Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Brilliant story of teen who inherits a frightening magic.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
I AM THE SWARM begins three days after Nell Strand's 15th birthday. She's waiting for her magic to arrive, and it's not an arrival she'll welcome. The magic that runs through the women in her family is a "cursed family heirloom that nobody wants." Her older sister Mona's magic seems to have sent her spiraling into mental illness. She walks around with an orchestra inside her, and the only way she can hear the music is by cutting and burning herself with cigarettes. For Nell's mother, the magic means her age is constantly changing. Some days she's a teenager, others she's in her 20s, and sometimes even her own age of 42. Nell's magic (a swarm of yellow lady bugs) arrives when she's playing the piano. But the ladybugs are soon followed by small gray moths, stick insects, huge black beetles, and wasps. Each insect brings with it a different feeling. With the wasps comes anger. Anger at the piano teacher who touches her, and anger that she doesn't know how to make him stop. When she returns at the start of the new school year, Nell just wants to figure out how to survive the magic before it ruins her. Then she meets the new boy at school and he, like Nell, loves music. She puts him in her Contacts as "antidote," as when she kisses him she sees only butterflies. But then she begins to cough up wasps and stick insects and her room fills with ants. Gray moths bring feelings of hopelessness and her bed fills with cockroaches. Nell stops communicating with "the boy," but he refuses to be put off. She finally names him Shay in the story and tells him everything. Then the dragonflies appear.
Is It Any Good?
This modern fantasy about a family cursed by a magic no one wants is sometimes frighteningly raw and sometimes gently told. For many teens, I Am the Swarm will not be an easy or comfortable read. The magic Nell inherits is dark, and the struggles she and her sister have against abuse, cutting, and disordered eating are deeply disturbing and could trigger some readers. But it's hard to imagine any teen who won't be inspired by the perseverance of both Nell and Mona and the hopeful futures they come to see for themselves.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the perseverance shown by both Nell and Shay in I Am the Swarm. Do you think Nell's story would have ended differently if Shay had given up on their relationship instead of continuing to be patient and understanding toward her?
If a friend confided in you they were self-harming or being abused and made you promise to keep it a secret, would it be a betrayal to tell their family or someone in authority?
How is magic different in a contemporary setting than it would be in a fantasy world?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Viking Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : March 25, 2025
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 323
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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