27 November 2020

Breath Like Water - Book Review

 

Breath Like Water by Anna Jarzab
Publication date: May 19, 2020
Pages: 416 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction, Young adult
Rating: 3.5/5 stars ☆☆☆☆
Strengths: Dealt with deeper issues (mental health), nice storytelling, consistent pacing
Weaknesses: No big 'ah-ha'


Susannah Ramos was once a world champion swimmer. But as puberty hit and her body changed, she lost the speed that once came so naturally. A new coach could help her turn it back around. Or a romance with a new team member could distract her and steal the focus she needs to finally win again. 

This book was a real roller coaster of emotions. The good and the bad kept rolling at Susannah. Every time she seemed to be conquering one challenge, another would rear its ugly head. The success of the book, however, comes from watching Susannah's character develop and mature in spite of (or because of?) all the tough decisions she needs to make and act on.

Overall, I'd give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Susannah wasn't a very likable character, but she tried. Her romantic interest was also hit or miss for me. The storyline was believable and teen angst-y. The swimming competition parts also felt sincere.


Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my electronic copy of this book. Receiving the book for free did not influence my review. 


1 comment:

Liz Parker said...

At first I thought the author misspelled the title of her own book here ... lol! "BREATH" like water though, not Breathe. Whoops. Sounds interesting.