“Sway” by Kat Spears

A G-rated cover belies the truly R-rated content of this tongue-in-cheek novel with laugh-out-loud dark humor.  Kat Spears proves that women can write down and dirty, expletive-filled novels about sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll as well as any guy.  Jesse has all the connections and smarts of Veronica Mars without any of the moral compass.  He deals drugs, has little regard for the people he manipulates, and claims not to be a panderer, but is exactly that – over and over.  The problem is, he encounters someone good.  Not good in a goody-two shoes way (okay, a little), but someone who is genuine.  It sets up a conflict within him that puts a spin in his operations and sends him down a path he didn’t see coming.  For a guy who has all the angles figured out, this is a problem.  What kept me coming back to this anti-hero protagonist was the reality that despite his “sway,” this young man is very lost.  Jesse, entrenched in his antics, is a contemplative, intelligent guy, who has some awareness of the world around him, even as he loses control of it.  He is depressed but not depressing, and has a survivor’s core I admire.  The novel touches on themes of concern but the story keeps perspective at a reasonable level.  I enjoyed this book, but then, my sense of humor is not typical.  Others, who share with me my odd sense of what constitutes “funny,” should enjoy it as well.