The Pools
E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press
Published October 6, 2026
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About The Pools
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the We Were Liars series comes a love story full of simmering darkness and astonishing twists, following two teenagers whose lives are shattered by a shocking transformation.
Once, in a small New England town known for its hot springs, something terrible happened. Something that should have been a warning to stay away from the pools, if the stories were to be believed.
But no one is afraid of the water anymore, even if they should be.
When new girl Lexie meets golden boy Chester, their chemistry is undeniable. She’s running from a glittering life she won’t speak about. He’s hiding secrets of his own. Their connection feels bigger than both of them, despite their damage.
One frigid winter morning in that small New England town, five people go for a swim in the pools. Five people, including Chester. What happens there sends shock waves through the town, changing life as Lexie knows it forever.
My Review
I’ve been a fan of E. Lockhart’s books since I first read We Were Liars. I’ve read several of her books since then, but this is the first novel in verse that I’ve read. I really like that some of the poems were written with really specific intentions or using specific types of poetry. Some are found poems made with phrases found on signs or menus. A couple of poems come from mashed-up song lyrics. The author also describes the story as being in conversation with the European fairy tale “Wild Swans.”
If you’re familiar with Lockhart’s work, you’ll come to this book expecting some angst and struggle. The story holds a lot of tension in its relationships. There are a lot of relationships where there’s something separating people, like an unresolved conflict, a secret, or other failure of communication.
I like how layered this story is. Beyond the relationship issues, there’s a whole conversation about what makes someone a person. Are there circumstances in which someone stops being a person? What if they wanted to stop being human? The book also explores what true love means and the impact it is supposed to have on the world. It looks at a small community trying to make sense of a senseless loss and the different ways people cope —some helpful and others not so.
Though I like how this story resolves, I also felt like there are some big threads left untended to. The second-most important relationship in the book kind of falls by the wayside. I found it hard to believe that Lexie wouldn’t have taken what she learned and tried to use it to change the outcome for someone else that she cared about.
That said, I think the story still works as is. There’s an open-ended feeling to the ending that leaves room to imagine what might come next.
I think readers who enjoy fairy tale-inspired novels in verse will like this one. I could see fans of The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero picking this one up.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used very infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Brief nudity and reference to sex.
Spiritual Content
Some characters experience a supernatural transformation.
Violent Content
Prejudice, bullying. Someone discovers a gruesome scene in which a cat has been killed. Two boys bring a rifle and shoot someone. Someone else kills a person in self-defense. References to a child star being neglected and used for money.
Drug Content
Teens attend a party where they drink alcohol.
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