LitPick Review
Philomena Ash has been always known she would be a swimmmer, even at a young age. Ever since her parents brought her to an infant swim class, Pip has spent as much time in the pool as she can. The hard work and long hours in the water pay off when Pip begins attending state meets and training with the best coaches in the country. But even winning Olympic gold medals can't fix Pip's life. With a completely dysfunctional family, Pip has been trying to stay afloat in more ways than one. What seems to be a story of success turns out to be a coming of age story as Pip loses and finds herself in this debut novel by Nicola Keegan.
Opinion:
I have been swimming competitively for almost ten years, so reading a book about an Olympic swimmer is right up my alley. Although I am nowhere as good as Pip, I could definitely relate to her love of the water. I originally picked up this book because I wanted to see how the author would approach the topic of swimming. Everything I saw seemed correct, but I actually wish there were more references to swimming. The author probably wanted to make this book accessible to people who have no knowledge of swimming, but I would have liked to see this book be a little more authentic. Even so, I enjoyed reading this book and liked getting to know Pip, since she was an interesting character. All in all, I thought the author did a very good job for her first novel.
