Swoon at Your Own Risk

by Sydney Salter

You’d think Polly Martin would have all the answers when it comes to love—after all, her grandmother is the famous syndicated advice columnist Miss Swoon. But after a junior year full of dating disasters, Polly has sworn off boys. This summer, she’s going to focus on herself for once. So Polly is happy when she finds out Grandma is moving in—think of all the great advice she’ll get. But Miss Swoon turns out to be a man-crazy sexagenarian! How can Polly stop herself from falling for Xander Cooper, the suddenly-hot skateboarder who keeps showing up while she’s working at Wild Waves water park, when Grandma is picking up guys at the bookstore and flirting with the dishwasher repairman? No advice column can prepare Polly for what happens when she goes on a group camping trip with three too many ex-boyfriends and the tempting Xander. Polly is forced to face her feelings and figure out if she can be in love—and still be herself.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Summer, Realistic Fiction, Fiction

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Sydney Salter’s writing career started with keeping a high school diary, but she now finds it even more exciting—and far less traumatic—to make stuff up. Her novels include My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters, Jungle Crossing, and Swoon At Your Own Risk. Sydney lives in Utah with her husband and assorted dogs and cats. When not writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, working as a small claims court mediator, and traveling absolutely anywhere.

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Street corner TBR Challenge
May pick #2 per Tina!

I can definitely see a lot of people liking this one, teenage girls in particular. I think I would have gobbled this up and absolutely loved it back when I was in high-school. It was an okay read, I felt it a little long for it's genre. It's predictable, but has some really fun moments. Like I said, it's an OKAY read....

Polly is having quite the year with bad relationships... 4 or 5 guys in less than a year and now she is stuck working with her ex-Sawyer at the western-themed water park (yeah, I know it's kind of a wierd theme for a water park, but whatever. It explains the cover of the book) and you guessed it, he is her superior. She's dog-sitting one of her exes pooches. She's knocking her best-friend Janes new guy. She turns anything serious into a joke. But with a new love interest (even though she has sworn off guys), an out-of-the-picture dad, a mom juggling 2 jobs, and a best friend who is getting tired of her clown act... what is Polly going to do this Summer?!?!?

Eh, if you're into girly-young-books, it's decent. Pretty good for a summer read. Light-weight. Completely YA age appropriate, no sex scenes.

2.5 stars

Sidenote; I'm sorry, but the waterpark's dress code for the girls is absolutely ridiculous... a low cut bathing suit paired with cut-off denim shorts?!?!!? Ouch!! Have you ever had to stay in wet denim for long??? Trust me, it's not a pleasant experience!

[Kate McMurry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, breezy, chick lit novel

After five failed romances in the past year, Polly Martin has sworn off boys, but it's a difficult vow to keep. She runs into ex boyfriends everywhere she goes and, on some level, she's still attracted to every one of them. Worse, she also seems to constantly encounter Xander Cooper, a skateboarder she's known for years who's suddenly gotten uncomfortably good looking. He spends a lot of time at Wild Waves, a Western-themed water park where she's working for the summer. As if life weren't complicated enough with her boy problems, Polly has to move into her little sister's room so her grandmother can stay in hers when she comes for a long visit. Normally, Polly would be delighted to see Grandma, who writes an advice column for the lovelorn called Miss Swoon--Polly could certainly use some guidance. But Grandma has suddenly gone man-crazy, and is doing anything but following her own sound advice.

This book is enjoyable chick lit that is often very funny. Polly's wry observations about her job, her ex boyfriends, her family, and life in general are a hoot but, at the same time, the book conveys an important, underlying message. Polly has spent her teen years twisting herself into a pretzel to go along with whatever passions her boyfriend of the moment is pursuing. Over the course of the book, she begins to learn who she is as a person and what she truly wants, outside of the needs and desires of some guy who treats her like a convenient toady to his goals.

[Peace Love and Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is an ARC, I decided not to say anything about the plot but to just reflect on what I read :), well ok I will not divulge too much info.

I absolutely love this book. The first two chapters wasn't all that and I got worried that I might give this a low rating but then grandma shows up, and then Polly she started enumerating her pathetic attempt into finding herslef in dating the wrong guys, and then another situation and then another and the next thing I know, I am reading quite profusely. It is not gag inducing sickly sweet and corny. No not at all. Do not let the title fool you. Despite Polly's poor relationship choices and flaws, I adore her. I like how she uses all the big words making all of her ex-ex-ex-ex-ex's really look dumb and insignificant. She have a lot of spirit despite the daddy issues, a barely there mom and a sexagenarian for a grandma who writes love advice. Polly reminds me of some part of me growing up, she find it hard to open up about her feelings (shoot I still do), finds it hard to say no to people and forgets the presence a best friend when a new boyfriend comes around (guilty! guilty!). Her wit and sacrasm is a very cackling combination.

The secondary characters are a hoot too. Sonnet and her gossip blog about current hook ups and break ups which mostly got mentions of Polly's name. Grandma Swoon who flirts and acts like a teenager. And oh my gosh, Xander Cooper, his mysterious skater boy demeanor is just too perfect as a YA fictional boyfriend.Oh and the tension between him and Polly, too cute and innocent.

