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The Swift
Can the past be unbroken?
Everything about Pete's life stinks. His dad is dead, his grandfather doesn't even remember him, his mom cries all the time, and they're about to lose their crappy old house to the bank.
And Pete's twin brother Henry blames him for all of it.
While cleaning out the attic, the boys discover an old seaman's trunk that transports them back in time where they're forced to battle the raging sea and pirates bent on their destruction. Pete and Henry will have to work together to fix the broken past—or they won't have a future to return to.
Everything about Pete's life stinks. His dad is dead, his grandfather doesn't even remember him, his mom cries all the time, and they're about to lose their crappy old house to the bank.
And Pete's twin brother Henry blames him for all of it.
While cleaning out the attic, the boys discover an old seaman's trunk that transports them back in time where they're forced to battle the raging sea and pirates bent on their destruction. Pete and Henry will have to work together to fix the broken past—or they won't have a future to return to.
234 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2014
1 person is currently reading
414 people want to read
About the author
Alex Banks
18 books15 followersAlex Banks likes to say she holds a black belt in awesome since the only kind of kicking-butt she does is on paper. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, one samurai dog and four zen turtles.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 20, 2015
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Publisher: All Night Reads
Publishing Date: June 2014
ISBN: 9781927847053
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.8/5
Publisher Description: The night twelve-year-old Pete planned to shoot the winning goal in the championship hockey game was the same night his dad was lost at sea. Now, eight months later, his mom still cries all the time, his beloved grandfather, stricken with Alzheimer’s, can’t even remember him, and they’re about to lose their crappy old house to the bank. To make matters worse, his twin brother Henry blames Pete for all of it. After all, they were a family of fishermen—if Pete had gone to help on the boat instead of to the game, their dad might still be alive.
While searching the attic for stuff they can sell, Pete finds a battle-torn ship-in-a-bottle. When he and Henry show the bottle to their grandpa, the three of them are transported back in time—on board the very ship that’s going down. Battling pirates and the raging sea, the boys must learn to work together to help their grandpa save his past. If they don’t, they won’t have a future to return to.
Review: A wonderfully written tale of teen angst in the face of a Fathers death at sea and a Grandpa’s failing health. Henry and Pete are unwittingly pulled into their Grandfathers past to face pirates and help the Swift survive.
The writing was superb and the story-line, while not wholly inventive, was enough to transport you to another place and time. Set in and around Nova Scotia and Oak Island you get a feel for the area and the hardships and triumphs that ensue. A great read for any age.
Publisher: All Night Reads
Publishing Date: June 2014
ISBN: 9781927847053
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.8/5
Publisher Description: The night twelve-year-old Pete planned to shoot the winning goal in the championship hockey game was the same night his dad was lost at sea. Now, eight months later, his mom still cries all the time, his beloved grandfather, stricken with Alzheimer’s, can’t even remember him, and they’re about to lose their crappy old house to the bank. To make matters worse, his twin brother Henry blames Pete for all of it. After all, they were a family of fishermen—if Pete had gone to help on the boat instead of to the game, their dad might still be alive.
While searching the attic for stuff they can sell, Pete finds a battle-torn ship-in-a-bottle. When he and Henry show the bottle to their grandpa, the three of them are transported back in time—on board the very ship that’s going down. Battling pirates and the raging sea, the boys must learn to work together to help their grandpa save his past. If they don’t, they won’t have a future to return to.
Review: A wonderfully written tale of teen angst in the face of a Fathers death at sea and a Grandpa’s failing health. Henry and Pete are unwittingly pulled into their Grandfathers past to face pirates and help the Swift survive.
The writing was superb and the story-line, while not wholly inventive, was enough to transport you to another place and time. Set in and around Nova Scotia and Oak Island you get a feel for the area and the hardships and triumphs that ensue. A great read for any age.
June 16, 2014
The Swift had me from the start. I love history. I love fantasy. I love the Atlantic coast. And I love the nostalgia of the days of sail. This adventure included them all.
Peter’s life changes completely when his father dies at sea. Pete was supposed to be on that ship, but he skipped out for a hockey game. The guilt turns him sour and gnaws away at his relationships with his mother and his twin brother, Henry. Shortly afterward, Gramps, whom Pete idolizes, begins to slip away to the grip of Alzheimer’s. And then the bank calls up the loan on their house. With everything falling apart around him, Pete and Henry ransack the old attic for items to sell only to stumble upon a ship in a bottle and a family mystery that will transport them back three hundred years.
