As far back as anyone can remember, the women of the Strand family have been magical. Their gifts manifest when they each turn fifteen, always in different ways. But Nell Strand knows that her family's magic is a curse. Her mother’s age changes every day; she's often too young to be the mother Nell needs. Her older sister bleeds music and will do anything to release the songs inside her. Nell sees the way magic rips her family apart again and again.
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 manifestation 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 of herself she’s willing to lock away to stop them—or if she can find the strength to feel, no matter the consequences.
I Am the Swarm was released on March 25, 2025.
I first encountered Hayley Chewins's gorgeous prose in The Turnaway Girls; I thoroughly fell in love with it while reading The Sisters of Straygarden Place. Chewins is that rare writer whose prose possesses the rhythmic, uncanny quality of dark fantasy poetry, and so when I learned she was coming out with a novel in verse, I knew immediately that I had to read it. I Am the Swarm was every bit the evocative, powerful, razor-sharp story I hoped it would be.
Chewins's command of language and rhythm is impeccable. Every line break, every turn of phrase, every evocative word, feels chosen by some unseeable algorithm that blends into something truly remarkable. Nell’s character is impeccable, as wild and relatable as the creatures she conjures, and her emotions leap out from the page as fiercely as any butterfly.
Although set within the confines of the real world, I Am the Swarm contains some of the most unique magic I’ve ever read. I can’t recall a secondary-world fantasy that was more original and uncanny than the magic contained by the Strand family. Insects, music contained inside one’s body, age ephemerality…every beat of this story, every character, and every word thrums with individuality, authenticity, and mystery. I truly can’t recommend I Am the Swarm enough!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
