Lex Keating

An ARC copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher as part of the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

I really wasn't sure what to expect before reading this book. It sounded like a sort of general young adult contemporary about a budding relationship. I quickly found out it was nothing but general. The Silent Swan is an extremely touching and unique story about a high school student council president (Gabe AKA Mr. Popular) and his non-friendship with classmate Tamryn. At first I thought Gabe would be a jerk, a sort of typical popular baseball type jock. Nothing could be further from that. Gabe's a genuinely great guy. He's got a huge family (all brothers) and he was brought up well. It was so refreshing to see the two main characters be responsible, moral, good kids! I can't tell you how awesome it was. They felt real though, they weren't flawless and you could tell they were in high school, just super mature. I liked that a lot.

In fact one of the things that had me so engrossed in the story (I read it in one day! 500 pages!) were the characters. I never played baseball in the strict sense. Of course I've played games for fun, but besides the basics I don't know the game well. There is a lot of baseball terminology but I could follow it because the characters made it easy. Gabe was the all star baseball player who played baseball and it was his life during the season. Tamryn's father was a pro baseball player and her and her brothers play as a family. I think because the characters were so relatable and easy to understand-- it was only natural that I could follow their main passion -- baseball. Gabe was amazing. I loved being in his head. He's just a genuinely wonderful young man and I loved reading about him and his family. Tam was a really complex character. I felt like I was always figuring her out and calculating things with her. Even up until the end I was not sure what she was hiding. She was an enigma, but she brought out the best in others' (most notably, Gabe).

I adored the development of Gabe's feelings for Tam. It wasn't like oh, they end up going to prom together and it ends happily ever after that. Prom was a mess (do they go together or not?). It was complicated, messy, and very real. I can't stress enough how real it felt. Life is so dang frustrating sometimes, and that frustration was a running theme in this book. The frustration of life, and the joys and sorrows as well. The hierarchy of high school was shown, but not in an extreme way. Yes, there was bullying and dishonesty-- but people were always standing up for it or being honest about the surrounding dishonesty. At least, Gabe and Tam were.

The only real critique I had was in the beginning of the book. The story just kind of gets dumped out super fast. I mean, character names and things happening so fast I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I was worried I'd feel behind the entire novel, constantly rereading pages trying to piece together a puzzle with some invisible pieces. However, once I got all the Printz boys straight (took a bit), and most of Gabe's friends and the Swanns' - the problem disappeared and I could follow nicely.

I loved the way things unfolded and the natural dialogue between all of the characters. I only have one brother, but reading this book gave me the feeling that I know exactly what it's like to live in a house full of boys. :) the strength of the sibling bond (by blood or foster care / adoption) was a prominent theme in this novel. I really hadn't thought of many of the things that were brought up. For instance, does the "system" encourage foster families to replace blood relations by not allowing the, to stick together or visit often? I could definitely see both sides of it, which I think was the authors' intention. We have Gabe's family who adopted and have totally integrated a stereotypically bad foster kid case, but then we have Tam and her family situation which is anything but stereotypical. Yet, st the end of the book we see high value in both. I really enjoyed that.

All in all; The Silent Swan was a solid, great contemporary Ya novel. I'll read anything this writer writes. I loved the epilogue and could even have done with a little more at the end. Just an extension. Another dinner, something. But maybe I'm just being greedy.


[ I recommend this book to people who enjoyed [book:The Sea of Tranquility|16151178]. It's a completely different story, but a love story at it's heart. ]… (altro)

NOTE: I received the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel rendered me speechless. Good news? I don't feel depressed that it's over. It left so many incredibly deep feelings inside of me, that I can only say I'm grateful for the journey.

Also, I had no idea it was a retelling of a fairy tale until the very end. In this case, it was a good thing, because I couldn't go on comparing the stories at all.

There's a lot that needs to be addressed about The Silent Swan. Mainly because it was just incredibly well written, the characters were developed in a realistic way, with depth and color, and I just fell in love with everyone (minus Kerry or however her name was spelt).

To be honest, I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll talk about the story first, then stop at the characters. It's going to be difficult though, so bear with me.

