"The Swallow"

"The Swallow"
Written by Charis Cotter
Review written by Diana Iozzia

"The Swallow" was the second book that I had read by the middle-grade author, Charis Cotter. I was very eager to begin this novel after reading her "The Painting". Both premises of each book intrigued me as a twenty-one year old, because these were eerie and creepy stories that I would have loved as a middle-grade reader if they were around when I was that young. I was explaining to someone yesterday that, of course I still love middle-grade fiction, because I loved it years ago.

"The Swallow" follows (ha, rhyme) Polly and Rose, who become friends as they sit in their neighboring attics, only connected by a secret passageway. Polly has the uncomfortable and worrying fear that Rose is dead and is a ghost, while Rose is absolutely fed up with seeing ghosts all of the time. She knows she's alive, but why does she see them at breakfast, at school, everywhere she goes?

A few fascinating and heartbreaking twists and turns occur, and we leave Rose understanding her true purpose as a girl who can see ghosts, that she is to help them move on. This is a very sad, very beautiful book. This novel is more about friendship, while "The Painting" is more about family, but they are both very relative to middle-grade readers. I sincerely enjoyed "The Swallow" more than "The Painting", but these are both excellent novels that I've had the pleasure to receive and review. The dialogue is believable, the sadness is easily felt and sympathetic, the love is palpable between Polly and Rose. I thoroughly recommend this.

Naturally, every book does come without faults. Who would I be as a reviewer if I didn't mention the not so wonderful aspects? To be honest, there really weren't that many. I think that the plot twists were excellent and very fitting for the story, but they were a bit WOW RIGHT NOW IN YOUR FACE AHHH HERE YOU ARE BE SAD NOW. I wish they unfolded a little more naturally rather than the last third of the book. I felt I needed a little more time to recover than I received. I usually am not a fan of excessive resolution, but I would have liked a little bit more in the last two chapters or so. After a massive plot twist as it was, I needed a little time to nurse the booboos.

Additionally, perhaps the plot twist could have been a little predictable? I in no way predicted it, but it was a very distracting day with my lunatic dog, so I could have been reading this more intently than I was. So maybe some of you could predict, but not me! Lastly, the only last thing I dislike was that there were a few moments of confusion where I had to re-read passages, because the way the sentences were worded. This is definitely one of those books where each chapter ends dramatically like "And then, I found a hidden door." "Then, I saw a shadow behind me." It's a bit cliffhanger-y, and that kind of confuses me occasionally as to what I read rriiiiight before the cliffhanger. I think if you end up reading this, you'll understand what I mean when we reach the point where the girls find a secret box.

In conclusion, I absolutely loved this. Charis Cotter is a fantastic middle-grade writer, and I cannot wait to continue to read her books. 

*I received this book as a complementary review copy*.

P.S. I mentioned this in my review of "The Painting", but my goodness, I absolutely love the cover art. Beautiful selections as always.