in a while! (I actually feel like I may have even missed some clues and should read it again ASAP.) This one caught me off guard so many times I lost track of my derailments. Very unpredictable--in the most wonderful way. I loved the anger of the teenage girls, Alex Witt's desire to help them with their "Dulcinea Award" plight, all of the fleshed-out and truly believable characters, as well as the several varied points of view. What a fabulous book! I will gladly read from. this author again!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Lisa Lutz for the ARC.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

This was definitely a suspenseful book told in a private school setting. It was quickly paced... easy to follow.. and a great book.

I have been a long time fan of Lisa Lutz- the Spellman Files is one of my favorite series ever written. She writes characters you want to be friends with. She has to be a comedic genius in real life, because I literally laugh out loud while reading her books. And this book, although not a comedic subject, still had amusing moments while detailing a very real and relevant plot line.

I fell in love with the book right when she described the private school. They had rooms and halls dedicated to famous books and authors. And then a secret path to an abandoned cabin in the forest? It was like Lisa knew the exact way to my heart.

At first the book was a little hard to follow because there are a lot of characters, but it gets much easier after a few chapters. I'm not going to go over the plot line, you can read that in the description. What I am going to say is- buy this book. It is amazing. And if you haven't read any of Lisa's other books, start with The Spellman Files and read every other book she has ever written You won't be disappointed.

#netgally #theswallows #lisalutz