Sway

Starred review from July 28, 2014
This engrossing debut novel recounts the exploits of high school senior Jesse Alderman, who runs a lucrative business making things happen: “brokering term papers, getting juvenile delinquents kicked out of school, and delivering party favors for keggers.” A possible musical prodigy who abandoned the guitar after his mother’s suicide, Jesse has more intellectual energy than he knows what to do with, and he keeps himself busy to avoid thinking. When rich football star and “all-around douche” Ken hires him as matchmaker, Jesse becomes a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac, enamored of sweet Bridget even as he’s employed to manipulate her to fall for a creep. Jesse’s actions belie his affected indifference to personal relationships, as he softens toward people he ostensibly “uses”: elderly Mr. Dunkelman, who Jesse pretends is his grandfather to get closer to Bridget; Digger, his weed supplier; Joey, his lesbian partner-in-crime; Bridget’s disabled brother, Pete—just some of Spears’s well-developed, socioeconomically, and ethnically diverse supporting characters. Sharp dialogue, edgy humor, and an unlikely hero make this page-turner a winner. Ages 14–up. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary Agency.

Starred review from August 1, 2014
Everybody knows Jesse, aka "Sway." For the right price or a later favor, Jesse will get you want you want, but he'll also acquire power over you. He sells drugs and fake IDs, acquires kegs for parties and might even be able to persuade a girl to date a guy. Since his mother's suicide over a year ago, Jesse hasn't bothered with his own emotions. But when he meets the beautiful and almost saintly Bridget, he begins to realize that he might actually have some feelings after all. He gets to know her in order to advise bully Ken on how to get a date with her, making Jesse something of a "fucked-up Cyrano de Bergerac," as he himself notes. Along the way, he teams up with Bridget's little brother, Pete, who has cerebral palsy, introducing the boy to his world of schemes. Even as he grows fonder of Bridget, he still doesn't believe he could have a real romance with her, or with anyone. Spears develops Jesse's character so thoroughly readers will believe they know him. Despite his illegality and immorality, he remains sympathetic, revealing his hidden emotions as he forms real friendships with Pete and with an elderly man he meets while spying on Bridget. A compelling debut told with swagger and real depth. (Fiction. 14-18)

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October 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Jesse Alderman, aka Sway, can get you what you want, no matter what. Drugs, popularity, money, anything, but it comes at a cost. After his mom chased some prescription drugs with vodka and ended up dead on the bathroom floor, Jesse doesn't care about much, as long as he gets paid and people live up to their end of the bargain. But that all ends when school bully Ken Foster asks him to convince Bridget Smalley, an all-around wonderful person, to go out with Ken on a date. Jesse thinks this is just another business transaction until he meets Bridget and finds himself falling in love with her. Now, he's opening up to all kinds of people, including Bridget's younger brother, Pete, who feels alone and damaged because of his cerebral palsy, and Mr. Dunkelman, a man who lives at the nursing home where her grandmother lives. However, the more he feels for Bridget, the more he attempts to pull away from her and anyone who might care about him. And, now that the protagonist has made Ken appear like a nice guy in Bridget's eyes, she starts to pull away from Jesse, as well. From the first page, readers won't ever want to leave Jesse behind. At first glance, this novel seems like a typical Cyrano de Bergerac-type story, but it is much deeper than that, touching on topics such as parent abandonment, disabilities, bullying, and love. The main character's transformation and personality are well developed and believable, and readers will root for him along the way, even though he makes it difficult. References to drugs, alcohol, and suicide make it better suited for older teens. A engaging story that will stay with readers long past the final page.-Traci Glass, Eugene Public Library, OR

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2014
Grades 10-1 Spears' debut novel sets an update on Cyrano de Bergerac in a contemporary high school, and adds noir undertones. High-school senior Jesse Alderman, aka Sway, is the guy who brings the drugs to parties and makes things happen, connecting the nerds, jocks, and ne'er-do-wells in a web of underhanded deals with a cut for himself. He glides through school with self-assurance and swagger. But when one of his deals leads him to do-gooder Bridget, who shows a genuine interest in him, and her brother, Pete, who has cerebral palsy, Jesse gets a chance to move past his party-boy reputation. Though a sizable cast of secondary characters sometimes strains its 300 pages, Spears' novel deftly probes Jesse's complex family dynamics, including his submerged grief for the mother he lost to suicide and his frustration with his mostly absent father. Jesse's first-person narration, sometimes toeing the line of good taste, is raw and honest and marks his growth over the course of the novel. A gritty take on the male coming-of-age experience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)