The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
I wasn’t sure about this one as it started off with what felt like a lot of detail that I didn’t think all my students would like. Some would, for sure, but a lot of them want action right away.
Well, our main character is named Shenanigan Swift. Unusual name for sure, but in her family, you are named from the dictionary. This sort of sets the tone for your life. So, Shenanigan is a bit of a mischief-maker. I like the idea of naming your kids randomly from a dictionary, but I can see how that could get wild really quick. Sort of like when you throw a dart at a map to decide where to travel, and 90% of the time you end up in the middle of the ocean.
In Shenanigan’s family, they have a big family reunion. It’s a time to get to see each other, air out grievances, and search for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. But this time, things are a little more complicated. Someone has pushed the family matriarch down a flight of stairs! Why would someone do that? Shenanigan is determined to find out who attacked her aunt! Chaos ensues as the whole family is searching for treasure and criminals at the same time!
I will say these characters are something else! I know my family is a bit wild, but these people have me beat! There are twins so determined to look alike that if one spills coffee on her shirt, the other will spill some on hers so they match! There is a man named Fortissimo who shouts everything, and another relative, Atrocious, who is, well, atrocious! There are a lot of jokes in this book. There were a few parts that I had to tell some others about because it was just too funny to keep to myself. This quote, for one, had me stopping a teacher in the library:
“Who didn’t know someone who knew someone who’d engaged in a little casual assassination?”
What? With that line I had to close the book for a second. It just caught me off guard. I soon realized this book was very silly. Not so much that I didn’t want to keep reading but just enough to keep me reading. At one point in the book, one of the characters says something about “is this what it is like to have siblings?” and I felt like this book nicely sums up what it is like to have a big family. Some of them were annoying, rude, kind, funny, helpful, etc. But they were family!
I think if an only child read this, they would think it was all ridiculous, but someone with a good number of siblings would think, “Yeah, I get it.” I come from a large family. I get it. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a sibling with scars from being stabbed by a fork after a failed attempt at stealing the last pork chop. He’s fine now.
Four out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
Literary Coffee 