Swoon At Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter

Publisher: Graphia
Pub.Date: April 5th 2010
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: paperback
Source Of Copy: from the publisher - Houghton Mifflin/Graphia

It’s the summer before senior year and Polly Martin has sworn off boys. Who needs the hurt and confusion? Five recent breakups have left her with an unnatural knowledge of NASCAR, the ultimate hiker’s outfit, a student council position, the sixth highest score on the Donkey Kong machine at the mall, and a summer job at Wild Waves with ex #2 Sawyer Holmes.

Success seems a sure thing when Polly’s grandmother, the syndicated advice columnist, Miss Swoon, moves in for the summer. Polly almost doesn’t mind sharing a room with her little sister, Grace. Think of all the great advice she’ll get!
Everything is going according to plan except... Miss Swoon turns out to be a man-crazy septuagenarian! And then there’s Xander Cooper. If only he wouldn’t keep showing up at Wild Waves with his adorable cousins every afternoon — and what is he writing in that little notebook?

No advice column in the world can prepare Polly for the lessons she learns when she goes on a group camping trip (with three too many ex-boyfriends). Polly is forced to see people for who they are — a blend of good and bad qualities that can’t be reduced to a list or a snappy answer in a Miss Swoon column. '


If you love My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, you may want top pick up this book. It might not be as bright as Sydney Salter's debut book, but the wit, the fun and unique characters are still there to grab a hold of the readers.

Swoon At Your Own Risk reminds me a lot of My Big Nose & Other Natural Disasters. An interesting summer job, troubles with boys, a best friend that doesn't seem to understand, a crazy and self-conscious protagonist. The only outstanding difference is that this story focuses more on love life instead of body issue. Still with her delighted and humorous voice, Sydney Salter tells the story of the girl who seems to have lost her excitement in love because of past unsuccessful relationships.

The book manages to keep the fun atmosphere throughout the pages even though there are serious moments/conversations happening here and there. Some parts are extremely sweet and cute I swoon a bit. I love the excerpts from Miss Swoon column that appear at the end of every chapter, accompanied by poems written by X.C. The story gives a nice message about finding one's self and learning to fall in love decently again.

Much as I enjoyed the book, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. I skim through a lot at the beginning because it feels that the plot isn't going anywhere. Some scenes are repeated and the part which is supposed to be the highlight of the book - the camp, is very short and not much impressive. In my opinion, it's nice but can get better.

For the characters, I adore them all, especially Polly and Miss Swoon. They're fun to be with but I wish Polly would be less confused or inactive sometimes. I think Xander is a sweet guy. He's very serious with the poems and how can you not love the guy who sends you messages n a crane?

To sum up, a fun story but don't expect it to be as great as Sydney Salter's debut book.

Rating: 3/5