Overall Swoon At Your Own Risk is a story about finding oneself, love, risk, family and friendship. Watch out for laugh out loud moments, unforgettable memories and scenes that will make you swoon.

[Kait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swoon At Your Own Risk is beyond cute. I loved it. After I started it I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading it and I finished in a very short amount of time, something I haven't been doing a lot of lately. I juust had to put everything aside and read. =]

Polly was hilarious. She made me laugh so much but that wasn't the only side to her. She was scared and vulnerable and it led to her making a lot of bad choices when it came to guys. She was trying to change her ways but then Xander came into the picture and screwed all that up. I adored him. He was so sweet and funny. I want a guy like him. Of course, there were some other characters but they didn't really stand out to me. I didn't understand Polly's friendship with Jane and I didn't actually like Jane. I much preferred Sonnet and her blog posts. Those might have been the best part of the book.

There wasn't a whole lot going on with the plot but there was enough to keep me entertained and that's all that mattered. It was cute and funny but there was some serious stuff thrown in to change it up a bit.

Overall, Swoon At Your Own Risk is the perfect summer read. I can't recommend it enough. Now I have to go check out Sydney Salter's debut novel, My Big Nose (And Other Natural Disasters).

[Shanyn]

I expected to connect with the main character (Polly), because the story is based solely on her - no flipping view points or other plots. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Yes, the characters had their good moments - Polly's mom often had me laughing out loud, in fact. But I didn't feel that pull for Polly - I wanted things to go well for her but I didn't feel connected to her, at all.

It's a fun story, but I generally like to be rooting for one of the characters (or at least like them a whole bunch) - Polly is fine, but does nothing too outstanding and didn't really make me want to read any other stories about her.

Oh, and can I just say - there are fun little "entries" at the end of the chapters... usually columns from Miss Swoon, Polly's grandmother. Sometimes there are other "entries" besides those newspaper columns and it took me several chapters to understand who "XC" was. Then I felt like an idiot. You'll understand what I mean if you give this book a go.

Looking for a cute, fluffy read? Try this one.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me longer to finish than I wanted. I'd been plowing through books and then I hit this one and skidded to a stop. It just took me too long to get into.

Polly has sworn off guys. They're all idiots who are obsessed with stupid things like cars, talking, hiking, and student government. She's planning on staying away from them...until she lays eyes on Xander. It gets a little more complicated.

I liked the advice strewn throughout the novel (and some of the fake questions for Miss Swoon that came up) and I liked Xander's poetry. He's a sweet guy. That was all cool.

Polly actually got on my nerves a little. She was just so wishy-washy about some things and she just didn't open up to anyone, no matter how much she complained about people not being there for her. That's why it took so long to finish it: I had to put up with her attitude. When Xander truly entered the novel, it got better. She leveled out.

[Gaby G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polly tiene 5 ex-novios, uno detrás del otro. Sayer, el ex #2, la dejo porque no era lo suficientemente profunda, ex #1 termino con ella porque ella no acepto acostarse con el, incluso cuando el ya tenia una habitación de hotel alquilada. Ex #3 es bueno besando…..y así sucesivamente. Es por eso que decide no tener mas chicos, concentrarse en su trabajo, ganar dinero para intentar ir a la universidad, y volver a juntarse con su mejor amiga. Pero todo eso es mas complicado de lo que esperaba, en especial cuando su mejor amiga tiene otra vida, su ex #2 la supervisa en el trabajo, y Xander, un chico súper sexy que recién esta notando, se aparece todo los días en su trabajo para hacer mas difícil seguir la regla de no-mas-chicos.

Es una historia en donde Polly no solo madura en cuanto al amor, sino sobre el divorcio de sus padres, el sentimiento de abandono como consecuencia, los problemas financieros y las responsabilidades que implica haber salido con tantos chicos.

!Polly me encanto!. Aunque al principio es superficial, despreocupada y confundida, siempre me pareció agradable, y sentí que Sydney Salter logro plasmarla como una chica joven y alegre, incluso cuando esta sobreviviendo tantos problemas. Por supuesto, al pasar la historia, va creciendo y aprendiendo, pero su personalidad, lista y sarcástica, se mantiene. Xander, por su parte, es el chico que todas las chicas deberían buscar! Es dulce, responsable, sexy, inteligente. No es superficial. No ve a Polly solo por su bonito físico, sino por su interior. Y por si no fuera suficiente, escribe poemas.

Además, tenemos en el libro un montón de personajes secundarios que ame. La familia de Polly, desde Grace, la hermana pequeña de Polly obsesionada con los peluches, la trabajadora madre de Polly que le encanta decir chistes malos y la abuela de Polly (Srita. Swoon) que no puede evitar coquetear con cualquier hombre. Pero también esta Jane, la “mejor amiga”, y Sonnet, la autora de un blog de chismes en donde Polly es casi la protagonista.

Aparte, me gusto mucho el hecho que toda la historia esta complementada con los consejos de la abuela en su columna de Srta. Swoon, los post del blog de Sonnet, y algún que otro poema de Xander.

