Girl Underwater

January 19, 2015
Kells writes with a spare, sure hand in her debut novel about a college sophomore swimmer who survives a plane crash in the Rockies along with a teammate and three young boys. First-person narrator Avery Delacorte reveals her story in parallel timelines. The first one details the crash and its harrowing aftermath in an unforgiving wilderness, where Avery is joined by teammate Colin Shea and the three boys, ages three through six. The other follows her mental recovery from the crash, hindered by the emotional wall she erects between herself and the experience. Avery’s family, boyfriend, and therapists try to help, but she refuses to accept a PTSD diagnosis. She disassociates herself from the other survivors, going so far as to pretend she went it alone in the wild, had nothing to do with helping to rescue the youngsters, and did not suture Colin’s wounds with dental floss. It’s only when she forces herself to reconnect with her fellow survivors that she begins to regain control of her life. The author’s skill with character reveals itself best with Colin, whose quiet care has always unnerved Avery. Kells’s visceral story is quite memorable and eminently readable.

The author's experience as a competitive swimmer lends authenticity to this heartrending story, and narrator Julia Whelan delivers it with similar authority. Avery and Colin, teammates on their college swim team, along with three little boys, are the only survivors of a plane crash in the Colorado Rockies. The story is poetic and intense as Avery tells of the struggle to stay alive that follows. Whelan moves smoothly between the days on the mountain, focused staying alive while awaiting rescue, and the weeks afterwards, focused on recovering from trauma. The voices Whelan gives to the secondary characters--Tim has a lisp, and Colin an accent--are in stark contrast to the emotionless tone she uses for Avery. Whelan's delivery makes the story all the more powerful as the characters encounter the lingering repercussions of their miraculous survival. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine