Swoon

Candice (Dice) has been transplanted from a busy New York City to a quiet Swoon, Connecticut – and nothing much happens in Swoon. She spends her time hanging out with her cousin Pen since her parents stay away most of the time because of their jobs. Mostly just home for the weekends, they aren’t involved in Dice’s daily life.Dice’s life gets a little more interesting after Pen has an accident during a dangerous stunt while climbing a tree. While unconscious, Pen is inhabited by a vengeful ghost named Sinclair Youngblood Powers. Dice is aware of this change due to her heightened psychic abilities and immediately feels drawn to Sin, but after she realizes what he plans to do, she makes it her mission to send Sin back to where he show more came from and out of Pen’s body. But, things don’t go as planned. Sin becomes flesh and blood and way more dangerous than before. Dangerous to the town because of the revenge he is exacting on its inhabitants and dangerous to Dice because of the deep feelings Sin brings out in her.SWOON is dark, sensual, and edgy. There are a lot of references to sex and drugs so be aware when recommending this book to adolescents. This would definitely be a book for high school students and above. Nina Malkin should be commended for creating a unique paranormal story. She weaves together many loose ends to create a thought-provoking story. SWOON will stay with you long after you read it. show less

I got this book through Amazon Vine. I was excited to get it because I actually had this book on my wish list. Boy was I disappointed.

The concept is interesting. Dice has some psychic ability. When her friend Pen falls from a tree and dies for a moment; Pen's body is entered by the spirit of Sinclair (Sin). Sin was wrongly murdered many, many years ago and wants revenge against the town of Swoon (where they all live). Sins presence makes Pen act out and Dice tries to exorcise Sin; instead she ends up giving him a physical body that allows him to wreck havoc in person instead of through Pen.

Okay if the premise sounds interesting, it is. Unfortunately the execution of the story left a lot to be desired. All of the characters come across show more as stereotypical and flat. The story itself is inconsistent and disjointed; chapters end in the middle of a scene only to have new chapters start in a completely different setting. It leaves wondering if some pages fell out of the book or something. An example of this: a big deal is made about how Dice need to hitchhike to get someone to drive her back to New York city, she meets a psychic there. In the middle of their meeting the chapter ends. In the next chapter Dice is suddenly back in Swoon getting ready for a Halloween party. How did she get back to Swoon? A big deal was made about how she got out of Swoon, so how did she suddenly get back? What happened to her meeting with the psychic? I mean really would it hurt to have some consistency?

I also had a bit of a problem with this being dubbed a young adult novel. Throughout the novel drug use runs rampant. We are talking use of every kind of drug you can think of; it is casual use with no real purpose to the story. The drug use is such that every single character in the book casually uses drugs; it really gives the message that all young teens casually use drugs and I found it kind of disturbing. Which leads to the problem of the casual sexuality in this book too. I am all for liberal sex (big fan of the Anita Blake books here); but when you have young adults having loads of casual sex among themselves, trying to seduce teachers, and descriptions of casual sex between senior citizens...it was all just a bit weird for me. I would have been uncomfortable reading this as a "young adult".

Now let's briefly discuss Sin and Dice's "relationship". There is no relationship. Dice loves Sin (for no reason) and Sin constantly abuses her emotionally and occasionally physically. Still somehow Dice and Sin are supposed to be the ultimate star-crossed couple...ummm no, they are just dysfunctional. I found many of the characters' relationships with each other to be equally disturbing and unhealthy. I also never really got the point of the story.

Some of the above could be excused if the story was fast-paced, engaging, or fun to read. Unfortunately it is none of those. I had a lot of trouble getting through the book; believe it or not all of the sex and drug use was so prevalent it got very boring to read about. The whole time I read this book I was just counting down the pages, hoping that soon I would get to the end of it.

I usually try to find something positive to say about a book; but seriously I did not like this book and I have nothing positive to say about it. show less

Candice (Dice) has recently moved to the small town of Swoon, Connecticut from New York. With her psychic visions, she is able to notice when her cousin becomes possessed with the ghost of a young man names Sinclair. Sinclair (Sin) is obsessed with avenging the death of his young love, and begins to take it out on the entire town of Swoon. Dice feels an attraction for Sin and finds herself caught up in Sin's mission.

This is probably the worst "young adult" novel I have ever read, and not just from a content standpoint. There are loads of sexual content and drug and alcohol use, which are actually shown in a positive light. That's right. The novel actually condones drug use. Dice and her friends get high, often. And it's attributed to show more opening their minds and it being freeing. If that's not bad enough, Dice thinks that she's in love with this ghost boy who is out to destroy the descendants of the people who hurt him and his long-dead lover. What does she see in him beyond his looks? Nothing. There is nothing about him that you could possibly put in a positive light.

I can't even give the main storyline a good word. The plot was strange and confusing. The characters were completely unlikeable. Dice's psychic gift didn't make much sense, other than being able to see the ghost. Other reviewers are comparing this to Twilight. Other than there being a little romance and teenage angst, there is no comparison. Don't bother with this one. It's boring, confusing, and quite a disappointment. show less

"Eventually all stories must be told. People simply aren’t built to hold them in. …. [It’s a] matter of finding the right person to tell it to. Since a story, even a sad one, is a gift.” (p. 417-418, ARC edition – may vary from the final published version.)

