If women seem especially enraged these days, it's for good reason. In this story, a teacher at a boarding school learns she's in a place where the boys expect sexual favors and keep a running tally of well the girls perform in a secret digital "darkroom." As the teacher activates the girls' sense of justice, the wheels begin to fall off. Somehow the mix of satire and seriousness didn't quite work for me, perhaps because the serious theme was playing out in an implausibly awful boarding school setting. I could believe the rage of the girls, but I couldn't be convinced by the setting.

I liked this book, just didn't love it.

There is a pretty large cast of characters (though we only spend time in the minds of four of them) and I had a hard time keeping track of who was who (the "nice" guys stand out, but all of the "bad" ones just merge into one brotastic blob.) I also found some of the descriptions of the school (which seems to have no real conduct rules, hundreds of students and like 4 teachers) to be a little unrealistic.

However, there is one part of the book that is exceptional and that is THE BLOWCHART, a "should you blow him?" flowchart one of the teachers makes for the students which I've already shared online and discussed with others. I've never seen anything like it, and it's a standout part of this book that deserves to go viral in and of itself. If I could, I would make a copy of it and stick it in every high school bathroom in American.

Problem is, when I mention that the aforementioned blowchart is from a book called "The Swallows" nearly everyone gets turned off. I do NOT love the title of this book at all. I GET why it was chosen, but it makes all of the late-in-the-book discussions about "what is the last class of birds they call these young women who have engaged in a blowjob contest?" seem superfluous and silly.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed every single word of The Swallows, Lisa Lutz's latest novel, and give it 5 big stars. The story concerns a teacher at a small private prep school in New England. Alex Witt takes a job she obviously doesn't want but definitely needs, teaching Creative Writing. She is the daughter of a well-known author who has obviously pulled some strings to get her the position. After finally coming to terms with the head of the school, Alex takes up residence in an uninhabitable, but very private cottage on the school grounds where she promptly finishes off half a bottle of bourbon. I loved this character immediately!!

The school is a hotbed of teenage hormones, bullying, and cliques. At the top of the echelon are the Ten, a mix of girls and boys who pretty much run the school. One of the Ten is a girl named Gemma, a rebel who in time decides to put an end to a secret contest among the boys in the Ten known by the code word Dulcinea. The novel is told mostly from the perspectives of Alex and Gemma, but some chapters are from the POV of a skeevy male teacher (an unnecessary POV in my opinion) and two male members of the Ten who support Gemma in her quest to tilt at traditional windmills.

There are many literary references in The Swallows, including one passage where Nietzsche is misquoted by one of the boys. However, in that vein, I'd say this novel is best summarized by Herr Nietzsche's quote, "In revenge and in love, woman is more barbarous than man."

I thought Lutz's writing was crisp and the dialogue and situation timely and on point. Her character development was spectacular, and I loved both Alex and Gemma.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me a digital ARC in return for an honest review. I highly recommend The Swallows.

Sign me up for any book set at an elite boarding school in New England, with secret societies, myths, legends, and all the incestual themes that normally take place in these settings.

What sets this book slightly apart from its boarding school mystery peers is the strong theme of gender, very relevant in today's #MeToo world. In this case, it's a blow job challenge among the seniors of the school, all of which are monitored by "The Ten" (nothing to do with academics, everything to do with popularity). We have stereotypical characters of the rich, popular, slutty, rebellious, secretly nerdy, etc. The girls hear of this blow job contest, and slowly start to build a rebellion, gathering evidence, and decoding nicknames. I think the majority of women will identify with the overarching theme of pleasing men, not really having a choice at the time, and not fighting back. Not doing something doesn't make you lame or a tease. And that's where new teacher Ms Witt comes in. She's old enough to be taken aback by the idea of a blow job contest, with willing participants on both sides, and yet young enough to realize that another generation of women is coming of age thinking they have no power when they do. A very satisfying ending is achieved.

One tiny scene and piece of dialogue that stuck with me was a girl reading the "notes" that a guy gave her blowjob, and her response is a small, "do they. . do they even think we're human?"

This author seems to run hot and cold for me. Have loved some books, others not so much. This one was just ok for me. It's the story of female revenge against a really nasty group of "popular boys" in a boarding school who keep secret ratings about how well the girls perform blow jobs. (I know, really??)

The book could have been more tightly written without some of the extraneous details. For example, there's a back story about a main character's parents that didn't seem to add anything of importance to the plot. Same with a male teacher who was creepy, but not particularly interesting. I thought there were other superfluous characters and scenes that bogged down the story.

That being said, the final few chapters were exciting. It was a mixed bag of relief and sadness. The "boys will be boys" brotherhood finally got what was coming to them, but unexpected events caused the revenge to go far beyond what was intended.

Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this pre-published ARC.

Enjoyed every minute of this book. Ladies .... get ready to dive into this one and get to the bottom of the awful things happening at this coed boarding school. All of the characters have deep, creative personalities and you will love them all!

The clubbishness and secrets of a private boarding school serve as the premise for Lutz’ novel, which is told from multiple points of view. There’s a large amount of drinking to excess, a fair amount of pot-smoking, a great deal of sex and an enormous helping of looking the other way and keeping on’s mouth shut, which is the entire problem. Lutz has a keen sense of humor and a sharply critical view of misogyny.

This was a very relevant topical read. The commentary about power dynamics really made me think. I liked the style in which information was revealed, it really felt natural. A little too unrealistic at times with the complete lack of adult supervision/how scared adults were of the students. Great ending. I need my friend to read this too because I think this is a great book club discussion book!

