Swollen [Mass Market Paperback]

Melissa Lion (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2006

Samantha only wants to be loved. By her father, by her best friend, and now by the new boy at school, Farouk. The more time Sam spends with him, the more she can’t stop thinking about him. To escape, Sam runs track at school, finishing every race, but never pushing herself to the limit.
Sam and Farouk spend afternoons at the beach where divers risk their lives to jump off high cliffs into the churning water below. Like the divers, Sam risks herself to be with Farouk, growing more and more attached to him, longing to feel safe enough to let herself go and show her true feelings.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Samantha is an introspective high school student who characterizes herself as "invisible." She loves to run track but is always in the middle of the pack. She lives in a sterile condo in San Diego with her father, a chronic philanderer, and his pregnant girlfriend; Sam's mother left several years before. The teen tries to fill her life with her friend Chloe, who has her own family problems; running; and the boys she meets on the beach, with whom she has casual sex. Then something unexpected happens. Popular Owen Killgore, who had tried to use Sam for his careless pleasure, dies in his sleep ostensibly of a "swollen" heart, and, on the same day, a new boy joins her class. She and Farouk begin a tentative relationship that lasts until they become intimate, and then she becomes invisible to him as he moves on to other conquests. This dense and thought-provoking book is a richly rewarding read. It delves so deeply into character that one feels as if layers are being peeled away to reveal more facets of Samantha's emotional life. An achingly beautiful story that shows one young woman's growing strength as she realizes that she deserves better.–Susan Riley, Mount Kisco Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-12 San Diego high-school student Samantha Pallas is a lonely, isolated girl. A gifted runner, she chooses not to excel at a sport she loves, and she has empty, meaningless sex with strange boys to try to feel something. Sam lives with her loving, but distracted, playboy father and his (unintentionally) pregnant girlfriend. Then Sam begins a relationship with a new boy at school, Farouk, whose mature sophistication is alluring and comforting. She soon discovers, though, that it's a lopsided love, with more feeling on her side than his. Lion's beautifully subtle style establishes a contemplative melancholy mood. Characters are dimensional and carefully drawn-- Sam's pain is understated but very real. Written in clear, distinctive language, this first novel will keep teens reading and savoring. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (February 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553494082
• ISBN-13: 978-0553494082
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.6 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,356,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great new author..., August 16, 2004

By 

librarygirl (OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swollen (Hardcover)

Swollen is a story about first love: how it happens, what it feels like, and what it does to you. Sam is a great character; she's not the perfect daughter or student and she knows it, but she's strong and focused and never complains. Her home life isn't perfect either but she accepts it for what it is. Farouk and Sam's relationship is SO well documented, as Melissa Lion really focuses on Sam's feelings and thoughts. Reading this book was very nostalgic for me, because the characters were so real and their relationships reminded me of my own time in high school.

I'm looking forward to reading Melissa Lion's next book when it comes out. Her style is very comfortable, and her observations are sharp and truthful. I felt like she was writing just for me. I devoured this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Brilliant, August 10, 2004

By 

Steve "Steve" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swollen (Hardcover)

Loved it!! Haunting, poetic, & incredibly honest. Death, running, & the complexities of human relationships. Who could ask for more?

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Realistic, February 25, 2005

By 

annmmar "ASMB" (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swollen (Hardcover)

Samantha or "Sam" as she is called, is a young lady who runs track at her school. She explains how running makes her body feel alive and the different sounds it makes when she is running and how she is motivated to get better. She gives her passion up when the new boy in school Farouk, pays her attention. He arrives the same day the most popular boy in school (Owen) dies. And so begins this tale in where Sam narrates her life at home with her unfaithful dad who is cheating on his girlfriend, her friendship with her best friend Chloe who cuts herself when she is depressed, and Sam's mother who since divorcing Sam's father lives in another city and communicates with her daughter through the phone and infreqeunt visits. This book touched me in how real it depicts a normal teenager's life and how easy it is to be hurt whether been a teenager or an adult. Sam's homelife and the ultimately love betrayal by Farouk the boy she thought who loved her as she loved him makes for a interesting and thought proving reading. Great first novel by Ms. Lion.