The Trumpet of the Swan Review | Teen Ink

The Trumpet of the Swan Review

June 8, 2021
By corkylecork BRONZE, San Diego, Please Select
corkylecork BRONZE, San Diego, Please Select
4 articles 0 photos 0 comments

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White is one of the most incredible fiction books I have ever read. It's a mix of family, friendship, and humor all crowded into one page in such an original way that finishing the book will be one of the proudest accomplishments in your life. The book has many inspiring events that’ll make you want to turn the page, and the author had an amazing ability to bring the feeling of motivation and uplifting through each word.

The book begins when a boy named Sam explores the woods where he and his father were going camping. Sam discovers a swampy pond and also two trumpeter swans who were nesting there. After visiting the pond a couple of times the swans finally gain Sam’s trust so they let him meet their chicks. The chicks all greet Sam by making a “trumpeter swan sound”  (what do you call that) but one of their chicks, Louis, somehow can't make a sound. I love this part because it brings out a feeling of excitement and disappointment in not a bad way, but a sort of dull sorrow that arouses the reader’s sympathy. When Louis grew up his inability to speak caused some problems, so Louis’s father decided to do something about it. This part is very touching, and it showed me what a good father was. Louis’s father went to a music store in Boston and crashed through the window and came back out with a trumpet in his beak. The author described this part so well that it gave me chills, and the feeling of relief I had when Louis’s father made it out safely was quite surprising. After Louis’s father steals the trumpet it takes a while for Louis to get the hang of it, and once he does he realizes the trumpet is stolen and should be paid for. This defines Louis’s responsibility very well and also makes me want to turn the page so badly because swans can't make money, right? But I know that E.B. White is an excellent writer and he has found an amazing way to continue the story, somehow still being able to impress me as I read the next sentence. After realizing this Louis remembers Sam, and he decides to visit him to help him out with his problem. Louis also wanted to learn to read and write so he could communicate with humans and get some money, so Sam brought Louis to his school and after a while of being in the classroom, Louis finally could read and write. This part sounds pretty ridiculous, but I love it because it's very original and I don't know what to expect of a plot twist or anything, and discovering what the author has cooked up is an amazing experience. After this Louis left his pond to find some jobs he could do to make some money. Louis uses his trumpet to help him with this and soon many people are willing to hire him. These parts of the story are really interesting. The whole book has one main goal but it doesn't have any clear theme, because at parts I would think that the book’s theme was about music, but at other times I would think that it is love. Despite this, I think it is an amazing book, and I recommend it to everyone.

My favorite part of this book was when Louis’s father stole the trumpet for Louis. I love this part because it shows how much Louis’s father loves him and that he will do anything necessary for his son, which are signs of a true father. The author also added a lot of detail in this part so it was very easy to imagine Louis’s father crashing through the window of a music store. I also really like the part where Louis’s father returns to the music store when Louis had made enough money because it was almost exactly like the plot when Louis’s father had stolen the trumpet. Although this part was very similar the author was still able to present it without giving a feeling of deja vu and preserving the emotions that the reader had when they read the part when Louis’s father stole the trumpet.

I think E.B. White’s writing style is very amazing, but he seems to include a bit too much information about one certain situation, so there’s not much discovery when reading the book. The author sometimes bluntly states something in the book which kind of ruins the thrill of figuring out why the character made the choices they made. But besides that, the author also writes in a way that makes it easy to understand even though he uses words that I have never heard before. The Trumpet of the Swan is not a very easy read but the author makes it seem like the book is straightforward even though it is actually very deep.

So in summary, The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White is an insightful, heartwarming story that will inspire many in an imaginative way. Everyone should read this book because you’ll be happy to finish it. There are so many ideas and thoughts in the book that you can't find anywhere else. Every time I had a new idea that not many people have done before, I wouldn’t think “No, that’s weird, no one does that,” I would think “Then I’ll be the first to do it.” E.B. White has taught me this very valuable lesson and you’ll be happy to learn it too.



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