Bibliography: Keegan, Nicola. (July, 2009). Swimming. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN: 9780307269973
Philomena “Pip” was swimming almost from the moment she was born. Restless and unsleeping, her parents took her to her first swimming lessons before she was a year old. From that moment on, Pip knew she was born to swim. No matter what happens in her life, she swims through it, getting better and faster and more competitive. To the Olympics, to college, to life long friends and jobs as a sports commentator and a motivational speaker. But what happens when she can’t swim any more? She has to deal with all the things in her life that appear when she is not protected by the buffer of the water.
The cover of this debut novel is refreshing and cool and makes you want to dive right in. Funny with a few hints of almost magical realism, this novel follows Pip as she grows up, deals with tragic and triumphant events in her life, and keeps swimming through it all. Pip is compelling, and the voice that Keegan creates and maintains for her is perfect. Pip’s family is not so much dysfunctional as ordinary but changed by extraordinary circumstances. A real feeling of there but for the grace of God…Pip struggles with taking her place in the family and wanting to swim away from it all. Is it selfish and wrong to hone her talent and skills? What about when tragedy strikes and her mother all but falls aprt? What about when her somewhat controlling boyfriend asks her to leave the sport? At first, swimming is her place to shine, to excel. She knows what happens and how it makes her feel when she gets in the water. Later it changes and becomes something different, darker even.
This is a great adult book that is also teen friendly. Much of the book is Pip’s coming of age, going to school, swim meets, training, and the Olympics. Combine that with first love. best friends, sisters, mothers and loss of virginity and a great teen/young adult voice for a more literary beach read to pick up and savor this summer.
Review Excerpts:
“…Keegan’s linguistic playfulness moves the story at a fast clip, even if it sometimes muddles what’s going on-particularly toward the end. This is worth reading for the prose alone.” –Publisher’s Weekly
