Nature walks were not exactly what 17 year old Tess wanted to do. She wanted to win at the National Swim Competition and go on to University on an athletic scholarship. Her swimming had been her life since she was a child. Every summer she was lifeguard at the local pool. She and her best friend Mac looked forward to a great summer and their swim competition. Tess, Mac and another friend Rachel were on same swim team.
Their summer came to abrupt and very frightening halt at their swim practice. Tess had a seizure in the water and if Rachel hadn’t kept her friend’s head up, Tess would have drowned. Tess does’t remember any of that, only waking up in the hospital to a doctor telling her she probably had epilepsy. There had been no warnings that anything could have been wrong. All she could think about was the Nationals and her scholarship. She wanted to just shake it off and get back in the pool where she could feel the water and her strength. After an appointment with a neurologist, her driver’s license was held and she was told to only swim with certain restrictions. Restrictions that would point out to everyone that something was wrong with her: A pink bathing cap, swimming on the outside lane that was usually reserved for the slowest swimmers, and a second lifeguard to make sure she was safe. She thought all of it was ridiculous, bent to everyone’s will. Instead of lifeguarding she had to work at the Sugar Shack snack bar. Her parents were of two minds. Her father, a retired football coach just wanted her to get back to training for the Nationals, her mother wanted her daughter to be careful and listen to the doctors. That is until she had a second seizure after going out jogging on her own one morning. That’s when reality was made clear to all of them.
The only benefit was the replacement lifeguard at the pool. Charlie was tall, unruly black hair, with soft green eyes and so good looking. But Tess tried to avoid him at first. But Charlie made sure that she didn’t. They struck up a friendship. Turns out he was also very kind even once he knew about this new diagnosis. He didn’t like the usual parties, went jogging early in the morning and loved pancakes.
This book is an easy read and is written for the Young Adult readers. Abby Lee Nash was painted a charming and frightening picture of Tess’s life struggling with this life changing diagnosis, the doctor’s visits and tests. In this story, the author has provided the explanations Tess and her family needed about epilepsy, tests and restrictions.
‘I’m a swimmer. I don’t know how to be anything else.”
~ Abbey Lee Nash, Breathing Underwater
Title: Breathing Underwater
Author: Abbey Lee Nash
Copyright: 2024
Publisher: Holiday House (children’s publisher)
Format: Fiction
Type: Young Adult (YA)
ISBN: 978-0-8234-5386-3
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