What do you think?
Rate this book
Girlfriend Fiction #17
Dear Swoosie
My mental telepathy is stronger than most people's. Once I stared at Lucy for a whole class, and she complained. If I can make it work on a blind person, I can make it work on anybody. - India
Rule number one of fortune telling give the customer what they want. We could have made a good team. Pity I wasn't a team player. I was a strictly solo kind of girl. - Poppy
India can see the future, and Poppy has a past. And when they discover old letters in the school attic it seems destiny has a plan for them. Who is the mysterious Swoosie? What does she have to do with Poppy's high-school sweetheart parents, and India's mum? Meanwhile plans for the reunion of the class of '89 are underway, and there's a lot of bad hair going round.
Does the past have the power to change the future and can the future heal the past? India and Poppy are about to find out.
'Funny, warming...A great tale of friendship and family...' Amelia 15
'A great read, complex and enthralling.' Akela 16
Rule number one of fortune telling give the customer what they want. We could have made a good team. Pity I wasn't a team player. I was a strictly solo kind of girl. - Poppy
India can see the future, and Poppy has a past. And when they discover old letters in the school attic it seems destiny has a plan for them. Who is the mysterious Swoosie? What does she have to do with Poppy's high-school sweetheart parents, and India's mum? Meanwhile plans for the reunion of the class of '89 are underway, and there's a lot of bad hair going round.
Does the past have the power to change the future and can the future heal the past? India and Poppy are about to find out.
'Funny, warming...A great tale of friendship and family...' Amelia 15
'A great read, complex and enthralling.' Akela 16
228 pages
First published January 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Kate Constable
24 books282 followersKate Constable was born in Sangringham, Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). When she was six-years-old, her family moved to Papua New Guinea where her father worked as a pilot.
Constable got her Arts/Law degree at Melborne University, then got a job at Warner Music. She started writing during these years.
She wrote several short-stories before becoming an author and after her first attempt at writing a novel she fell in love with the man that is now her husband. They have a daughter.
Constable's first official novel was The Singer of All Songs, in a trilogy called The Chanters of Tremaris. It was published in 2002, a few weeks after Constable's daughter was born.
Constable got her Arts/Law degree at Melborne University, then got a job at Warner Music. She started writing during these years.
She wrote several short-stories before becoming an author and after her first attempt at writing a novel she fell in love with the man that is now her husband. They have a daughter.
Constable's first official novel was The Singer of All Songs, in a trilogy called The Chanters of Tremaris. It was published in 2002, a few weeks after Constable's daughter was born.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 18, 2010
I really wanted to like Dear Swoosie so I could give finally praise one of the Girlfriend Fiction series books, however fun the books always try to be they seem to turn out a little lacklustre.
This time around was no different although lack the simple, easy to read format wasn't to be found. Poppy and India are high school students who start an unlikely friendship with tarot card reading at a school fete and end up with detention duty where they find a bundle of old letters signed, Dear Swoosie.
With both of the girls parents having attended the high school, they discover Swoosie is the code name their mothers used twenty years ago to discuss all issues of the boyfriend-type. Unfortunately, the friendship between the girls parents ended in a fight all those years ago at the Winter Dance over a boyfriend. The fight was however worth it, as the couple had a happy twenty year marriage but it has now all fallen to pieces with a divorce on the outlook.
Poppy & India know they have to set up the original couple once again at their upcoming Winter School Reunion for a reminiscent evening of their childhood.
If I were given a chance to change the story at all, I would do something about the large middle section of letters written by the girls parents. It wasn't the easiest to comprehend and many times when looking back onto the parents story-line it got a bit convenient with the girls referencing them by their first names to help explain the story when a great writer would find a way around this.
This was a slightly fun read with a close look at what it is like to have divorced parents and the life of a single parent, school reunions and tarot card reading. If I'm honest, this story wasn't always enjoyable and I found myself rushing to finish the book in the hopes of starting the next book in the series.
This time around was no different although lack the simple, easy to read format wasn't to be found. Poppy and India are high school students who start an unlikely friendship with tarot card reading at a school fete and end up with detention duty where they find a bundle of old letters signed, Dear Swoosie.
With both of the girls parents having attended the high school, they discover Swoosie is the code name their mothers used twenty years ago to discuss all issues of the boyfriend-type. Unfortunately, the friendship between the girls parents ended in a fight all those years ago at the Winter Dance over a boyfriend. The fight was however worth it, as the couple had a happy twenty year marriage but it has now all fallen to pieces with a divorce on the outlook.
Poppy & India know they have to set up the original couple once again at their upcoming Winter School Reunion for a reminiscent evening of their childhood.
If I were given a chance to change the story at all, I would do something about the large middle section of letters written by the girls parents. It wasn't the easiest to comprehend and many times when looking back onto the parents story-line it got a bit convenient with the girls referencing them by their first names to help explain the story when a great writer would find a way around this.
This was a slightly fun read with a close look at what it is like to have divorced parents and the life of a single parent, school reunions and tarot card reading. If I'm honest, this story wasn't always enjoyable and I found myself rushing to finish the book in the hopes of starting the next book in the series.
July 27, 2015
So I read this book last year - I do believe I got it in a book swap with the lovely Holly of Good Golly Miss Holly - and I realised just now that I never reviewed it. So now is as good a time as any to do so!
I absolutely adored Penni Russon's Undine trilogy, as well as her book in the Girlfriend fiction series*, Little Bird. I loved Kate Constable's Always Mackenzie like whoa (I have better words that I could use but I feel that summarises me feelings best). And I'm a big fan of both of their blogs. So I was immensely excited when I found out they were writing a novel together.
