When Sara Malone's father dies, her overwhelming feelings are of guilt and relief. For years Sara and her younger sister Hope, both star swimmers at their high school, lived in constant anxiety over his abusive demands and pressure to succeed; now it's all over, and the girls can make their own choices and live their own lives.
Hope and their mother both thrive with this new freedom, but for Sara things only seem more complicated. In her grief, she has a surprising and emotional night with her best friend's Maggie's brother Dom, the boy she's idolized for years. To make things worse, Maggie also has hidden feelings for Sara that go beyond friendship, and Sara is stunned when both Maggie and Dom pull away. Feeling abandoned and isolated, Sara spends more time at home alone and in the garden her father once tended. One lonely day, she discovers her father's journals and letters, writing that reveals a side of her father Sara never knew possible. Slowly, Sara works her way through her grief, able at the end of the story to rely not on a friend or boyfriend or even sister but herself.
Genre: Children's Fiction
Hope and their mother both thrive with this new freedom, but for Sara things only seem more complicated. In her grief, she has a surprising and emotional night with her best friend's Maggie's brother Dom, the boy she's idolized for years. To make things worse, Maggie also has hidden feelings for Sara that go beyond friendship, and Sara is stunned when both Maggie and Dom pull away. Feeling abandoned and isolated, Sara spends more time at home alone and in the garden her father once tended. One lonely day, she discovers her father's journals and letters, writing that reveals a side of her father Sara never knew possible. Slowly, Sara works her way through her grief, able at the end of the story to rely not on a friend or boyfriend or even sister but herself.
Genre: Children's Fiction
Used availability for Jessica Barksdale Inclan's Swimming Lessons