“The Swallows,” a novel by Lisa Lutz, is an attempt at social discourse about sexual hijinks that has left me a little flabbergasted and disappointed. Her Spellman series was well received and she has won some prestigious awards for her writing but Swallows doesn’t hit the approval button for me.

A teacher at a New England prep school, Alex Witt, creates a writing project for her students the brings some unusual responses. The social hierarchy is exposed in all its ugliness and the Darkroom, a website generated by boyish fascination with oral sex that gets too informative about the girls at Stonebridge Academy, generates disruption, resistance, and revenge. I’ll leave the story at that and get to my opinions.

There are too many characters with too many interruptions to produce an orderly telling of the tale. I was constantly looking back to see who was being featured in the narrative at that particular moment, trying to decide what their role was, and scratching my head about why it was being described at all. The details of the Darkroom should have been upsetting to the administration, but, instead, appeared to be an occurrence that got a “kids will be kids” response, and even promoted some joining in by some of the responsible adults. Not likely to happen and even falls into the category of unbelievable.

So, if you enjoy scandal and sexual encounters and revenge plotting you might find some redeeming value here. I, personally, did not.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story line was a struggle to get into and not one I enjoyed at all. While I understand the need for revenge against people the whole nasty school boys and their grading of girls in sexual ways, was bothersome. Not to say it couldn't happen it just wasn't something fount myself wanting to read about in any great detail.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43744294-the-swallows" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Swallows" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1553520339m/43744294.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43744294-the-swallows">The Swallows</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/74189.Lisa_Lutz">Lisa Lutz</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2865697395">2 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review. I really liked the first half of this book where the main character, who is a creative writing teacher, is trying to figure out her students through a series of a few simple questions. She has a past with a rival school while employed there, her father is a writer whom she has a complicated relationship, so there are back stories. The second half of the book it became apparent this book is more about oral sex (hence the title). At that point it became very unimaginative for me and I DNF. I thought the questionnaires and her trying to figure everyone out was much, much more interesting and wish the author had spent more time there.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5483119-sherry">View all my reviews</a>

I've mixed feelings about this book. I found it a quick read, and certainly a topical one, in that gender issues involving consensual sexual activity have been in the news lately. It's definitely a topic that bears discussion. It's just that this book does that in a coarse manner via language and subject matter. The Swallows also reads strongly like a coming-of-age YA book whereas I believe the intended audience is adult.
The book is written using alternating points-of-view which slows things down a bit as the reader learns of the same event through different character's eyes. I enjoyed the main protagonist, Alex, and found her interactions with her divorced parents humorous.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review.

I am a fan of Lisa Lutz so I was happy that her usual humor gave some light to what is a dark theme. The main story point, boys at a prep school online shaming girls for their sexual skills, made me uncomfortable, although it certainly is something I believe could take place. The fact that these were high school kids made it creepier. Using the different points of view to move the story along was a good strategy because I wanted to see how their stories played out. I was less invested in the revenge plot, which was secondary and not satisfactorily resolved. The last third of the book seemed rushed and a little uneven, particularly in a flurry of unfortunate actions that weren't fully developed. In the end, I stayed for the storytelling, not for the story, but enjoyed the read.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with an ARC of this novel through NetGalley.

I requested this novel as a fan of Lisa Lutz. The writing style jumped out to me as familiar, but the story is a bit outside my usual fare. As a high school teacher myself, I was deeply disturbed by the story. I recognize that the story has relevance today and is even, I believe, based on several true stories. It's a sadly believable story.

Boys rate girls on their sexual prowess. Girls are unaware. Girls find out. Girls seek revenge.

This story pulls no punches in its depiction of a secret oral sex competition held by the boys on a boarding school campus. It is dark, gritty, and infuriating. And, as previously noted, it's highly disturbing. This is what drags the novel down for me. There were no characters I liked by the time I was done. I was left with unanswered questions about consequences.

At the end of the day, it just wasn't my cup of tea. But there are many lessons to be learned from this story, especially in today's world. I thank Lisa Lutz for having the courage to write it, even if I found it hard to stomach.

This was one of the most realistic books I have read in a very long time. It tells a story that, bizarre as it seems, could so easily have been drug from the nightly news. Lisa Lutz' characters are so real, I recognize them in people I meet in my daily life. Scary, enthralling and true-feeling, with a lesson to be learned- well worth the time to sit down and read it.

Outstanding read. A story of an East Coast boarding school with the curtains pulled back. Any woman who attended high school al pst anywhere in America will recognize all the characters. The actual socioeconomic environment is not particularly relevant - every school has the elite and privileged, the underclass, and the climbers. Most every school has both girls and boys, and the teenage jungle never changes. What is different about the girls in this fascinating study is that they actually are empowered. Instead of the whining women so exploited by the “Me Too”.movement, these girls fight back. They do have assistance from a very atypical woman in Alex Witt ( would so be friends with her) and marginally, her mother. To be fair, there are a small number of male characters who recognize the boys for who they are and align themselves with the girls. As always, there are the traitorous women and the spineless males. Whatever you may feel about the eventual outcome of the girls’ actions against the boys, you must respect their courage and determination and self-respect. This in not a YA novel by any stretch of the imagination, but if I had a teenage daughter (or son), I would want them to read this novel.