No sabia que esperar de este libro, pues es primera vez que leo a esta autora. Es una lectura ligera y cómica, y no puedo conseguir ni una sola cosa que me molestara de este libro. Aunque tal vez no sea un libro que te atrapa desde los primeros capítulos, luego te deja con ganas de mas.

Reseña publicada en Historias Imaginarias

He recibido este libro gracias a International Book Tours

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a year of boy craziness and subsequent heartbreak, Polly Martin swears off boys for the summer. Of course, that’s much easier said than done since the exes keep appearing everywhere. There’s Sawyer, ex number three, who just happens to be her supervisor at her summer job, then Jack, ex number two, who does to the same parties as her, and then there’s Xander, but he’s not an ex even if he keeps breaking Polly’s no-boys rule by always showing up where she works. Thank goodness Polly’s grandmother, better known as Miss Swoon, the classy love advice columnist, is moving in for the summer. That should make a boy-free life for Polly easier—right? But life rarely goes as planned, and Polly’s about to find out that maybe she shouldn’t give up on boys—and love—just yet.

I just loved Salter’s sweet and hilarious debut with My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters. Salter’s second young adult novel, Swoon at Your Own Risk is even better. This novel is so appealing in that it combines the serious and the more ridiculous sides of life into a meaningful bundle of fun. Readers will no doubt be entertained with heroine Polly’s quick wit and all the silly situations she finds herself in. this is the start of a strong bond between Polly and the reader which in turn allows the reader to better understand Polly’s emotional avoidance issues. Polly proves a fresh contrast to the belief that boys are the ones who can’t share their feelings, making her road to overcoming that fear all the more memorable. The outcome to Polly’s tale is definitely predictable but sweet nonetheless. Salter is incredibly successful at balancing humor with the more difficult parts of everyday life, creating a relevant and delectable read in Swoon at Your Own Risk.

This novel will be enjoyed by fans of Salter’s debut My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, Beauty Shop for Rent by Laura Bowers, Faking 19 by Alyson Noël, and For Keeps by Natasha Friend. I look forward to more fun reading from Salter.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars - I HATED this book at first, but it ended up growing on me a little bit later on.

At first, I couldn't stand Polly. She was self-centered and bugged the crap out of me. I hated how her world revolved around guys - and I'm not talking about the I have a guy, I'm going to lose myself in him - which she did also. I'm talking about not being able to think about anything but how hot the boy is and how she wants to make out with him. Get a grip! You're acting like a sex-crazed 14 year old boy!

But the book ended up surprising me as I learned to like Polly a little more - just a little more but at least it's something. I find out why Polly is the way she is, but still doesn't give her a good excuse to act like a total bitch. And she's a HORRIBLE friend.

I do like Xander, though I think he's a bit TOO sappy for my taste. Swoon-worthy I like. Romantic I like. I can't put my finger on it, but Xander crosses that grey, undefined line just a little bit.

Still not a bad read after I got through about the first third of the book - and just a warning, it's really LONG for your typical light, fun read..

[Book_freak]

I COULD NOT FINISH THIS BOOK
It was definitly one of the worst book that I have EVER read
Boring....bland...characterless...monotonous...& i could bo on

Please go do something better with your time than read this book.
Watch grass grow. Try and lick your elbow. Do homework. Cut onions
But please dont read this book x_x

[Angel Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it and kinda envyish of polly i want all her ex bfs lol, but i love the way to book is written.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I would like this a lot more than I did. The idea of this girl working at a Wild West themed waterpark seemed ridiculously amazing to me. Who wouldn't want to read something so odd? Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into this book. I found myself setting it down a lot and choosing instead to netflix some Dean Winchester. While it got a little bit better towards the last 1/4 of the book, it still never sucked me in like I'd hoped.

One of my main issues was Polly. I don't want to sound mean, but I really didn't like her. She just got on my nerves the entire book. The girl is downright boy crazy and not in a cute funny way. It was like her whole life revolved around boys. She was constantly ogling every dude in sight. Polly had a long list of exes as well. Some of them I was happy for her to be away from and others I didn't blame for dumping her. How does she expect to have a real relationship with someone if she can't open up at all. I'm not saying that she should have been sobbing all over the place and gushing about her life long dreams, but she should have shared some emotion towards her boyfriends instead of making out all the time. Whenever any of the boys tried to have a serious conversation with her, she'd make a joke out of everything. Overall, it seemed like Polly had no life outside of guys. With every new boyfriend, it was like she reinvented herself to fit what the boyfriend liked. Polly was one of those girls that had no personality in a relationship and always changed her interests to that of a boy. It was just kind of sad and annoying. I must say though, I started to like her a bit more once everything fell apart. I stopped hating Polly and started disliking all the characters around her. Especially the father, I felt horrible for Polly and Grace during those scenes. My parents are divorced, so I could relate to that. At the end, there was sort of a revelation for the dad, but I didn't think it excused his behavior and I still hated him. Also, strangely, I really disliked the grandma. I thought I would like her character because she seemed interesting from the summary, but she ended getting on my nerves as well. She just was very flighty and inconsiderate.

