90/100 or 4.50 stars

This was an amazing story. The author does a great job at using magic to help teach valuable lessons and cover difficult topics. I liked the world Chewins created. I would be interested to see what else Chewins can do to teach and guide young readers with other charcters and their unique magic that reveals itself to them at the age of fifteen.
This will be a healing and impactful story for so many young readers and I can't wait for them to experience it.
Of course, check the content warnings at the beginning of the story, as this does contain dark things.

Very poignant, evocative imagery, lyrically written.

(See 17:14–22:36)

https://youtu.be/UQz5U-5UpUk

The strand women are magical. Nell Strand thinks that magic is a curse. Her mother’s age changes everyday, and her sister hears music when she bleeds. Freshly fifteen. Nell’s magic manifests in the form of insects. First happy, little ladybugs that dance across her piano but soon shameful beetles and angry wasps begin to appear.

This magical, YA story about girlhood and self discovery will bring tears to your eyes.

It took until about fifty percent of the book to understand the prose but once I understood the rhythms and writing patterns this was such a beautiful story. I even went back to reread the first half of the book because I really wanted to dive head first into this story. It’s deeply heartbreaking and encompasses the feelings of girlhood and self discovery perfectly.

I mention the prose in this book a lot but I truly believe it enhances the reading experience. There are definitely some sensitive topics in this story and I think the writing does a wonderful job of allowing the reader to understand and feel empathy for what Nell is going through without pushing any boundaries. The lyrical way Chewins writes also blends beautifully with the magical elements. It made even the wasps and beetles seem enchanting. It also blended beautifully with the intense emotions and experiences our main character Nell experiences making this story so worth the read.

Overall, this was unlike anything I’ve read before but it was so well done and you can tell the author put so much thought and love into it. Would definitely recommend it for anyone to read.


Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

*I Am the Swarm* by Hayley Chewins is a powerful and emotional YA novel written in verse. It's a tough read, not just because of its lyrical style, but also because of the heavy themes it tackles. It’s a story that sticks with you, though, even after you’ve finished reading.

The main character, Nell, is going through a lot. She deals with neglect at home and feels overshadowed by her older sister. The book explores Nell's inner struggles, showing how she’s trying to navigate her difficult situation while facing some harsh realities. The writing is vivid and poetic, which adds to the emotional impact of the story.

This book is a slow burn and not for everyone, as it deals with sensitive subjects. It’s intense and thought-provoking, but also beautifully written in a way that pulls you in. If you’re looking for something deep and reflective, this book will leave a lasting impression. Just be aware of the themes and check for any trigger warnings before diving in.

Wonderful. Fabulous, remarkable work. I loved this. Read it three days. Highly recommend 10/10 I can’t wait to own it

The premise of I Am the Swarm sounded exactly up my alley, but after trying to start it multiple times I have to admit and accept that it’s not a book for me. I still think it is a really interesting premise, and I may give it another try when final copy releases, but for now this book didn’t work for me.

It requires a lot of thought to get through really reading it and wrapping your mind around about what is being read. Once you have gathered the concept of the writing, it becomes a beautiful and sad story. It did take me a while to read this because I was trying to get a hang of the writing style. It does remind me of like a poem style and the author is almost lyrical when it comes to the wording. It is a fantasy suicidal read , I think with reading the synopsis, it threw me off what I was going to be getting into because it was nothing like reading what it was about.

My thoughts reading were that it is lyrically written to follow the sad story of a girl going through suicidal thoughts and family issues. It hurt to read because of the way some things were put but, it was beautiful.

Hauntingly lyrical and deeply imaginative, I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins is a mesmerizing exploration of identity, power, and transformation. Chewins crafts a world brimming with dark beauty and poetic prose, making this a must-read for fans of atmospheric and thought-provoking fantasy.

lyrical and enchanting YA novel in verse about BUGSSSSS!! 4.5 stars, rounded up. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

Such a hard hitting YA novel in verse. Definitely look up trigger warnings.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-Arc!

I Am The Swarm is a book that captivated me with it's premise. In Nell's family all the women acquire some kind of magic when they turn 15. In her case, her emotions manifest through insects. Ladybugs when she's happy. Wasps when she's angry. A swarm lives inside her.

Nell doesn't know what to do with her magic. Her sister Mora bleeds music, her mother is a different age every day, and many times this magic seems more like a curse than a blessing. Add to that the trials and tribulations of adolescence and the female experience. The protagonist is in a process of catharsis, and we follow her through this radical change in her life through a book told in verse.

