Shenanigan Swift’s name labels her as a troublemaker. And while that name is rather fitting, she soon finds herself looking for a troublemaker. For it appears that someone in the large Swift family … is a murderer.
Shenanigan Swift’s name labels her as a troublemaker. And while that name is rather fitting, she soon finds herself looking for a troublemaker. For it appears that someone in the large Swift family … is a murderer.
On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the Family Dictionary and randomly given a name from its pages. They receive that plucked-out moniker, and it’s assumed that they are destined to ultimately match that dictionary description to a tee.
In Shenanigan Swift’s case, well, that turns out to be true. The word’s definition—tomfoolery, skulduggery, mischief of all varieties—pretty much fits her through and through. She tends to find herself wrapped up in one form of trouble or another.
Sure, she’d probably rather be Intrepid Swift and be thought of as fearless; adventurous. Or maybe being called Insightful Swift and carrying the label of having or showing an accurate and deep understanding; perceptive would be nice.
She tries to live up to both of those word/names in any case, because she’s determined to find the long-hidden fortune of the Swift family. It was stashed away somewhere on the large Swift estate long ago and Shenanigan plans on making it hers. The family reunion/treasure hunt that just kicked off could be the perfect opportunity.
On top of that, the reunion has afforded Shenanigan the chance to meet many of the extended Swift family members for the first time. All of the quirky, rude, sweet and slightly criminal Swifts pouring in the estate’s front door have made the event oh-so enjoyable.
The problem is, not long after the family members gather, Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, the matriarch of the Swift clan, is pushed down a staircase. She survives the tumble, but other dangerous and potentially deadly things begin happening. Shenanigan’s cousin Gumshoe Swift steps up to investigate. But he tends to be a far less effective detective than his name might suggest.
So Shenanigan and her science-minded sister Phenomena step up to follow the clues. And they might just have a good shot at finding the Swift family troublemaker at the core of the case. After all, who better to find a troublemaker than a person well versed in tomfoolery, skulduggery and mischief of all varieties?
Nothing explicit.
Though there’s little-to-no discussion of faith here, late in the story several people turn to a device called the Ecto Electric Kin Communicator. This Ouija board-like machine allows its operators to supposedly talk to spirits of the dead.
Phenomena, however, doesn’t believe the machine is anything but a manipulative con. And Uncle Maelstrom makes it plain to Shenanigan that you “shouldn’t interfere with spirits.”
The largest focus on faith in the Swift family is the Family Dictionary. This “leather-bound monster of a book” has been created by family members over the years, “bursting its bindings with pages of calfskin and parchment and paper, with entries in crisp modern fonts, wonky typewritten letters, and hand-scrawled script.” Every Swift family member’s name has been chosen at random from the book. And some believe that the book itself has the power to determine the name-holder’s future.
However, in spite of this belief, some in the family push back against the idea that a book (or anything) can have power over your life. “Correlation does not equal causation … just because two things seem connected, it doesn’t mean they actually are,” someone notes. In other words, your name doesn’t have to define who you are.
In a similar vein, one of Shenanigan’s cousin is an individual who has recently decided to not only claim a new name (calling themselves Erf) but also decided to proclaim themselves a nonbinary. And Erf prompts Shenanigan to wonder if she has to be a troublemaker just because the dictionary said so.
With these two parallel ideas, The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels challenges readers to think about how much they are going to let other people and their expectations define them. And while certainly aspects of the book are problematic, it also may help encourage young readers to respect other people’s differences—from the way they think about the world around them to the way they present themselves.
Shenanigan lives at the Swift estate with her sisters, Phenomena (a science-focused reclusive sort) and Felicity (a soft-spoken teen who loves fashion), and a pair of older relatives.
Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude is the family matriarch who’s stern and heavy handed. But she also carries the weight of the family at large, and it becomes evident later on that Schadenfreude does indeed care deeply for the girls. The other adult directly involved with the girls is their Uncle Maelstrom. He’s a former sea captain who the girls look to for advice, help and a consistent love. (Though in the midst of a current danger, Maelstrom doesn’t always tell the full truth.)
We meet a variety of other quirky relatives who arrive for the reunion—some nice, some rude and hateful, some odd, and some rather creepy. These relatives tend to turn against one another when things get tense.
One, non-family member, for instance, Cook, was given a place in the Swift home many years before. She’s a tough and loyal woman who once accidentally chopped off her own finger with a cleaver and then sewed it back on to finish the family’s meal. Cook is definitely accepted as one of their own by the immediate family, but she’s instantly turned against by other Swift cousins when situations turn deadly.
The girl’s parents are abroad and never heard from.
We’re told that Uncle Maelstrom uttered an expletive, but we’re not told what he said. We do, however, read that someone exclaims, “oh, god.” There are uses of the word “h—,” along with some name-calling in the form of single uses of “twit” and “hag.”
Adults drink champagne. Shenanigan sips the adult beverage but hates the taste. Someone fills a room full of laughing gas in an attempt to have a group of people “die laughing.” (The windows are broken out to save them.)
For a middle-grade book, there is quite frankly a great deal of deadly violence in the story mix. We’re told the story of a Swift ancestor who killed his brother to steal his share of a fortune. Someone is pushed down a long flight of stairs. Another is shot in the eye by a crossbow bolt and then has his skull crushed by a heavy object to cover up the means of death. Someone is shot in the chest by an arrow and killed. A shelf full of tombstones falls on someone’s head. Etc.
We also learn that the Swift homestead is primed with a number of hidden and potentially deadly traps in the form of falling objects, projectiles and trap doors. There’s an ongoing sense of mortal peril with teens and adults being attacked by knives, arrows, guns and blunt instruments.
Shenanigan’s tween cousin declines to say whether they’re a boy or a girl and decides to claim the name “Erf” as a sort of protest against others’ expectations. An adult character also recounts the fact that, at birth, everyone “thought I was a boy. … The doctors said I was a boy. My parents bought me boy clothes. I had to learn to talk in order to explain the situation to them,” this individual declares.
There’s also flirting between same-sex and different-sex characters in the story. A brother and sister pair both have “ex-husbands” and are both currently married to men.
In the course of Shenanigan’s exploration of the Swift estate she finds a bathroom with hidden peep holes in one wall.
None.
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The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels is a classic-feeling, and wacky-character-populated, whodunit mystery for kids. It encourages readers to think about the choices they make and consider the type of person they want to be.
However, parents of younger readers should also note that, along with raising questions about personal identity, the book aims to normalize the idea of personal gender identity and same-sex attraction. There are several characters that identify as either non-gender, trans or gay.
Even if you look past those elements, there is quite a bit of violence in this middle-grade book. And characters use a Ouija board-like machine that communicates with the dead.
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Review by Bob Hoose
