I loved The Schwa Was Here because it had such an interesting, meaningful story. It is told in the first person by an eighth grader in Brooklyn who meets someone named Calvin Schwa, and it turns out “The Schwa” sits next to him in class but he never noticed him. The Schwa is so unnoticeable that he seems to be invisible, but not really. Just like the “uh” sound symbolized by Ə, he seems to almost always be there but nobody realizes it.
There is a deeper story that develops gradually that looks at the relationships between the different characters and their families. I think many people can identify with the story, because it’s easy to feel “invisible” or unnoticed. This book takes that to an extreme, but maybe that’s what readers need to get the point. It’s funny and enjoyable to read, and the deeper message that gets you thinking is very subtle. ( )

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

Anthony "Antsy" Bonano can't really figure out what's wrong with The Schwa. His classmate, Calvin Schwa, has always just been...around.

A nondescript face on a nondescript kid, The Schwa always seems to just blend into the background, and could be standing right in front of you for half an hour before you even notice he's there - and that's only if he speaks up and says something. Antsy finds it difficult to even think about The Schwa without his mind wandering onto some other subject, no doubt due to "The Schwa Effect."

Antsy may not have been the first the pass The Schwa by, but he is the first one to start putting his friend's power of blending in to good use. After a set of experiments to determine the strength of "The Schwa Effect," Antsy and The Schwa form a collaboration that starts earning them money for dares and services (such as spying on the faculty lounge) that utilize The Schwa's untapped potential.

When a bold dare to enter the apartment of a reclusive neighbor goes horribly wrong, Antsy and The Schwa find themselves at the mercy of Old Man Crawley, who puts them to work to make up for their intrusion. The boys' friendship is put to the test when Antsy is given a...much more desirable task, which sets The Schwa on a mission to prove his very existence to the world in the grandest, most unforgettable manner possible.

I absolutely fell in love with this book, and that is not something I'd say lightly. Superior characterization, mainly the shifting position of narrator Antsy as both protagonist and antagonist to the title character, had me rooting for nearly every personality featured in this story. My heart went out to the unfortunate Schwa, yet I think I laughed harder than ever at the witty storytelling and humor utilized by the author.

A perfect book for the older, reluctant reader, and one both boys and girls can enjoy to the fullest. ( )

Calvin Schwa has a problem. He's invisible. No, really. If you're not focusing your attention on him he will fade away. And if you're not intently thinking of him, you'll forget he's even there. One day on a dare, Calvin enters the apartment of Mr. Crawley, the neighborhood recluse. Even though he's unseen, Crawley manages to make his presence felt throughout the neighborhood. And Calvin decides he's ready for his presence to be felt too.

This is a fantastic story for the young and the young at heart. Because everyone knows what it's like to feel apart from the rest, whether or not it's our own doing. Shusterman continues to delight me. ( )

In Brooklynese, Antsy Bonano tells the story of his friend named, cleverly enough, Calvin Schwa. "The Schwa" is practically invisible until he waves in your face. But really, the story is about Antsy, and how he comes to terms with his own feelings of invisibility. There's a lot of all-over-the-board chaos, and character development is spotty in parts, but the story itself is fun, compelling, and mostly unpredictable. ( )

The Schwa was Here is a very funny and moving story. Shusterman ingeniously depicts the invisibility of the Schwa in a way that seems at once supernatural and totally real. All the characters are distinctive, from the quick-witted Ansty, to the curmudgeonly Mr. Crowley, to the wily Lexis, to the resignedly invisible Schwa. The Brooklyn dialect and humor makes the book a pleasure to read, and the conclusion offers hope to young teens that feel overlooked either at school or at home. ( )