Review: Breathing Underwater by Abbey Lee Nash

Breathing Underwater by Abbey Lee Nash

Breathing Underwater
Abbey Lee Nash
Holiday House
Published March 5, 2024

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About Breathing Underwater

In this slice-of-life, sensitively written novel, a teen girl grapples with a sudden epilepsy diagnosis, all while figuring out a new crush and an uncertain future.

Seventeen-year-old Tess Cooper lives by three train hard, study hard, work hard. Swimming is her best chance at a college scholarship. It’s what her parents, her coaches, and even her best friend expect from her—and Tess can always deliver.

Until tragedy strikes. Tess has a seizure, and her world suddenly becomes one of doctor visits, missed practices, and … Continue reading

Review: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo cover shows a girl on the left with darker skin and a winding fire escape staircase behind her and a girl on the right with lighter skin and palm leaves behind her separated by the silhouettes of airplanes in the center, nose to nose.

Clap When You Land
Elizabeth Acevedo
Quill Tree Books
Published May 5, 2020

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About Clap When You Land

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

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Review: Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

Flip Turns
Catherine Arguelles
Jolly Fish Press
Published September 13, 2022

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About Flip Turns

Thirteen-year-old Maddie just wants her classmate, Lucas, to leave her alone. He keeps asking her out—as if she hasn’t already said no a thousand times! Focusing on her competitive swim team, the Electric Eels, Maddie tries to ignore him, hoping he’ll go away.

But then, when someone starts sabotaging Maddie’s family-owned pool—glass on the deck, ketchup in the pool, followed by a “code brown”—Maddie worries it’s her “admirer” trying to get even. After Maddie’s parents rule the problems at the pool just harmless pranks, Maddie and her best friend Ez decide to … Continue reading

Review: Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Starfish
Lisa Fipps
Nancy Paulsen Books – Penguin Young Readers
Published March 9, 2021

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About Starfish

Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this debut novel-in-verse.

Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules–like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” And she’s found her safe space–her swimming pool–where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world.

In the water, she can stretch … Continue reading