This must be the only novel where the lead characters don't even kiss. Don't get disappointed though, the pressure and passion between them is buzzing throughout the book in a way that can't be ignored. I actually loved this development. You'd ask why. Well, have you ever tried to express your feelings without the ease of a kiss? Or an intimate touch? Try it and let's see how successful you'd be. Gabriel and Tam though... these two rocked the boat. Not a kiss, just a fleeting touch from time to time, but boy was there love. And this love grew stronger with each page, until it all climaxed in the final chapter. I just can't effectively describe the feeling of pure euphoria this romance left in me. It was pure and innocent and just so touching! *sigh, swoon, fall*

Something else I rarely see in books is the real, tangible presence of Gabe's parents. Arnold and (I believe it was) Amelia (or close to that) Pritz had five sons, one of them adopted. Those boys could make any parent proud. They were respectful of their parents most of the time, and of each other. Sure they had their brotherly 'fights', but that's only natural. I was amazed at the way Arnold disciplined his sons, how he demanded honor was shown to his wife at all times, how he set rules and everyone obeyed out of sheer respect. It was truly amazing, in a loving kind of way. I simply adored that family, the Pritzes. They were well liked in the community, had connections and were respected.

Then there was Tam Swann's family. Her parents were no longer alive, and she and her brothers (seven I believe) were 'taken care of' by the foster care system. There were lots of legal terms that I didn't understand about each of the Swann's cases, but none of them hindered the story. And those boys... they were sweethearts. Deprived of a real family, they all jumped foster homes, in hopes that perhaps someday they'd be together. All of them. They seemed to only feel safe with their sister, who fought with everything she had to get to see them often. To be able to hug them, comfort them. My heart was constantly in need for stitches, because the pain those kids went through tore it to pieces time and time again.

There was lots of baseball in this book. If I'm not wrong, at least ten games were featured - some in full, others partially. And let me tell you, I don't know anything about baseball, but I learned a lot. And I actually think I may get to like it. At least I saw how a sport can teach discipline, order, passion, love, control... It was simply unexplainable and I'm in complete admiration of this author.

Now let's talk characters.

I'm starting off with Gabe, who was not a favorite of mine in the beginning. He was cocky and full of himself. He didn't appreciate any of the things he had - and he had a lot. He took everything for granted - his family, his friends, his carefree life, the girls that circulated him... But then things changed when Tam Swann entered his life. She didn't give a crap about Gabe, and he was definitely NOT used to that sort of treatment. She was bold, honest, responsible. And she could cook - which proved to be very important. Gabriel's mom was promoted to a position which required more work at work and less work at home. Which left all five sons to cook dinner during the week. So, Gabe, with his cockiness and ego, proposed Tam a deal - she'd teach him to cook, he'd tutor her in math. And that's basically how it began between them.

But the beginning had nothing to do with the end. Because by the end, there was nothing left of the Gabe we met on page one. He'd grown so much with every turn this story took, that he wasn't easy to recognize. He started realizing that his view of the world isn't exactly accurate. He used to think that he ruled the world - what with being captain of the baseball team and a rising star and all; that being beautiful automatically meant you were good within (talking about his girlfriend Kerry); that his mom was perfect in everything; that he didn't need anyone outside his circle of people. Well, by the end of the story, he'd had his perspective changed. He realized that most of the time he had been wrong in his decisions, and had to amend his ways and attitude.

One thing that didn't change in him though was the respect he felt for whoever girl he was wooing at the moment. This is true with Kerry and with Tam too. No matter how much he wanted to kiss or touch the girl, he was too afraid that he'd cross a boundary he wasn't allowed near. At one point Kerry even called him a prude, but that only made me like him more. Because he wasn't the kind of guy who'd push a girl to sleep with him, because he wanted it. He was the kind of guy who'd keep a tissue in his pocket, so he'd keep his hands occupied. I just wish those kinds of guys weren't just fictional. Our world has a great need of them.

And then there's Tamryn, Tam for short. She was a puzzle of a thousand pieces and since we followed Gabe's thoughts not hers, it was both fascinating and impossibly difficult to figure her out. One thing that was obvious from the very beginning though was her love for her family. Not only what was left of it, but also her parents. To her, their deaths didn't mean they had to be forgotten. She constantly tried to keep them alive, not only in her mind, but also in her brothers'. The youngest ones barely remembered their father, but Tam made it her purpose to have them remember. She taught them the family song, their father's moves in baseball and lots of other things that the foster parents resented (which I didn't understand at all!)

Tam was hardworking, concentrated on her goals, whatever they were. She was honest, giving, beautiful in every meaning of the word. Her heart was breathtaking. Her mind was exquisite. I just can't put into words how special she truly was. And I saw her heart breaking every time she pushed Gabe away. I just felt for this girl, you know? Like she was a close friend that I personally know.

In conclusion I can only say that the journey The Silent Swan put me through was worth every minute of my time. It had euphoric highs and lows that had me tearful. I can say that reading it has made me realize that beauty is hidden in the most unexpected places.… (altro)