The Sound of Drowning

January 1, 2019
A heartbreaking love triangle, for readers who can't stand love triangles. Once, 17-year-old Meredith "Mer" Hall loved the ocean, indie music, and especially Ben Collins, her lifelong best friend-turned-boyfriend. Now she fears the sea, resents any human connection, and especially loathes herself for the way she ruined things. Still, even after hurting him so badly, she treasures the few secret hours she can snatch with Ben; so when new boy Wyatt Quinn--handsome, cocky, barely hiding his own pain--starts to get close, Mer's afraid of risking her fragile stability. Alternating between flashbacks of her slowly developing relationship with Ben and her current efforts to cope with her crumbling life, Mer's spiky, acerbic narration cannot conceal the agonizing undercurrents of insecurity, grief, and despair. The lushly described setting in North Carolina's Outer Banks echoes her interior landscape: bleak, desolate, and subtly off-kilter. The twisty narrative avoids problem-novel territory, instead engaging with and exploring the underlying issues surrounding trust, autonomy, teenage sexuality, and depression frankly and nonjudgmentally, with more emphasis on emotional ramifications than graphic details. Secondary characters (like the protagonists, apparently all default to white) are loving and mean well but are hobbled by their own flaws and mistakes. Some readers might find the big reveal a bit over-the-top, but with Mer's final choice--both unexpected and oh-so-right--a final dollop of magical realism provides a sweetly hopeful conclusion.Harrowing but cathartic. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Ben is the love of Meredith's life, but after a terrible accident in which Ben almost drowns, she is forbidden to talk to or see him. The only way they can stay together is to keep their relationship a secret, meeting nightly on a secluded beach to spend time together. For a time, Meredith is content. Then, Wyatt appears. This strange, mouthy, handsome boy from Texas with a huge personality washes ashore (literally) and turns Meredith's life upside down, introducing a new level of excitement and joy that she has not experienced before. Slowly, Meredith begins to realize that she might just be developing feelings for this handsome, arrogant boy. As their relationship deepens, Wyatt discovers that Meredith has a past that doesn't want to stay hidden, and once revealed, will change all of their lives forever. Can Meredith deal with the consequences of her secrets? Which boy will she choose? The plot twists in this enjoyable novel are unexpected, and the characters are just quirky enough to be endearing, although Wyatt gets a bit annoying at times. Readers will appreciate the supporting characters who help guide and direct Meredith as she comes to grips with some difficult realities. Give to fans of Jennifer Niven and Marieke Nijkamp. VERDICT A first purchase for YA collections, especially where mystery and realistic fiction are popular.-Corey Hall, Manheim Central Middle School, PA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 Meredith Hall sneaks out almost every night to meet her boyfriend, Ben, on the deserted beach of a tiny island off the North Carolina coast. After she learned she was pregnant with Ben's baby, Mer had an abortion without involving Ben, a decision that led him to break up with her?but he forgave her, and they're finding their way back to a healthier (but secret) relationship. The reader will quickly figure out we've got an unreliable narrator, so torn up over recent losses in her life that she has created an alternative world. When she meets new boy Wyatt, Mer starts to feel awake again, but his presence may unsettle her entire world. On the surface, this is a unique love triangle with a confused girl in the middle. The unusual setting (isolated island communities, schools so small the junior class consists of 11 students) and presence of star teen athletes who step away from their sports may intrigue readers, but the primary readership will be those who swoon over a doomed romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)