Normally, I'm all for the romance in books. Hell, I can't read a book if there isn't an ounce of romance in it, but I wasn't feeling it in this book. Xander wasn't a bad guy. In fact, he was a very nice person, but I thought he was kinda boring. He had potential to be an interesting character, but he didn't have the spark a male love interest should have. I don't mean that he had to be an asshole and jerk because there have been tons of 'nice' guys in YA that I've liked (any Sarah Dessen novel). Xander was just bleh. My biggest problem with him was his poetry, turned me off of him right away. There were little snippets of his poetry at the end of chapters and I felt like I was supposed to swoon over his way with words. Instead of seeming deep and impressive, it just made me laugh. The poetry was so pretentious like snobby art kids or the contestants on that bravo show 'Work of Art'. Also, I didn't feel that Polly and Xander fell in love. I'll admit, they did have some chemistry, but overall, it seemed rushed to me. There was this strange crying scene at the camping trip that weirded me out. Xander just burst into sobs randomly and I still have no idea what the hell he was crying about.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

You could say Polly Martin wrote the book on love--specifically on why to avoid it all costs. Despite all of the sensible advice from her grandmother's syndicated advice column Miss Swoon and the cautionary tale of her own mother's divorce, Polly's junior year was filled with dating disaster after disaster. After disaster. And a few more disasters besides.

Polly has learned her lesson and is trying to focus on making her life a boyfriend free zone and making up to her best friend for spending the better part of a year focusing on guys instead of, you know, being a best friend.

The only problem is that Polly's exes keep turning up in all the wrong places. A misguided job application has her working with Sawyer at the Wild Waves water park where he keeps asking her about her feelings. Running for student council to impress Hayden has landed her the unenviable position of planning the senior prom.

Then there's Xander Cooper who seems determined to become Polly's next ex boyfriend. Except Polly is done with boys. For real.

Polly is surrounded by people, especially ex boyfriends, who think they know her. Except Polly has spent so much time trying impress or please other people that she isn't even sure who she is herself anymore. But maybe a self-declared relationship failure really can find herself and fall in love while working at a Western-themed water park in Swoon at Your Own Risk (2010) by Sydney Salter.

Swoon at Your Own Risk is a light, summery book that packs a punch and won't disappoint readers looking for a book with some depth. Salter writing effortlessly brings to mind summer and madness of a water park during summer vacation to create a setting so vivid readers would be advised to keep their inner tubes handy.

Beyond that, Polly is a really astute character and one of my favorite narrators so far this year. Emotionally, Polly is a mess. She can't tell where her own interests end or where her efforts to pursue boys starts. In a lot of ways Polly does everything wrong; she does things she dislikes to attract boys and she pretends she isn't smart to avoid attention and she avoids talking about her feelings like nobody's business. But even at her lowest, Polly is endearing and so incredibly smart that readers are willing to follow her crazy journey throughout the book to see where it all ends.

The amazing thing is all of Polly's crazy mixed emotions and motivations are conveyed so clearly with Salter's writing. Her narrative voice is strong and original, tossing around SAT vocabulary words and chemistry(?) references in the same breath as she explains how important it was, at the time, to be interested cars so that she could have something to talk about with a boy.

As the title might suggest Swoon at Your Own Risk is part romance and part humor. But it's also a lot more. And it's really clever. Salter has has created a delightful story and introduced a complex heroine that is a breath of fresh air.

Possible Pairings: The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, Sea Change by Aimee Friedman, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

[Cinnamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh...summer romance. What joy.

Wait, what am I saying? Summer romance rarely ends well, especially when you can't decide who to be romantic about!

SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK by Sydney Salter was a very cute and quite funny read. Following Polly (aka Pollywog) through her summer adventures in romance, this book gives us a cute tale that is both funny and at times a bit moving as well. Part of what makes this book such a good read is the format it's written in. From the first person point-of-view, it's very easy to follow Polly and see the sorts of shenanigans she gets herself into. From the first page, the reader gets hooked in her descriptions and inner turmoil. Whether she's staring at Sawyer, thinking about any of her other ex-boyfriends, or pondering the mysterious Xander, Polly's mind give us some vivid and colorful detail.

Have you ever had that experience where you read a story and think, "You know, it would be awesome to have these characters as friends." That was how I felt about SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK. Polly was quirky and at times could probably be a cruddy friend, but you could tell she always cared. She's a character that you want to follow; one that makes your heart pull for her.

The plot of SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK was robust and easy to follow. Polly has sworn off all boys after her latest disastrous relationship. With the unfortunate issue of having already accepted a summer job at the water park with the newest Ex as her boss, Polly's summer is looking to be pretty lame. Fortunately, being at a water park in the middle of a hot summer has its advantages. When Polly catches sight of Xander Cooper, shirtless and looking pretty stinking hot, her confusion flashes into overdrive. Wasn't this the same nerdy kid she went to elementary school with? Well, people change, and Polly is about to find out just how much.

If I were headed to the beach right now and had to pick one book that I could take with me, I would take SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK. I dub this the perfect summer read, right up there with Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. It was funny, lighthearted, at times pretty emotional, and Salter really did an amazing job developing the main characters. Over time we get to peel back the layers of Polly and figure out who she really is. It's pretty amusing that Polly learns right along with us and this makes for some cute moments.

