Review: I hate to be a party pooper but...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 06 30, 2012
Disclaimer: The fact that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review has not affected my rating.First of all, I would like to thank the author for providing me with a free review copy. However, since this is an honest review, I apologize for my negative words, and am in no way trying to disrespect you.I was really psyched by the description of this book - it's pretty rare to have a contemporary YA book set in the Amazon. I suppose I was expecting something along the lines of naked natives in tents. To a degree, this is true, but unfortunately, the writing and plot style of this book wasn't for me.Let me start off with what I liked - mainly the setting of the book. As I said before, a contemporary YA book set in Amazon is pretty rare, and seeing a tribe there was unique and held some of my interest. I liked reading about the trees, tribes' rituals, and beauty of nature!However, the main thing that put me off  was the fact that despite being away from the Amazon most of her life and knowing almost nothing about the Guardians or her heritage, Julia was able to master her abilities and be considered very powerful, very easily. I was hoping to see her struggle or grow a bit, but this did not happen.WARNING: SPOILERS.Moreover, there was the dreaded triangle trap. I suppose I'm sick of it by now, but if used effectively, I might not have minded. However, Julia, Gabriel, and Yoji pretty much all fell to insta-love. I didn't see much of their relationships developing; just a lot of heated cheeks, wistful or annoyed looks, and mind reading. But what really put me off was the fact that Julia was so repulsed at Gabriel because he was an alien =__= Maybe it's because her relationship with him to begin with wasn't that developed, but if she was really in love with him as she claimed to be, why wouldn't she choose him? I remember in another YA PNR book, when the protagonist found out her love was an alien but couldn't be with him because of the rules, she fought and became accepted into her society through her own will. That would be how you show your love. Other than that, there wasn't much chemistry between Julia and Yoji anyways (she even mentioned him being like an older brother...) - how could she consider him to be a suitable lover?END SPOILERS.The writing style also didn't suit me. When I was reading, I found that many of the "clues" the author left were so, so obvious - it was practically pointed out. There was almost no mystery for me - I predicted the ending a few chapters ahead of the "climax". Quite a few spelling and grammar mistakes were also made - I might be being a tad picky because I just came back from an SAT English class, but the way I imagined Julia's voice put me off, especially since some of her thoughts seemed to eloquent for a teenager.Overall, this book wasn't for me. If you're sick of insta-love and love triangles, skip Swirls. However, if you don't mind them and are looking for a PNR book with a unique setting, go ahead and read it.