I feel like the story has so many allegorical elements in its plot. The author, despite making it very clear that this book has elements of magical realism, does an excellent job of keeping the line blurred, so that you as a reader can determine the meaning of certain elements. The deeper meaning if you will. It is a beautiful book in terms of narrative: Haykey Chewins' pen blends perfectly with the natural elements of the story. Almost like a fable.

Although it seems to me that some things were left undeveloped completely, this is thanks to the format of the book. When you narrate in verse you obviously sacrifice certain descriptions and certain points that (due to the number of words) are not explored as deeply as I would have liked, but I was satisfied overall with this story.

This is a story of womanhood, family dynamics (both good and bad) and the experience of growing up, becoming your own person, when everything else in your life seems wrong.

Great book, great cover and very different from anything I have read. I would love for the author to continue exploring this type of stories.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins is a first person-POV YA contemporary fantasy novel in verse. When Nell receives her magic, it takes the form of insects conveying her emotions outside of her body, available for all to see though few seem to realize it’s coming from her. Nell meets her first love at the same time she starts to embrace her new abilities and is struggling with abuse from her piano teacher.

In many ways, I Am the Swarm is quite heavy. Nell is being SA’d by her instructor and keeps it to herself instead of saying something. We don’t get anything explicit, but it is very obvious what is going on because he’s constantly touching her in ways that are not appropriate. Nell is also dealing with parental neglect, has a mother who is often too immature to really feel reliable, and feels constantly compared to her older sister, Mora. It’s a situation that I think, unfortunately, a lot of people can relate to and some teens might really need to see someone going through their struggles to help them process their lived reality and hopefully have the ability to change it.

I love a magic system that is different from anything that I’ve seen before and the combination of Nell’s feelings being on display and the different insects representing different feelings was certainly different. The novel being written in verse helps convey this and add to the dream-like borderline nightmare at times, atmosphere. I don’t think the magic system would have worked as well in a typical YA fantasy as it really needs that extra something to feel real. I was really surprised by how much I felt the style really enhanced the magic as I’m not normally into poetry.

Another aspect of the magic system is that people with magic constantly shift ages when they reach a specific age. It’s never fully explained how or why this happens in my memory, but it certainly helps to convey that there are times Nell simply cannot talk to her mother. On some days, Nell’s mother is in her early thirties, other days she’s barely older than Nell, and even more she’s in her twenties. This goes beyond physical looks but also emotional intelligence and it’s not something only magic users can see as others around Nell know that her mother is constantly different ages but the narrative doesn’t focus on the logistics of that so much besides the occasional comment.

Content warning for depictions of abuse

I would recommend this to haves of YA fantasy looking for a novel in verse and readers who love magical realism and speculative fiction looking for a YA

This was a fantastic magical world and was engaged with what was happening in this concept. The characters worked in this young adult novel, and had that element that I was looking for. I enjoyed how good Hayley Chewins wrote this and that the characters felt like real people.

This heartfelt and evocative YA fantasy is a poetic journey of self-discovery, beautifully enhanced with magical realism while addressing mental health, physical abuse, and parental neglect.

The lyrical writing, emotional depth, and heartbreaking story of Nell—a young girl trapped in a home where her sister Mori struggles with suicidal tendencies, her mother battles depression while neglecting her responsibilities, and her father immerses himself in work to avoid confronting their issues—create a poignant narrative. With Mori now in a clinic undergoing much-needed treatment, and their strained relationship adding to the tension, Nell is forced to confront her long-buried feelings as she grapples with being invisible to those around her. She longs to be seen and heard, to express her love, fear, resentment, and especially the anger she has kept hidden for years. The wasps she releases symbolize her inner screams, reflecting the pain she has suppressed.

The struggles of the Strand women and their years-long battles with mental health are masterfully portrayed through symbolism and magical powers. Yet, the story also offers hope, showing how one can navigate personal struggles and embrace their own flaws, strengths, and vulnerabilities. In the end, the scars we bear and the pain we endure make us stronger, setting us apart, as long as we find our voice and "speak" our truth.

I loved this emotional and powerful journey—it moved me to tears and touched the deepest parts of my soul with its raw beauty. It's a pure and unique story that readers must experience for themselves.

Many thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for providing this intense YA fantasy fiction's digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I will be reading this one in its entirety when it actually comes out. I read about a quarter of it from the eARC provided by Netgalley. What I read was both captivating and absolutely stunning but I will not be finishing until I can see it in the format the author intended. Unfortunately, when the novel is in verse I feel like e-formats really detract from the book. Like I said though, I will 1000% be reading this one on release day, I am heading to preorder now.