Is this YA? Maybe it's just that I can't relate to boarding school kids. Found it funnier than I think it was meant to be, but I did enjoy the characters and the plot twists towards the end.

An unpleasant incident, which results in her reputation as a faculty member damaged, leads to Alexandra Witt accepting a teaching position at Stonebridge Academy. Persuaded into teaching creative writing, a subject she was not prepared to teach, Alex gives what she believes to be a harmless and anonymous "ice breaker" assignment. The responses lead to a disturbing insight into her students and their connection to something known as the Darkroom. Alex begins to uncover a mysterious and disturbing ranking system which faculty members seem to ignore. Attempting to help she finds herself pulled into a gender war in which the revenge plots become increasingly dangerous and potentially fatal.

The Swallows offers mystery, suspense, and dark humor as it explores a group of high school students (and faculty members) who are involved in a secret online forum, which among other things, scores girls on their ability to perform oral sex. The winner receives the highest award of Dulcinea at the end of the year. As you can imagine after discovering what this novel was about; the title takes on a whole new meaning. Alex, still traumatized from a mysterious event at her last school, attempts to help Gemma, one of her students, who is trying to shut the forum down for good resulting in an all-out war between genders. The novel slowly exposes the true nature of each character; revealing secrets and disclosing true friend from foe in the end. This novel covers some important and uncomfortable topics, often with dark humor, that may not appeal to all readers. Overall I found it interesting, entertaining, and even amusing at times and recommend it for readers not sensitive to topics of a sexual nature.

I was so excited about getting approved by the author since I read every Spellman book she wrote. I am not too keen about reading books that could be based on political theme but this book was an exception. The author is funny and witty and tells the story from different points of view so you get the whole picture. What is passable for one generation is passable for another. The ending of the book to me everyone got what they deserved. I would definitely recommend this book for others to read.

Once again a setting in a private school so I knew I would love it! Ms. Witt joins the faculty in this secluded area hoping to find solace from her past but is quickly thrown into a perverse and twisted 'game" the boys play by setting up the girls and then rating them on a hidden website. Senior Gemma is determined to put an end to this practice but of course needs help to bring the boys down. It was an enjoyable yet sinister read that felt all too real. Told from multiple perspectives, it was sometimes hard to follow and remember which students I "liked," but overall, I really loved the twists and turns.

The Swallows is a complex book full of memorable characters and dynamic plot threads that all come together in a heart-stopping ending.
I’ll admit that I wasn’t sold at the beginning. For starters, there were a lot of characters to remember. The story takes place at a New England boarding school, and there are plenty of students’ and teachers’ names to remember. Also, the beginning - although interesting - moved a little slowly. However, by the fourth chapter, I was hooked.
Once the story gained momentum, I became intrigued by each of the main characters. There were some who started out seemingly good and then, by the end of the book, turned out to be bad. There were others who seemed shady but turned out to be good. I loved the complexity of the cast.
I also liked how the school’s secrets were gradually exposed. When I was reading, I had a strong feeling that something was very wrong at the school, but only as I read on did I find out how dysfunctional the students and faculty were. Each chapter did a great job of laying the groundwork for the ending.
The last few chapters were some of the best I’ve read. Certainly, they were among the top of what I’ve read this year. Beware, however. The end of the book doesn’t tie up everything with a nice bow. There are lingering questions and a few loose ends. I didn’t mind this at all, but not every reader likes uncertainty.
Overall, The Swallows was an excellent thriller that will leave you thinking about long after you’ve finished reading.

Four out of five stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.

A perfectly timely book full of the rage of teenage girls. At a secluded private school, a culture of slut-shaming and patriarchal violence has arisen, and the female students are ready to fight back. Some plot details seem a little muddled and confusing, but I really loved these girls and was rooting for them. The last 15% was a bit of a mess, which lessened the emotional impact of the ending and cut it down from 5 stars for me. Love Lutz as a writer.

Review#40 THE SWALLOWS by Lisa Lutz and reviewing for Netgalley. Its an all out gender war in a private school that both students and teachers get caught up in. Well written but I had some problems with the characters. There are three female characters...Linny, Alex, and Claude that for the better part of the book I had trouble knowing if they were male or female. Also, depending on what character is narrating, two of these characters were also called by their last names....very confusing! A bit of a slow start and not the thriller I was hoping for...more like adult fiction. ⭐⭐⭐Three stars.

I really enjoyed this smart, well written novel. It will delight fans of The Secret History, with its inside prep school vibe and its excellent characterizations. It is timely, engaging, excellent fiction. I loved all of it.

I cannot say enough good things about The Swallows!

The Swallows is an intriguing look at sexual politics, assault, and even murder at an exclusive boarding school. Teen sex and double standards for male and female behavior are at the crux of the story, and it makes for a book that is entertaining as well as disturbing.

Lutz does an amazing job bringing these characters to life, and making you care about what they are going through.

Two thumbs up!