This is the first book by Sydney Salter I have read, but I can tell you that she has gained a new fan. As soon as I can sneak away with the plastic, I'll be grabbing her other books. Her writing style is clear, her characters are engaging, and overall she creates a story that sticks in the mind and has you turning back to read the book again as soon as you've finished it.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swoon At Your Own Risk was a fun and cute read. This was my first book by Sydney Salter, but it will definitely not be my last. I went into the book headfirst, not knowing what to expect. I finished it in a couple of days and my reaction was: loved it! Swoon At Your Own Risk was witty and enjoyable, with deeper messages embedded in the pages. Polly learned a lot about herself and others throughout the novel and by the end of the book she’d changed a lot. I really liked all the characters. Polly was a fun narrator, and readers could relate to her. It was interesting hearing about all the different boyfriends she’d had throughout the year, and this was where one of the lessons played out, learning about how she’d changed her life to suit the boy she was dating. Joining student council for Hayden, Nature Club for Gareth… and how this probably wasn't the best idea. The character names were all interesting and unique as well- Polly, Jane, Sawyer, Sonnet, Kipper… These were some of the best character names I've seen in awhile :) Also, reading about Polly’s work at Wild Waves was fun. Some of my favorite scenes in the novel played out at Wild Waves.

In addition, I loved reading Sonnet’s blog entries, Xander’s poems, and Miss Swoon’s columns at the end of each chapter. Each one would bring a smile to my face. Miss Swoon was a cool character, and I liked the advice she gave, although she didn’t always follow through with it herself. Also, Xander was an excellent character. He was perfect for Polly and I would have to hold myself back each time she pushed him away, scared of having her heart broken yet again.

Polly’s best friend Jane didn’t play a big part in the book until closer to the end. She invites Polly on a camping trip. There were quite a few twists in the plot that occurred on the trip and a scary encounter on a boat (I don���t want to include any spoilers!) that changed the course of the story! The sub-plots in this novel were cleverly tied in with the main plot and they added a lot to the novel (Her dad troubles, Hamburger Heaven, Miss Swoon, etc)

In the end, Swoon At Your Own Risk is definitely worth picking up come April and it’s going to be out in paperback which makes it that much better! The title will also make better sense once you read the novel. It’s such a perfect title for the book. Hint: it’s a play on “Swim at your own risk”- which does come up in the book! With a positive underlying message and a strong female lead, Swoon At Your Own Risk is funny, emotional, and an overall great read. I’m definitely going to pick up a copy of Salter's other novel, My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters soon.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

The multitude of ex's hasn't really sunk in for Polly yet. When she gets stuck with a job with ex #2 Sawyer, she finally sees how dating the most active people in her junior year might just backfire. Active meaning that, for each one of them she's had to do something in order to keep up with what they were interested in, and mold herself to keep them interested in her. Having enough with the male species for a while, Polly wishes to disconnect herself from the testosterone population. Being focused on work because of the amount of bills piling up and having her "Miss Swoon" advice columnist grandmother in the house seem like perfect ways to distract herself. However, when she starts to get the feeling that "Miss Swoon" doesn't heed her own advice, and her mother takes a job at the Hamburger Heaven--local burger joint that Polly's friends populate frequently--she finds that she needs to escape from her own life in order to feel any semblance of control. Xander Cooper's hot new appearance plans to splash that thought out of the water.

Knowing that any relationship with Xander Cooper can only end up with more activities than she can handle, Polly chooses to distance herself as much as her hormones deem possible. When she starts seeing him more and more frequently with his nieces and nephews at her Wild Waves job, she realizes that avoiding him will be more difficult than she thought.

Swoon at Your Own Risk was more of an enjoyable and touching story to read than I ever expected it to be. SAYOR was a lighthearted, psychological read of the common household missing a male-father figure. Polly's way of pushing away anyone that tried to get close enough to see under the surface was well-portrayed, and elucidated by her tough childhood. Salter's writing of Polly's experiences when life gets too complicated from dealing with so many of her ex's was well-crafted and developed into the harsh tale of how Polly deals with such situations. Running away and hiding behind jokes seemed common for her, pushing away from her loved ones looked like second-nature. When a new character breaks into the mix, he doesn't seem to faze Polly at first. Finding that he has his own issues somehow makes her slowly realize her mistakes and regrets. Polly's wide-ranged knowledge, vocabulary words, and charismatic/positive attitude progressively developed her character in the book.

SAYOR is recommended with the heartiest of character revelations.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

To swoon or not to swoon, that has always been Polly Martin's biggest dilemma. She tends to go through guys like water--or rather they tend to go through her because they think she's too shallow or too cold or too changeable. But whatever, it's not like guys stick around long enough to do any good.

With her dad gone, her mom working two jobs to pay the bills and her grandmother's advice column getting cut, Polly desperately needs her job as a life guard at the kiddy water park to pay for college. Even if it means putting up with her ex-ex-ex boyfriend and new supervisor calling her Pollywog. Even if it means being the fodder for her co-worker's gossip blog where the line between fact and fiction can get a little more than blurred. Even if it means watching her suddenly hot, former-geek neighbor sit shirtless in the sun as he jots notes in his mysterious black notebook while watching his niece and nephew play in the pool.