Not sure what to make of this one. When I read the blurb it sounded like my cup of tea - a teacher trying to help break the social hierarchy which consists of boys v. girls - how could I not want to read it? And then I read it. While I liked bits of it, I found it to be too repetitive and cliched. Definitely not my cup of tea after all.

When Alex Witt accepted a teaching position at a preparatory boarding school, she never imagined she’d find herself in the middle of a gender war. But when a group of girls decide to sabotage a long tradition of male sexual predators, she seems to take on the role of unofficial advisor. But in doing so, she puts herself at risk for secrets from her own past coming to light. Readers expecting a comedic mystery similar to Lutz’s popular Spellman Files may be surprised at the dark themes explored in this novel. More than a thriller, the author explores power—between genders as well as between adults and children—and what happens when that power shifts, as well as the shattering consequences when deeply buried rage and shame break free. The book is not without humor—the girls are rather ingenious in their attempts at revenge, such as a well-timed consumption of a chili pepper—but that black humor often highlights a disturbing passivity by those who could, and should, be able to do something about the horrifying tradition of sexual abuse and bullying that is so pervasive in this insular community. This timely thriller would make an excellent selection for a book discussion group.

This was really good. I could have read it in a day if I had had the time. It reminds me of Luckiest Girl Alive. Not really a thriller and not really YA, though there are elements there for sure.

I loved this book. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be. But it was better. I liked Alex Witt and Gemma and Mel and Kate. I liked seeing the girls take control. And I liked Jonah and Norman and Keith. I liked that there were some boys who were willing to help destroy the Darkroom.

There is a nasty tradition of sexual abuse at many private schools and this was a really great way of letting the students respond. I went to private school. My school had a small scandal but it was between students. All of these schools cover up and downplay the allegations. This book presented a really great example of girl power and what can happen when girls band together, minus the fiery ending.

Alexandra Witt doesn’t take a position as an English teacher at the not-that-illustrious- boarding school Stonebridge with the aim to turn the institution on its head, but that’s exactly what she does. After witnessing some distressing interactions between the boys and the girls at school, Witt encourages the women to stand up for themselves. The boys, of course, aren’t having that, and before they all know it,an all-out gender war is taking place at Stonebridge and all involved are hurtling toward an unhappy ending.

This was so much fun! First, the gender politics were spot on. This is definitely a book for the “Me Too” era. I went to a public school, but I can totally see a scaled down version of this sort of thing happening there, or, unfortunately, anywhere. Lutz handles some very sensitive topics pretty deftly, and creates engaging and authentic characters. Foreshadowing early in the book makes it pretty clear that things will end badly, and I found myself racing through the book to find out what happened. The end was pretty weak: the story, while not exactly grounded, felt believable until suddenly it felt like an episode of Riverdale or Gossip Girl or…pick any teen show on the CW, I guess.

The best part of this book, by far, is the Blowchart. It is what it sounds like, and it is fabulous. If I had my way, it’d be on the wall of every high and middle school.

TLDR: If you are looking for a suspenseful read with some feminist flavorings, you won’t go wrong here. Older teens will find a lot to like here as well.

4 stars – I really enjoyed it.

Both a send-up of an homage to the private school novel, The Swallows details what happens when the girls at a school find out about the crass and cruel contest the boys run in ranking the girls' prowess at oral sex. Told from multiple viewpoints, The Swallows is a testament to girl power, a self-mocking parody, a story of trauma and abuse, and a novel of self-discovery. Recommended for anyone who has previously enjoyed this genre, including books like The Secret History or Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

After discovering a shocking tradition/prank/assault that has been plagueing a not-so-elite boarding school in Vermont, Alex DeWitt, the new creative writing instructor, escaping from her own scandal, unknowingly sparks a revolt and a gender war. This is not your ordinary teen boarding school escapade, I enjoyed all the adult characters as well.

(I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review).

I may not be the right reader for this type of book. I found the book too slow and had to wait until after 80% of the book for action to finally happen. Talk about a slow build up! I didn't relate to any of the characters and found that some pieces of the story were useless (for instance any part with the main character's parents). Finally something happened and boy, did it go way too far. I just slugged through this book too much to enjoy it.

Interesting tale from multiple perspectives. The author still manages to flesh out most of the characters quite believably, which is unusual for this style. Alex, Gemma, and even Linny will stick with me for a while. I liked the development of the plot with it's secret glances and creeping revelations. I received a copy from NetGalley and I recommend enthusiastically.

Lisa Lutz's new novel, The Swallows, takes place at a New England boarding school and addresses the #MeToo issue in a provocative and interesting way, describing what turns out be an all-out gender war between the students. The humor that makes her Spellman series so enjoyable is on full display, but with a darker edge. The blowchart alone is worth the price of the book!

While the story is told primarily from the standpoint of Alexandra Witt, a new teacher at the school, Lutz also shares the perspective of other characters, which really rounds out the story. There's a lot of foreshadowing, which ratchets up the suspense and makes this a page-turner--you know something bad is going to happen, but you don't know what. Lutz did a wonderful job of describing the female characters; the male characters were (for the most part) less developed. Overall, the book did a great job of combining a riveting plot with a topical discussion of an important issue.

I love this genre and had high expectations. This novel wound up being light fare.despite its heavy subject matter. It's a page-turner and would make a good beach read.

Ugh. After thoroughly enjoying The Passenger, I was thrilled to receive access to this newest novel.
I’m not sure why I kept reading. The subject made me sick and the descriptions of a private boarding school did not ring true. I honestly wish I hadn’t read it.