SWOON is a children's book set in a near-future America where Walmarts are not open 24 hours for some reason. I didn't realize it was a children's book going in, and by the time it ended I had to assume it was. Turns out that description was in the Amazon listing the whole time; read it with that in mind.
One April 13 (the date itself doesn't seem to be significant), everyone over the age of 17 falls asleep and does not wake up. Seventeen may be the age of majority in England, rather than 18. As the sleepers sleep on, the children take over. There is some "Lord of the Flies" type follow-up, but that is only one faction. Other children try to make a world they can live in, even as they wonder what will happen to them when they turn 17 (was the Swoon a one-time event or will it always happen at 17?).
This seems to be a modern parable about politics in America, with Roberts seemingly wishing to eliminate all the adults and starting over with "woke" children. It didn't succeed on that level for me, as it follows so many stories about starting over in a world where most of the people have been removed without resolving the questions that were raised. There is a very long section in the middle where the children who are trying to establish a new society talk about their options. This was not effective, and the story only picks up again when some of the children go off in pursuit of a mysterious location that does not seem to be affected by the Swoon.
While that narrative has its own conclusion, the larger narrative of the story does not. I can't speak for readers of YA fiction, so maybe it's effective to let children speculate about their possible actions in a similar scenario. If you read this, keep in mind it is not Roberts' usual fare.
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2024