Though Polly's sworn off guys, her ex-boyfriends can't seem to stop asking her for favors, her recently moved-in grandmother won't stop flirting with every guy over 18 who shows up at their door, and her best friend keeps coming to her for advice on how to progress in her relationship with new boyfriend. Why can't everyone just leave her alone to a life of spinsterhood?

Sound a little bitter? Well, that's Polly. While she's sarcastic and smart and pretty much your typical teenaged protagonist, her issues tend to make her difficult to connect with. Instead of rooting for her, I spent a lot of time wondering why anyone bothered putting up with her, especially the aforementioned cute neighbor who puts up with her crap for nothing in return.

But despite a slow start and a little too much hormonal ranting and misused SAT vocabulary jokes, I ended up liking this book. It was a fast summer read with some fun characters and even some decent relationship advice columns mixed in.

[Alea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE LOVE LOVED Sydney Salter's My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters so I just knew I had to give Swoon At Your Own Risk I try. Unfortunately this book didn't quite do it for me like her previous one did.

I think this is rare for me but I just didn't really like the main character Polly. She wasn't a bad person by any means but I don't know if she wasn't believable to me. I can't pinpoint it but I didn't really like her. Same goes for her mother and grandmother who were sort of absent in her life while still being around (and her father who actually was absent). I thought her little sister Grace was funny though, with her stuffed animal obsession.

And I thought the whole multiple ex-boyfriends plot would be funny but it turned out to be sort of annoying and unbelievable to me. I don't know why, but I can't believe that she had that many ex-boyfriends in that amount of time. Something was off. Same goes for all the minor characters (except for Xander). I just didn't like them. Polly's best friend Jane made me mad and all her wild co-workers at Wild Waves just didn't seem that like good of people to me.

But Xander, someone that Polly knew from childhood as the weird kid, blossoms into this handsome and confident young man. I loved this guy and how he was so sweet when Polly was hot and cold and yes and no (to quote Katy Perry). I kinda just wish he was falling for someone other than Polly. It sounds so mean when I say that but I honestly thought that while reading.

I'm not really sure how I could feel this way about Swoon when I so loved Big Nose but I do. Honestly it could just be me, be sure to check out some of the other reviews! I'll definitely be reading the author's future works though to see if maybe I can find some of that Big Nose magic again!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every once in a while I come across a book that just clicks for me. This was one of those books. Sydney Salter is a local Utah author I met at Authorpalooza on Saturday and I picked up a signed copy of her book. I sat down to read it and less than 24 hours later I was done with a smile on my face. Swoon At Your Own Risk is a light, fun read that in my opinion is perfect for teens. Polly, the main heroine is looking for a little bit of distraction from her not-so-perfect life and tries out quite a few relationships back to back. Things get a little confusing when she is forced to work with her ex-boyfriend Sawyer at the local water park. Add a few more ex'es in the mix along with her neighbor Xander and you have one interesting summer.

As Polly becomes the main topic of her co-worker gossipy blog blog; she has to try to figure out who she is and what she really wants. Will she be plastic Polly with a fake smile and lots of jokes, or the real person she is tyring to become. Meanwhile Polly's Mom is working at the local burger joint and her dad has forgotten she exists. Along comes Xander, someone Polly has known since elementary school, but boy has he changed....gotta say I love Xander. He is the yin to her yang, and brings her right to where she needs to be. Who wouldn't want a friend who writes prose, plays ball with your little sister and folds you paper cranes? My favorite scenes with the two of them...cliff diving and a party where he shoes up with another girl to make Polly jealous. Swoon At Your Own Risk will keep you chuckling, yet it still addresses issues that so many teens today face: finding yourself, healing after a parent' divorce, and being a true friend. Truly it was such a fun read, that I will definitely read Sydney Salter's other books.

[Princess Bookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My Thoughts: We meet Polly aka Pollywog who has too many ex-boyfriends. She has went through guys f...more My Thoughts: We meet Polly aka Pollywog who has too many ex-boyfriends. She has went through guys fast mostly because she adjusts her life to match theirs. If they like cars, she likes cars. We also meet a few of her ex-boyfriends and the ex-boyfriend who drives her bonkers named Sawyer. Polly has a summer job at the pool with Sawyer and everyday he makes her life rough bossing her around calling her pollywog (which she does not like). Her family is struggling financially so she has to keep the job at the pool. Her grandmother also comes to stay with them and throughout the book we realize that Polly has a lot of daddy issues. We also meet Xander, the boy that has always lived on her street. I liked him from the get go and I wanted Polly to date him even though she has sworn off boys. They all end up on a camp trip! Read the book if you want to know what happens on the trip! The beginning of the book was a little bit slow but it does pick up. I think the difficult thing was getting to know each boyfriend and trying to keep their names straight. Other than that, even though it starts off slow, don't quit reading. If you need a break, just take a braek and continue on. There are laugh out loud moments, and aww moments. For example, when he licks the ice cream off her chin. Made Me Swoon!

Overall: Liked it. I really enjoyed reading about Penny and I liked the advice column from her grandma. I also really liked Xander.

Cover: I like the cover. Like how we can see Penny and the swimming pool.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not even for sure how to start this review. I liked this book, but it had its flaws. I think it should have possibly went through another round of edits before being released. One minute I would find myself completely engrossed and the next minute, I'd be struggling to get to the next chapter.

While slightly annoying at times, Polly was overall a character I grew to love. Sometimes she would crack me up and other times I just shook my head. She's a girl who really doesn't have her own path. She only does things that all her current boyfriends like. I hate seeing girls that can't even tell you what they like to do when suddenly they don't have a boyfriend. But I was gung ho that the book was mainly focused on her trying to change over the course of the summer.

The book sometimes got confusing because Polly sure did like the boys and this ex and that ex seemed to run together a bit when discussing them. But the family dynamics in the book were pretty hilarious. I loved seeing her mom, sister, and grandmother all in a room together. They all bounced off each other nicely. Xander was a good mix of boys to throw into Polly's life. He was probably my favorite because he didn't try to push Polly in a direction she never wanted to go in the first place. I also really liked reading the advice from Miss Swoon, the blog posts, and the poetry so to say. I just wished all three weren't sometimes jammed in at the end of each chapter. It was kind of distracting, but overall it was a pretty good read. I'd recommend it to people who like a more up beat and chick lit type of read.

[La Femme Readers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swoon At Your Own Risk was a fun, well-written novel with a few exceptions. I enjoyed the storyline but I have mixed feelings about Polly, at first she came off as a sarcastic, selfish and boy crazy person. She always needed a guy in her life. No matter how many times she tried to stay away from them, she failed miserably. I didn't really get to know Polly until the middle of the book. Her defense mechanism was her sense of humor, it literally was an emotional shield. Even her best friend, Jane was left in the dark about Polly's personal life. I truly felt sorry for her. Polly was a horrible friend, she only cared about her boy issues instead of caring about Jane. Ugh. I just didn't understand why guys, or should I say boys, were so important in her life until later on.

As I read on, Polly started realizing her faults and slowly grew as a person. I understood that some of her emotional issues stemmed from her family. At that point I actually started feeling sorry for her. However, I think once Xander, a used to be geek turned into hottie, became present in her life she slowly started changing. I really liked Xander's personality, he was such a deep thinker and very kind-hearted. I just wanted to shake Polly and tell her, "Hello! Nice guy alert!" Overall, I enjoyed this novel, it was really cute and would make a great Summer read. I think the story was appealing and the ending left me feeling warm inside. My favorite part would have to be Xander's little poems at the end of the chapters, they were like little treats. Okay fine so, I guess I did swoon over Xander the whole time!

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Salter's My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, so I was beyond ecstatic to read her newest novel Swoon at Your Own Risk. Unfortunately, Swoon at Your Own Risk wasn't quite as impressive.

I liked this one... but didn't love it. The plot sounded really interesting, but there was just too many boys... not exactly copacetic. I could possibly understand Polly 'dating' a handful of guys durning a single school year, but having them all be her 'boyfriends'... that was just too much. (Not to mention... I couldn't keep them all straight!) I guess it was just a little unbelievable because Polly didn't seem like the kind of girl people would like in general! Let alone all those boys wanting to be romantically involved with her.

Which takes me to my next point. Polly. I did not like her. I understood her and her frustrations, but she just didn't seem like a genuine character. I felt no empathy toward her what-so-ever. She annoyed me more than anything. However, I did like how Salter touched on Polly's automatic adoption of her current boyfriends interest. How many times does that happen in real life!? I know I'm an offender myself. I don't think you can ever stress enough how important it is to be true to yourself and find people that like you, for you!

Swoon still had the same quirky and fun writing as My Big Nose and it (the writing) was just as impressive and enjoyable the second time around.

Even though I didn't enjoy this Salter novel as much, I'll still be picking up her future novels and am looking forward to reading more from her!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Swoon at Your Own Risk but I didn't really, really like it - it was good enough for me to enjoy thoroughly. I thought the plot was interesting but kind of cliche in some areas. I feel like there are always books about the main girl protagonist who decides to swear off boys and then hilarity ensues. Like, look at the Lonely Hearts Club. Isn't that the same thing or at least really similar?

Anyway, besides the plot, I enjoyed the characters. I actually didn't like Polly much because I just couldn't relate to her. I felt like what she was thinking was completely different than what she was doing. It didn't really add up. The character I really liked was Xander. I thought he was a wonderful character and not just because he looks so good but because of his deep personality. I loved the...poems? he wrote. Are they even considered poems? Either way, I liked reading them and it definitely showed a different side of Xander - one that I wouldn't have expected and obviously, neither did Polly.

The other characters were kind of one-sided - they were fun to read about but they weren't great.

The ending was kind of disappointing, to be honest. I was actually expecting some more but the reality seemed to be less dramatic than what I was playing out in my mind which tends to happen more and more often these days...

Overall, Swoon at Your Own Risk is a good book and one that'll pass the time quickly but don't expect TOO much.

[Sara Grochowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Sydney Salter's sophmore novel, SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK! I was pulled in to Polly's story quickly and didn't want to the novel to end! While, at first glance, SWOON simply addresses the common theme of a girl with "daddy issues" turning to boys to deal with her problems, it is also a fun novel with hilarious dialogue.

I wasn't sure if I would really connect with or like Polly, but I was a bit attached to her by the end of the novel. She was spunky, sarcastic, and witty! While she is confused, fake, and prickly at the start of the novel, she really grows throughout the novel.

The secondary characters in SWOON were all perfectly written. I have a soft spot for each and every one of them. Polly's little sister was my favorite though - her stuffed animal collection reminded me of my Beanie Baby days!

And oh my gosh: Xander. He was so unbelievably adorable. It was definitely obvious from the beginning of the novel that Xander is the perfect guy for Polly but in her confused and boy phobic state there would be a bit of a journey to her realization of this fact. I loved the tension and buildup to this point. Xander definitely joins the ranks of my favorite book boys!

I will definitely be reading MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS, Salter's debut novel, sometimes soon! I think I've found a new author to add to my favorites!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 star rating

When you look at the cover of this novel, you'd think that it would end up being that perfect summer read. I'm sorry, but to me, it really wasn't.

Polly Martin's grandmother is known at the advice columnist, Miss Swoon, and is also known to give out the right advice at the right time. She has recently broken up with her boyfriend, and is now seeking for the right one, and then meets Xander Cooper, who lives close by, and is a hot skateboarder. Polly realizes that she's starting to need some major advice, and what's better than asking Miss Swoon herself, right when she lives in your house?

I'm not going to say much here, just warning you.

I found that this novel ended up being a slow-paced, uninteresting at times story. I've never actually ever read a newspaper before where there are advice columnists, do these things actually exist anymore? :)

Polly, Polly, Polly. *sigh*“

“Everyone smiles with that invisible gun to their head.”
-Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Hahah, Polly, did you hear that? *smiles like a creep*

I think you get what I mean, I guess I don't have to complain, eh?


*snickers*


The only good thing about this novel ended up being the "cute" romance between Polly and Xander, and of course, Miss Swoon's advice.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swoon at Your Own Risk is a fabulously fun novel that has officially made me start craving for summertime, even if it is about four months away.

Polly was a witty and sarcastic main character that constantly had me laughing and smiling, which made her story be an absolute blast to read about. I also found myself relating to her in the issues she has with distant father because the same thing has happened to me and my father over the years as it is now happening to her. Plus, her friends were the same as Polly. I loved flighty Sonnet and her scandalous blog, adorable and caring Xander, Jane, the reliable one, Polly's hilarious family (It would seriously be awesome if Miss Swoon was my grandma.), and the most of fall- Polly's main ex-boyfriends who always had a way of making me laugh with their annoying yet funny ways of harassing Polly.

The plot and writing were also up to par, in my opinion, because of the fact that I was constantly immersed in the story wondering what was going to occur next. Also, I loved how Sydney intertwined Sonnet's blog, snippets of Xander's journal, and Miss Swoon Q and As with almost every chapter.

In all, Swoon at Your Own Risk is a novel not to miss this coming April! I sincerely promise you regret picking this one up.

Grade: B+

[Yan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Salter’s debut novel, My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, I kid you not. I bawled like a 5 year-old for some reason. I had a huge grin on my face that my mom had to stop and ask why I was happy. When I find a novel that good I stalk the author. Seriously I’m like a rabid dog that will not let go until the owner of said leg dies…or something (preferably the something).

Swoon at Your Own Risk doesn’t deliver the initial love I had. My expectation bar was high, but the jump was just a few notches down from the clear. I think for me the hardest part to read was Polly herself. She was just so easily persuaded. I felt too frustrated to even enjoy the novel completely. I wish her internal mind somehow connects to her external mouth, which eventually does happen….

Swoon at Your Own Risk plays of childhood friends grown apart but grew extremely hot somewhere in between those years. Yes prepare for some swooning of your own ladies. Okay I’m not going to bore with all those needless details; I liked the book, but didn’t love it. There were chapters I gobbled up like a chocolate and some I had to waddle through like thick molasses. Some characters I yearned for more and others I learned to appreciate with a few that I would have been fine to never have read.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really cute! It made me long for lazy summer days, and summer romance. This was a really fluffy novel with deeper plot lines than are made obvious when you first pick up the book.


Polly was your typical teenage girl trying to find herself. She had become such a hodgepodge of different interests from all of the guys she had dated. This book was about her finding new love and learning not to compromise herself. Polly's grandma (Miss Swoon) was really funny and made me wish I had a grandma like that. (minus all the men) I also liked how all of Polly's previous boyfriends all had very different interests and personality. I did not get confused about who was who which I was afraid of. I also loved Xander he was by far my favorite part of the novel!


On another note I felt that this book was very stereotypical and I found myself wishing for a few more characters who were less stereotypical.



But besides that I really enjoyed this book and it makes me want to pick up Sydney's first book My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters. I hope to read more by Sydney in the future!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy read, but it was cute. It was basically your average teen romance book. I'm not saying I didn't like it, its just seems a lot like other teen romance books. If your looking for a cute, fun, summer read, heres the book to read.