It may seem odd that I’m starting this review with a quote from the second to last chapter of the novel. And although the quote refers to a minor subplot, the truth of it really resonated with me and sums up my feelings about this superbly written book about impossible love and unimaginable loss.

But basic plot before I go any further – NYC transplant Candice (known as Dice in the nickname-loving, cookie-cutter Connecticut community of Swoon) meets 18th century transplant show more Sinclair (known as Sin, because he sins with abandon and causes others to sin as well) when he possesses the body of her hot but prissy cousin Penelope (known as Pen because …err… elope would sound weird?). Sin was strung-up by Swoon’s denizens’ snobby ancestors, so he’s out to get revenge. Only Dice is aware of what he’s capable of, but swept up in the spell of his charm, she’s very reluctant to stop him…

I really did feel like this story is a gift – and judging by the polarizing reviews on GoodReads and across the blogosphere – it’s one that’s not right for everyone. I can understand that some readers are turned off by the all “lustful” scenes Sin leaves in his wake, but these are strictly dreamlike in quality (think Patrick Susskind’s THE PERFUME), and in no way explicit or eyeball scalding.

Ok, I’ll allow that the paranormal plot is rather convoluted and does tend to meander at times, but the writing is so stellar, I honestly didn't mind the detours. I took a week to read this, not only because I had only stolen moments to devote to it, but also because I wanted to savor Malkin’s delicious turns of phrase. The story is told in first person, and Dice is so wry in her observations and so conflicted in her loyalties and desires I found myself identifying with her (despite our differences). I don’t know…maybe you have to have a certain maturity level (and I'm not talking about age, though this is more appropriate for older teens), and/or a certain familiarity with tragedy, to really connect with this one. All I know is that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and not only will it stay on my shelf, I know I’ll go back and read passages from it again and again. show less

Reminiscent of Holly Black's "Valiant." Quirky, unique, and sometimes poetic, but a bit raw and grungy for my taste. After a hard-to-waddle-through intro the book picks up and remains engaging, but the plot turns and the finale, I found a bit hard to swallow.

Once again…not sure what I was expecting…but this was not even close to my realm of expectation!

Pulled out of NYC, Candice (AKA “Dice”) and moved to the town of Swoon, CT. She lives across the street from her Aunt, Uncle, and cousins…but her folks still work in NYC so she is basically unsupervised during the week and some weekends when her parents can’t make it home. Which leaves lots of time for trouble and her cousin Pen (Penelope) is usually the one finding it…including when she nearly dies from falling out of a tree. But the knock on her allows a ghost, Sinclair, in, and he has a mission. Sin is gonna need Dice’s help.

Here I assumed that “Swoon” was a reference to that back of the hand on the forehead, about to show more faint, type of thing…and it’s actually the name of the Conneticut town where the story takes place. LOL – I don’t think I could live in a town called Swoon! I’d be too tempted to actually swoon!

I don’t want to give away major plot points, because they will really drive you to keep reading…so what can I say? That’s the question.

First the storyline was very inventive. A little ghost story, a little time travel, a little “Witches of Eastwick”…at one point during the story I had jotted down that comment…although it total it was nothing like “Witches”. There is a bit of a triangle, but not the kind of triangle you would expect. There is a lot of revenge and good vs. evil. There was a lot going on but it all melded together beautifully and was not confusing or formulaic.

I really like Dice…she was smart, snarky, and yet typically self-conscious. Malkin didn’t pull any punches which I appreciated. Dice smoked pot and has a history of exploring anything and everything…she is probably most like a “human” teen than a lot of YA heroines. She’s been abandoned, for all intents, by her NYC editor Mom and character actor Dad. Dice lives in a house across the street from her Aunt, and her parents try to get home on the weekends…but aren’t always successful. Which explains Dice’s proclivities in a number of ways.

Sin, aka Sinclaire, had a complex story. I loved him at first, so charming! Then I hated him for being manipulative, then I kind of liked him again, then hated him with a passion, then loved him again…he really ran the gamut.

This was a tough one to put down! Because it was so different and so good, I hesitate to read the next book, “Swear” for fear it won’t measure up. Is that awful of me? I think I will read a few other books first and then get into “Swear” when “Swoon” isn’t so fresh in my mind. show less

Candice is beginning a new life away from New York City in the small town of Swoon, Connecticut. Dice spends her time in Swoon leisurely hanging out with her perfect cousin, Penelope, and her group of privileged friends. However, after Penelope falls from a tree during a bout of drug-induced fun, things begin to get interesting. Penelope has been inhabited by the spirit of Sinclair Youngblood Powers, a young man who was wrongly accused and executed for killing his fiancé in the town of Swoon over 200 years ago. Now Sinclair is bent on revenge and Dice must overcome her feelings for him and put a stop to it before her new town falls apart.

This was a compelling read that keeps up a quick pace and intriguing plot from the very beginning. show more The characters were likable, even when somewhat twisted. However, some characters were thrown in and never fully developed, in particular a friend from her past in New York. This is not a book for anyone who has trouble reading about sexual situations. It sometimes seemed like sex was thrown in just for the sake of making the book more appealing—like extra fight scenes in an action movie. I think the addition of these situations sometimes took away from the flow of the book. Sinclair’s revenge often came about in the form of enticing sexual expressions in the townsfolk. I like the revenge storyline, but it often became overshadowed by the nature of the situations. show less