Girl Underwater by Claire Kells
Great book! Compelling story that kept me turning pages late into the night and early morning hours. The characters are likeable and genuine, their tale raw and heartbreaking. Told in a before and after storyline, Kells has a wonderful way with words, vividly haunting descriptions, and the medical knowledge to accompany a believable scenario. So believable, in fact, I actually had to take a reading break and allow my mind to catch up with my racing heart.
Avery is on her way home for Thanksgiving holidays. Flying from California to Boston, she would like nothing more than complete solitude on a relaxing flight. A quick look around reveals that her bad luck has placed her near three little boys and the one person she did not want to be seated next to. Collin Shea is a teammate on Avery's college swim team. Something about Collin has always made her jittery. Turns out, luck WAS on her side and sitting next to Collin Shea was Avery's saving grace. If you're going to crash over the Rockies in unforgiving terrain, you definitely want to have someone as strong, competent, and soothing as Collin. Only a few will survive this devastating crash and the weakened survivors will have to summon courage, overcome debilitating fears, and learn to trust one another in the most horrifying circumstances. Drowning in fear and faced with losing everything, Avery must swim for her life and those she's come to care about.
Girl Underwater is easily one of the best books I've read so far this year. A few things I do have to mention, several of the characters were a bit too perfect, a few comments seemed trite, and there were some minor issues I had with conflict resolution BUT this is fiction and when a story is written as well as this, I'm sometimes willing to forgive those teeny tiny things. As we like to say, I just couldn't put this one down. Completely entertaining and well worth the five stars it's receiving from me. FIST BUMP!
*Special thanks to Penguin's First to Read program for allowing me to guarantee a copy of Claire Kells most excellent book.
