The Schwa Was Here

By: Neal Shusterman

Narrated by: Neal Shusterman

This audiobook follows eigth-grader "Antsy" Bonano as he looks back on three accidental, but beneficial friendships with a few interesting characters, including the often ignored, Calvin Schwa.

Critic reviews

“Eighth-grader ‘Antsy’ Bonano recounts how his accidental relationship with three quirky characters winds up being mutually beneficial. Antsy tells his story in a bubbly Beastie Boys-meets-Bugs Bunny Brooklynese that keeps the pages flipping, and Shusterman’s characters…are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children’s classics.”—School Library Journal, starred review

great book for teens

this book was really fun! it kept me interested and I always wanted to read another chapter

Best Book Ever

I thought I wasn’t gonna like it but then loved it!!!! Neal Shusterman did a great job

The author’s read is superb !

This was a great story. I had my 9th graders read it for summer reading and they enjoyed it very much! I did as well - great story line, great characters, great coming of age themes. Would highly recommend.

Bad start but 5 chapters in its amazing

At first I thought I would not like it cause this is for a school project but halfway I loved it

Fantastic character growth & detailed descriptions

Would you consider the audio edition of The Schwa Was Here to be better than the print version?

I think the print version of The Schwa was here would be equally enjoyable to the audio version. I did love that the author narrated his own book!

What did you like best about this story?

Probably what I enjoyed best about the book was how the main character, Antsy grows as a person.

What does Neal Shusterman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Shusterman's emphasis and accent were great.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I wouldn't want to read this entire book in one sitting, but preferred to stop and think about the book. I like listening to audiobooks while I drive and clean up around the house, and this one was entertaining enough to make me look forward to a long drive and even to cleaning up the kitchen.