This is a fantastic adventure, a real kid-pleaser complete with pirates, treasure, battles, and more. I had a few minor complaints. I had trouble following all the short, common names of minor characters at the beginning (Bruce, Mike, Tom, Sam). But when I reread, they were all there and explained, so I guess that’s my own fault. Also, Pete’s self-pity started to grate on my nerves. (Just like a one of my own kids in a funk, right?) And finally, we meet Captain Sam, a big, jolly, happy-go-lucky sort, right in the middle of a naval battle, and there was just a little too much light-hearted laughter while facing eminent death and destruction. Perhaps without it the battle would be too heavy for kids, but I know I wouldn’t be cracking jokes.
See? All my complaints are minor. Now for the good stuff! The artistry of the prose and imagery…well, I’ll just show you…
“It made me feel weird, like a puny dingy out on the wide sea, to watch Mom’s body shake with silent tears.”
“Sometimes ya have to stop fighting the sails, Paedar, and just let them out. Let them out. Let them fill with wind. Then let the wind take ye whithersoever it will. Because sometimes lad, the wind is God’s own breath and it’ll take ye where He wants ye to go.”
“He put a tin whistle to his lips, and began to play a tune. It sounded like the wind through the sails on a frozen day at sea. Like the cries of the gulls that circled overhead on clear days.”
“The sails flapped to and fro, then the air just stopped. The sails drooped and hung like day old laundry hung out to dry.”
“I knew now just how stupid I’d been—love wasn’t limited, it didn’t get all used up if you gave it away. In fact, with how full my heart felt just then, I finally understood that the more you gave your love, the more you got in return.”
Beautiful, isn’t it? Did you notice how many of Banks’ word pictures actually enhance the setting? Or how cleverly she inserts positive messages in a tough situation? This is good stuff by a writer well-versed in the craft.
Peter’s life changes completely when his father dies at sea. Pete was supposed to be on that ship, but he skipped out for a hockey game. The guilt turns him sour and gnaws away at his relationships with his mother and his twin brother, Henry. Shortly afterward, Gramps, whom Pete idolizes, begins to slip away to the grip of Alzheimer’s. And then the bank calls up the loan on their house. With everything falling apart around him, Pete and Henry ransack the old attic for items to sell only to stumble upon a ship in a bottle and a family mystery that will transport them back three hundred years.
This is a fantastic adventure, a real kid-pleaser complete with pirates, treasure, battles, and more. I had a few minor complaints. I had trouble following all the short, common names of minor characters at the beginning (Bruce, Mike, Tom, Sam). But when I reread, they were all there and explained, so I guess that’s my own fault. Also, Pete’s self-pity started to grate on my nerves. (Just like a one of my own kids in a funk, right?) And finally, we meet Captain Sam, a big, jolly, happy-go-lucky sort, right in the middle of a naval battle, and there was just a little too much light-hearted laughter while facing eminent death and destruction. Perhaps without it the battle would be too heavy for kids, but I know I wouldn’t be cracking jokes.
See? All my complaints are minor. Now for the good stuff! The artistry of the prose and imagery…well, I’ll just show you…
“It made me feel weird, like a puny dingy out on the wide sea, to watch Mom’s body shake with silent tears.”
“Sometimes ya have to stop fighting the sails, Paedar, and just let them out. Let them out. Let them fill with wind. Then let the wind take ye whithersoever it will. Because sometimes lad, the wind is God’s own breath and it’ll take ye where He wants ye to go.”
“He put a tin whistle to his lips, and began to play a tune. It sounded like the wind through the sails on a frozen day at sea. Like the cries of the gulls that circled overhead on clear days.”
“The sails flapped to and fro, then the air just stopped. The sails drooped and hung like day old laundry hung out to dry.”
“I knew now just how stupid I’d been—love wasn’t limited, it didn’t get all used up if you gave it away. In fact, with how full my heart felt just then, I finally understood that the more you gave your love, the more you got in return.”
Beautiful, isn’t it? Did you notice how many of Banks’ word pictures actually enhance the setting? Or how cleverly she inserts positive messages in a tough situation? This is good stuff by a writer well-versed in the craft.
August 8, 2015
Who doesn’t love a good story about the sea with swashbuckling tales of pirates, sword fights, and treasure? I think with the popularity of films like The Pirates of the Caribbean (now onto its 5 movie!) it’s safe to say, everyone loves these kinds of stories! The book I just finished reading you won’t find Captain Jack Sparrow or Captain Barbossa, it’s not a tale of stolen Aztec treasure, or even a quest to claim a mermaid’s tears, but it is just as moving, gripping, and much, much more real. The Swift, by Alex Banks, is a story about loss, family, friendships, and above all hope. Yes, there is plenty of fighting, adventure, sea-talk, and pirates, but all that is just the icing on the cake.
What I loved most about this book was how real the characters are. The main character, Pete, has such raw emotions throughout the book you can’t help but feel them yourself. I rarely read a middle-grade book where the characters have such power in their emotions, such realness. I found myself angry when Pete was angry, sad when he was sad, and I choked up plenty of times when Pete cried. This book had me flipping the pages and consuming the tale in no time at all. Normally I’m a slow reader, with work, kids, sleeping; I take days and days to finish a book. This one I had read in two days because it hooks you in with mystery and gives you adventure. I will be adding this to my collection beloved pirate books; it will rest alongside Treasure Island and Peter and the Starcatchers.
What I loved most about this book was how real the characters are. The main character, Pete, has such raw emotions throughout the book you can’t help but feel them yourself. I rarely read a middle-grade book where the characters have such power in their emotions, such realness. I found myself angry when Pete was angry, sad when he was sad, and I choked up plenty of times when Pete cried. This book had me flipping the pages and consuming the tale in no time at all. Normally I’m a slow reader, with work, kids, sleeping; I take days and days to finish a book. This one I had read in two days because it hooks you in with mystery and gives you adventure. I will be adding this to my collection beloved pirate books; it will rest alongside Treasure Island and Peter and the Starcatchers.
May 10, 2015
Peter and Henry are twins. Eleven rear old Peter was planning on shooting the winning goal in the championship hockey game. It didn't happen as his father died that night. The bank for loses on the house so they need to move within the month. Grandpa ends up going to a nursing home as he is suffering from Alzheimer's. This is difficult for Peter as he depends on his grandpa. Why? Peter and Henry discover Grandpa's sea chest. In it was a battered ship in a bottle. Peter and his family take it to grandpa in the nursing home. When grandpa recognizes it, he starts to mutter to himself. What did he say? Peter and Henry are with grandpa in the 1600"s. Somehow they traveled through time with grandpa who has them call him Jack. Why are they there? What will they do to get back to their time and home?
This is a great time-travel tale. It is also about the relationships in a family where there is only one breadwinner. It shows the love and caring that exists even if they fight. Even when things are hard, your family is always there for you. The writing is excellent. I was only sorry that it had to end!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
This is a great time-travel tale. It is also about the relationships in a family where there is only one breadwinner. It shows the love and caring that exists even if they fight. Even when things are hard, your family is always there for you. The writing is excellent. I was only sorry that it had to end!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
June 18, 2015
I am such a fan of really well written Middle Grade fiction. As a teacher of 5th graders I'm always on the lookout for those books which will reach out to the reluctant reader. In my opinion, The Swift is just such a book. Peter and Henry, 12 year old twins, just don't get along. In fact, Peter resents Henry, seeing in him everything good that Peter is not. Peter has always had a special bond with his Grandpa. As the boys struggle to come to grips with the death of their Dad, Peter now must also deal with the loss of Grandpa, as his memory is slipping away due to Alzheimer's. While cleaning the attic one day the boys make an interesting discovery which leads to a time traveling adventure back to the late 17th century where they find themselves on board a ship about to be attacked by pirates. The tale which ensues is just too good to put down so, find a cozy spot from which to embark on a ride which most boys just won't be able to get enough of.
August 23, 2014
This was a very cute middle grade that I cannot wait to share with my 8 year old. It is full of swashbuckling adventure, and great family values such as dealing with family tragedy, loyalty, and love. I definitely recommend it to all ages.
March 30, 2017
What a fun book! Twelve year old Pete's life has not been the same since his father died and his grandfather began developing Alzheimer's. Now, his mother is having to sell things so they can get by. As he and his twin brother, Henry, are cleaning out the attic, they find an old sea trunk containing a ship in a bottle. When they take the ship to their grandfather in the old folks home, the adventure begins as they travel through time and fight pirates!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews