The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
Beth Lincoln
On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. Meet Shenanigan Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives—until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs. So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer. Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it's packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important. Cover may vary.
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0I wasn't too sure where this was headed at first. The humour was pretty dark (though I did personally enjoy it!) and the characters were fun to read about. As the mystery and tension grew though, it evolved into a suprisingly deep, dark and complex book! Certainly like nothing I'd expect from a childrens book, and honestly parents/teachers if you're thinking of giving this book to a kid, read it through first. Obviously, it's fine, but it can get heavy and there's a lot of topics that could create interesting and important conversations!
I just absolutely loved the characters, strong neurodiversity traits from 2 of the kids, the queer representation was very cute as well! There was a ton of characters, and honestly I did get a bit confused on who was who, but suprisingly I think it actually manages to handle them all pretty well. It really just felt like my issues remembering who was who was more on my really bad memory and less on the book, because as soon as I picked up a trait from someone I remembered exactly who they were! Each character was just so different and unique!
A lot of important messages throughout the book but none felt forced or trying to fight for attention over all the other messages. They all fit quite nicely together in my opinion. The story felt well paced, just fast, but flowed quite well. The chain of mysteries and plot twists kept be very well gripped hard throughout all of the last third and I honestly didn't know how it would end!
This absolutely shoots up to the top of my favourites list. I'm so thankful that Waterstones is taking good care with their books of the month, I would probably never have found this otherwise!!
0This was a unique and fun book.
Characters-8- This was a large cast and a lot to keep track of. I recommend taking notes on all the characters because the names are creative, but it will also help you keep track of who is who un terms of the plot. My favorite character was Shenanigan.
Atmosphere-7- I did get the old house and large family vibes from this story, but I kept being pulled out of the story.
Writing-8- the writing in this book was good. I thought the style very much suited the story. I loved learning all the definitions of the names, and how unique the names were. The writing style also was fun for the mystery.
Plot-7- I'm not going to knock the plot because it was fun! I enjoyed the story and I loved finding the clues. I enjoyed the story.
Intrigue- 7- I was interested in this story. I had pacing issues all throughout and I kept getting pulled out of the story.
Logic-8- This was a logical story.
Enjoyment-8- I enjoyed this story. It was fun and also had a lot of heart.
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