I AM THE SWARM
(Viking Children's Books, March 25, 2025)
"I am madly in love with this book."
-- Joy McCullough, New York Times bestselling author of Blood Water Paint
A propulsive novel-in-verse that blends the contemporary magic of Jandy Nelson with the simmering feminist rage of Laurie Halse Anderson's SHOUT:
As far back as anyone can remember, the Strand women have been magical. Their gifts manifest when they each turn fifteen, always in different ways. But Nell knows her family's magic is a curse. Her mother's age changes everyday; she often too young to be the mother Nell needs. Her older sister bleeds music and will do anything to release the songs inside her. When Nell's own magic arrives in the form of ladybugs alighting on the keys of her beloved piano, the first thing she feels is joy. The ladybugs are a piece of her, a harmless and delicate manifestion of her creativity. But, soon enough, the rest come. Thick-shelled, glossy beetles that creep along her collarbone when her piano teacher stares at her. Soft gray moths that appear and die alongside a rush of disappointment. Worst of all are the wasps. It doesn't matter how deep she buries her rage, the wasps always come. Nell will have to decide just how much she's willing to lock away to stop them--or if she can find the strength to feel, so matter the consequences.
"Written in delicate, sparse, almost fragile verse . . . Chewins examines each of Nell’s emotions as if it’s a butterfly preserved in amber, held up to the light for careful study. The elements of magic interwoven with the very real cruelties of girlhood is a case study in successful fabulism. A beautiful, introspective slow burn of a book." -- Kirkus, starred review
“This cutting novel in verse is fearless, biting, and raw…there is a painful, sharply realistic thread that zeroes in on the way that girls are often stifled, silenced, coerced, or used…though there is a tender, quiet hopefulness that finds purchase in each of the women’s stories.” — BCCB, starred review
"In this deeply felt verse novel, Chewins expertly leverages evocative language . . . for a moving tale of self-discovery and healing through connection." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
"In verse that flies across the page, Chewins weaves multiple apt metaphors with sensory detail . . . themes of music as a powerful tool for self-expression and anger as an important self-protective measure in this one-sitting read. -- Booklist, starred review