This book started out fairly innocuously. I was drawn in by the story of Alex, an incoming teacher at prep boarding school Stonebridge. However, the story quickly turned into a dark tale of women fighting back against a patriarchy that had been reigning over their school for a long time. The story was bolstering, exciting and worrying because it doesn't seem at all far-fetched that something like this would have been in any one of the schools that I have attended. I would highly recommend this wonderful read to anyone looking for some fuel for their feminist fire.

“In a perfect world, they wouldn’t need to fight. That’s not the world I live in.”

*** Trigger warning for misogyny, homophobia, sexual assault, and suicide. ***

“When I look at what the editors have written about us, I have to wonder how they see us. Do you know what I mean?”

“I’m not sure,” I said.

“Like, are we even human?”

***

“I would cut off the p*nis of any man who talk about me like this,” said my mother, as she gazed down at a score sheet. “You know what I would like to see? A bad-bl*wjob contest. That would teach them.”

Gemma and Mel, who had seemed so lost, suddenly looked up at Mom like she was their new queen.

***

I remember the first time I saw them. They were walking down the hall together. Bald, proud, angry. The boys didn’t laugh when they saw them. They’d never been quieter. You could feel their fear. The girls didn’t look like girls anymore. They looked like warriors.

***

Come to think of it, Witt herself was like an inkblot test. Everyone saw something different.

***

Forced to leave her previous job at “plummy” Warren Prep after a male student-turned-stalker secretly videotaped her engaged in a totally adult, totally consensual sex act, Alex Witt finds herself teaching English lit (well, creative writing) at second-tier Stonebridge Academy (though she draws the line at fencing). Given all the slut shaming and unearned scrutiny that she’s already weathered, it’s no surprise that Alex keeps to herself, playing house in an abandoned cottage in the forest and only doing the bare minimum, course-wise. However, all this changes when an anonymous, introductory writing assignment – something of a tradition in her classes – elicits some strange responses.

Repeated references to the Darkroom (and a shared distaste for BJs) compel Witt to dig deeper – as do the cryptic notes left in her cabin; the rumors half-whispered by fellow faculty and staff; and a seemingly nonconsenual sex act Witt witnesses in the bathhouse. As Witt and the teenage girls/warriors she inspires turn over the rock that is Stonebridge Academy, exposing the rape culture that lurks underneath, the so-called “gender war” escalates, ultimately leaving two dead in its wake.

So here’s the deal. Is the plot of THE SWALLOWS a little outlandish? Maybe. Not in substance, but perhaps scope. The Ten, the Darkroom, the Dulcinea award? Totally believable. The victim blaming, rape apologism, and institutional cover-up of sexual assault? Abso-forking-tootly. Granted, the lack of adult supervision is a bit shocking at times, and the extent to which the conflict escalates here can generously be described as unusual. But is it unheard of? Spare a thought (and perhaps a triumphant fist pump) for the Greek woman who doused a British man’s genitals in liquor and then set them on fire after he sexually assaulted her in a bar. Suddenly jalapeño bl*wjobs and Molotov cocktails don’t seem so ridiculous.

If anything, the heights (or depths, depending on your POV) the swallows go to enact their revenge is a cautionary tale: this is what happens when adults, when those in charge, when our authorities and institutions and culture fail to take misogyny, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape seriously. When the marginalized are forced to find their own justice, outside of the bounds of the law and cultural norms. When those who are taught to silence their voices, to tamp down their righteous anger, finally explode like so many powder kegs. Things get really forking ugly. In this way, THE SWALLOWS is wildly successful.

It feels really reductive to call this a tale about “gender wars,” though. This is a fight against rape culture, full stop. Some of the girls lean in to the misogyny, while some of the guys work to subvert it. You do what you’ve got to: to survive, or to sleep at night.

Also, THE SWALLOWS is a damn engaging story. Lutz’s writing is feminist and empowering but also makes for a great, twisty, edge-of-your-seat thriller. The characters – even the sleazy ones; see, e.g., Finn Ford and Leonard Witt – are interesting and multidimensional. Alex is pretty rad but her mother Nastya is in a whole ‘nother stratosphere of badassery. The scenes where Witt creates – and then Nastya revises – the “blowchart” are exquisite.

I’m even a little tempted to get my own axe tattoo.

Of all the characters in THE SWALLOWS, Nastya is most deserving of her own spinoff story.

I also loved the multiple POVs: Lutz tells the story from the alternating perspectives of Alex Witt (the instigator), Gemma Russo (the resistance fighter), Norman Crowley (the defector), and Mr. Ford (the editors, all grown up), sometimes revisiting a specific event from different perspectives. This technique adds depth and nuance to the narrative…but mostly it’s just cool AF, such as when the girls shave their heads. The differently-gendered reactions to the unveiling straight up gave me goosebumps.

Even though THE SWALLOWS requires some suspension of disbelief, the need is not terribly great, and that’s what should scare you most. As a reader, as a woman, as a human being.

The switch in POV was a little confusing at first, but once I learned the characters, it was better. I did worry that I would have to re-read the exact same event just in a different perspective, but the author was great about keeping the overlapping events short and offering a character's fresh take. I enjoyed the story and felt the pacing of the book was well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.