Name: Amanda R.

Book Title: Breath Like Water

Author: Anna Jarzab

Genre: Fantasy

Number of Pages: 408

Rating: 4/5

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Sacrifices, trials, and triumphs.

Character List:

• Susannah Ramos - Susannah is an ordinary teenager that attends Gilcrest Aqualions Club (an intensive swim club). Not so ordinary however is the fact that she won a gold medal at the age of 14 at the FINA World Aquatics Championships in the Women’s 200m Intermediate Medley Finals. As her body undergoes changes that result in a slower swim time for her, a new assistant coach arrives at her academy, and a charming transfer student swimmer named Harry catches her attention, Sussanah learns the ups and downs in prioritizing what’s truly important in her life.
• Harry Matthews - Harry recently transferred to Susannah’s school and becomes a part of the rigorous GAC. After having seen Susannah being humiliated in front of everyone by her coach at one of the swim meets and then later joining her swim club, he becomes instantly drawn to her. Harry struggles with deeper problems however. Struggles that only a few people close enough to him knows he goes through.
• Dave - Gilcrest Aqualions Club (GAC) head coach. He has won medals at the Olympics and runs one of the most prestigious swim clubs in the country. He trains his swimmers to make it to the Olympics by treating them like programmed robots. Known as an acrimonious, condescending, and authoritative coach that lacks respect for others besides himself.
• Amber - A swimmer at GAC who’s close friends with Sussanah and Jessa. She is particularly closer to Sussanah however as the two of them bond over the fact that they don’t look like most of the swimmers - Sussanah being Latino and Amber African American. Towards the end of the story, Amber begins questioning if swimming competitively is truly what makes her happy.
• Beth - Beth is the new assistant head coach. She is the daughter of legendary swim coach Grady Watson who trains a good amount of the best swimmers in the country. Susannah doesn’t know this at first and doubts her skills and expertise, however when she starts beating her personal best times with Beth’s strategies over Dave’s, her perspective changes.

Review:

After hitting puberty, Susannah feels as if she was not as fast as she was when she won that Gold medal in Hungary at the world championships. She is weighed by this constant thought that her physical changes have changed her so much that she can never achieve that same speed she once used to have in the water prior, therefore being hopeless in making it to the Olympics with team USA. On top of this, her relationship with Dave (her coach) starts to deteriorate after the one time she was DQ’d for a false start then later publicly yelled at by him in front of the entire crowd. After experiencing training with the new female assistant head coach named Beth, Susannah sees her times decreasing, getting better, and she begins to regain strength and power in the pool once again. She begins to confide in Beth’s revolutionary training rather than sticking with Dave and his long arduous workouts that’s ineffective in improving her swimming. Susannah hones in on putting all her strength and remaining time into swimming, training for the Olympic trials and aiming to make it on team USA. Until Harry comes along. They first bonded over seeing Dave get angered by Harry’s prank on filling the entire pool with thousands of rubber duckies and foam. Soon after, a close relationship forms between the two of them. With physical and emotional struggles being thrown at Susannah as the time approaching the US Olympic Trials narrows down, Susannah must focus on what she truly wants and must realize what it takes to get there.

Through the minor details I’ve noticed throughout the book, the author certainly has professional expertise and insight in what it’s like to swim competitively. Whether it’s the adrenaline and anxiety described before a race, the pool lingo that the author employs, or the descriptive feeling of what it’s like to swim in the water with such intensity. This professionalism of terms and selection of details makes the story and plot that much more realistic, probably an experience a competitive high school swimmer can relate to on their own journey in competing to make the Olympic swim team. The realism and fervent emotions abundant in this novel reminds us readers of the numerous sacrifices, and grueling work it takes to possibly qualify for the team that represents our country. Although this was a fictional high school student’s journey, it serves to give a little bit of insight into the lives of the Olympians we see standing on the podium. It gave me insight into the types of extreme decisions a professional athlete has to make, the sacrifices of that athlete and their family, as well as the mental battle that they constantly face; something I wouldn’t typically think too deeply about when watching them on TV. A theme in this story can be that to try and turn your dream into a reality, you must work to overcome every obstacle thrown at you and keep your eyes on the prize. Another thing I really enjoyed was the fact that the author referenced real and specific attributes to this world, such as the songs “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick and “We Are The Champions” by Freddie Mercury, or the book Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. Through these real world references, perhaps the author shows a bit of their own personal tastes in music and books, which is always interesting to relate to especially if the reader knows these songs or books.