Dear Swoosie is fun and hilarious. I loved the twisting storylines - one occuring in the current day, one occurring twenty years ago. It's a little bit far-fetched, but the characters are believable and their emotions are relateable. I love those stories with dual narrators written by different writers, and I adored each of their voices. There was a big chunk of letters about a third along, and while I loved them, I felt like they really drew us out of the other story going on - I think I would have preferred it had the letters been sprinkled throughout. There are many more things I liked about this book - oh, the characters! they were all fabulous - but I don't want to say too much. You'll have more fun reading it if you don't know.
If you like either of these authors, or are looking for a fun read (about friendship and romance and mothers and daughters and a whole lot more), check this out. It's a lot lighter than the other works I've read by both authors, and is quite a bit different than their solo novels, but it's enjoyable and well-written and a lovely book for a Spring afternoon just the same.
(I like the cover - the girls have cute hair - but it doesn't really grab me, or fit with the novel, I don't think. But that just might be my dislike of covers-with-photos-of-people. I like imagining what the characters look like.)
*a series published by Allen & Unwin, and connected to Girlfriend magazine - which leads people to assume all the books would be shallow and frothy, girly-girl books, but this is not so! All the books I've read in the series have been great, appealing to teenage girls while also having depth and interesting themes and more.
I absolutely adored Penni Russon's Undine trilogy, as well as her book in the Girlfriend fiction series*, Little Bird. I loved Kate Constable's Always Mackenzie like whoa (I have better words that I could use but I feel that summarises me feelings best). And I'm a big fan of both of their blogs. So I was immensely excited when I found out they were writing a novel together.
Dear Swoosie is fun and hilarious. I loved the twisting storylines - one occuring in the current day, one occurring twenty years ago. It's a little bit far-fetched, but the characters are believable and their emotions are relateable. I love those stories with dual narrators written by different writers, and I adored each of their voices. There was a big chunk of letters about a third along, and while I loved them, I felt like they really drew us out of the other story going on - I think I would have preferred it had the letters been sprinkled throughout. There are many more things I liked about this book - oh, the characters! they were all fabulous - but I don't want to say too much. You'll have more fun reading it if you don't know.
If you like either of these authors, or are looking for a fun read (about friendship and romance and mothers and daughters and a whole lot more), check this out. It's a lot lighter than the other works I've read by both authors, and is quite a bit different than their solo novels, but it's enjoyable and well-written and a lovely book for a Spring afternoon just the same.
(I like the cover - the girls have cute hair - but it doesn't really grab me, or fit with the novel, I don't think. But that just might be my dislike of covers-with-photos-of-people. I like imagining what the characters look like.)
*a series published by Allen & Unwin, and connected to Girlfriend magazine - which leads people to assume all the books would be shallow and frothy, girly-girl books, but this is not so! All the books I've read in the series have been great, appealing to teenage girls while also having depth and interesting themes and more.
June 14, 2014
I really loved this book. I've read it twice so far in two years which is a pretty big deal for me when it comes to books.
The characters were so well built and the two POV's gave an insight on the feelings and emotions of the characters.
It was great how the characters sort of all added up and they had like a mini reunion. One of the best modern teen books about friendship I've read so far. Definitely a favourite.
I would recommend this to anyone who isn't too serious and wants to read a non fantasy book with a hint of adventure.
The characters were so well built and the two POV's gave an insight on the feelings and emotions of the characters.
It was great how the characters sort of all added up and they had like a mini reunion. One of the best modern teen books about friendship I've read so far. Definitely a favourite.
I would recommend this to anyone who isn't too serious and wants to read a non fantasy book with a hint of adventure.
January 31, 2010
Kate Constable and Penni Russon combining forces on the latest Girlfriend Fiction? Yes please!
As with their previous Girlfriend Fiction titles, they take a fairly standard girl's YA story, and craft them into quite profound explorations of relationships and identity, with witty dialogue and the more than the occasional nearly-distastrous shennanigans. A thoroughly entertaining read, with may have also induced a moist glimmer in the eye, but I'll never admit to it. :-P
As with their previous Girlfriend Fiction titles, they take a fairly standard girl's YA story, and craft them into quite profound explorations of relationships and identity, with witty dialogue and the more than the occasional nearly-distastrous shennanigans. A thoroughly entertaining read, with may have also induced a moist glimmer in the eye, but I'll never admit to it. :-P
July 10, 2014
Dear Swoosie was an awesome book about 2 girls called India and Poppy. India is a tarot card reader and Poppy is the new girl. They may be totally different, but they came together as one and I think that is awesome. It is also in both girls perspective. Kate Constable and Penni Russon have always been some of my favorite authors, so when I heard about this book I was extatic!
March 3, 2011
I recently read this book and was amazed at how good it was! It was bigger than most of th GF books, but both the authors are my top fave, so it was really enjoyable, it's a must read!
December 1, 2015
Great story, but wish it wasn't too long... felt like it was dragged a bit too long. Well, anyways, enjoyed it :)
April 12, 2013
isbn 9781742371986
January 26, 2014
What an amazing storyline!! Perfect, funny, sad....it's a MUST read book.
November 8, 2014
Collaborations are so easy to go wrong, but I think Penni Russon and Kate Constable nailed it! Am a huge fan of both their works.
January 5, 2016
I loved this book, I read it a while ago but I remember thoroughly enjoying it! I also really loved all the surprises and how the characters all intertwined.
September 30, 2019
Very good! I could not put this book down.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews