Review: Sway by Kat Spears

Title: Sway
Author: Kat Spears
Pages: 320 
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Pub Date: September 16th, 2014
Source: Netgalley
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High school senior Jesse Alderman, or Sway as he's known, could sell hell to a bishop.  He also specializes in getting things people want—term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs.  It's all business with Jesse.  He has few close friends and he never lets emotions get in the way.

But when Ken, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming king, and all around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things.  While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love for the very first time. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget's younger brother who's belligerent and self-pitying after spending a lifetime dealing with cerebral palsy.  Suddenly Jesse is visiting old folks at nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him.  The tinman really does have a heart after all. 

A Cyrano De Bergerac story with a modern twist, Sway is told from Jesse’s point of view with unapologetic truth and biting humor, his observations about the world around him untempered by empathy or compassion--until Bridget's presence in his life forces him to confront his quiet devastation over a life changing event a year earlier and maybe, just maybe, feel SOMEthing, again.

This was certainly not what I expected but in the best way possible. I was expecting an emotionless story of a swindler trying to figure out how to feel things. I was only half right, there were definitely a lot of emotions in this story. 

Sway, better known as Jesse was the schools go-to guy. If you needed test answers or “provisions” for your party he would be the one to ask. He got paid mostly in favors and secrets.

Basically he was the man, the only person he truly cared about was his best friend Joey. That is until he’s hired to get a date from Bridget. She is not at all what he expects. Jesse is sed to lying and being around scumbags that Bridget was a splash of fresh air for him. Bridget wasn’t just “Disney Princess” beautiful but she was also genuine and sweet. Jesse finds himself falling for her. Hard.

Even though Jesse trying to fight his feelings for Bridget is the main point of the story there’s a lot of side characters. My very favorite character was Pete, he was Bridget’s kid brother who had cerebral palsy and was an outcast. Until he goes to a party with Jesse, now he’s finally on the radar as he becomes Jesse’s sidekick. It was so great because Pete would whine and Jesse would just reply by shutting up. He didn’t let the fact that Pete has cerebral palsy get in the way of their friendship.

Next there was Carter, he was basically the muscles of the operation. If anyone got out of line or didn’t pay up Carter would make sure to fix it. The only problem is that Jesse perfect-emotion free business started to suffer when he tried to be a better person. All of a sudden he was using up favors to make Bridget happy and he tried to stop selling drugs.

There was more than just his business that Jesse had to fix. He was broken, and he couldn’t deal with his past. Until he learns to move on from his past he can’t love Bridget, not the way she deserves.

“I was a monster. The kind of monster who punched a kid with cerebral palsy, who sold a sweet girl like bridget to the highest bidder, who didn’t have to care about how other people felt, because I didn’t have any feelings of my own. The kind of monster who doesn’t survive to see the end of the fairytales.”

This was Kat Spears first book and I am in love with her writing. Its sassy and smart and the way she describes the people and the places made me feel like I was right there. I can’t wait for her next book!

Overall this was a Veronica Mars – Male version but with a twist of romance and coming of age.