In Kat Spears' hilarious and often poignant debut, high school senior Jesse Alderman or "Sway," as he's known, could sell hell to a bishop. He also specialises in getting things people want, term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake lDs. He has few close friends and he never lets emotions get in the way. For Jesse, life is simply a series of business transactions. But when Ken Foster, football team captain, homecoming king candidate and all-around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things. While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget's belligerent and self-pitying younger brother who has cerebral palsy. Suddenly, Jesse is visiting old folks at a nursing home in order to run into Bridget and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolises him. Could the tin man really have a heart after all? A Cyrano de Bergerac story with a modern twist, Sway is told from Jesse's point of view with unapologetic truth and biting humor, his observations about the world around him untempered by empathy or compassion, until Bridget's presence in his life forces him to confront his quiet devastation over a life-changing event a year earlier and maybe, just maybe, feel something again.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 14 years.

There are 320 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2015 by Griffin Publishing .

Kat Spears has worked as a bartender, museum director, housekeeper, park ranger, business manager, and painter (not the artistic kind). She holds an M. A. in anthropology, which has helped to advance her bartending career. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her three freeloading kids. Sway is her debut novel.