Swimmers

by Amy Bright

17-year-old Hunter Ryan is making a long-dreaded return trip home. He takes a Greyhound bus bound for Victoria, British Columbia with his ex-girlfriend Lee and a 12-year-old named Poppy. There's a reason that Hunter left his parents, his friends, and his sister Bridget behind when he left for Alberta to live with his Aunt Lynne. Now Lee has come to bring him back because it's time for him to face the real reason that he ran away. Swimmers traces their journey home, revealing Hunter's past and the precarious, uncertain present in which he now finds himself.

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Fiction, Canada

182 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2014

About the author

Hi.

My name is Amy Bright and I am the author of Before We Go, my first (!!!) book for young adults.

I was born in Alberta, grew up in California and Florida, went to university in New Brunswick and British Columbia, lived in Boston, and now, at twenty-four, I’m back in Alberta again.

I love reading and write about some of my favorite books at my book review blog Girl to the Rescue, which I started as a way to read more YA books in university. After finishing my MA in English I took a year off (A MUCH NEEDED YEAR OFF), and in September I’ll be starting my PhD in English in Alberta on children’s and young adult literature. If you are interested in my academic work, it can be found in the Journal of Children’s Literature and Studies in Canadian Literature.

If you would like to contact me, please send an email to girltotherescue (at) gmail (dot) com.

Reviews

[Kari Tanaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Bright challenges the traditional linear story line through a series of flashbacks that tease the reader with hints of back story, angst, and drama as three characters travel by bus from Lethbridge, Alberta to Victoria, B.C. The closer Hunter, Lee and Poppy get to home, the deeper the understanding of how and why these characters came to be who they are. The suspense is delicious and pulls the reader through each scene with ease.

This novel is not for the feint of heart as it explores themes of drug abuse, peer pressure, and the consequences of hanging out with the wrong crowd. However, I have never been one to denounce an author for painting a vivid and true to life picture of teenage issues and situations. In fact, I applaud Amy Bright for her bravery in not pulling any punches with these characters as it was this honesty that allowed me to cheer them all on through each and every page.

This book will appeal to middle school and teen readers who appreciate honest, realistic fiction.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for the slow reveal, and Amy Bright does it well here. The narrative structure and third person point of view lets the pieces of the plot surface without being forced or gimmicky.

Hunter and his friends come across as real high school students, not an adult's idealized or retrospective version of what it was like to be seventeen, and it's refreshing to see friendships between teenage guys be important and carry emotional weight without being sidelined by a romance sub-plot.

One of the strengths of the book is the secondary characters. It's very much Hunter's story, but there's a sense that everyone else has their own lives and worlds and stories going on, too.

This is the kind of book that isn't going to grab every reader, but when it clicks with someone, it's going to hit them hard.

[Chapters Lethbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

LC'S REVIEW:

For me, this book gets credit for taking place in Lethbridge and being written by a Lethbian. Content warning: drugs (pot), suicide, mental illness.

A relatively genuine, accurate look at life as a teenager in Lethbridge. I liked it alright and would recommend it to mature, young readers.

[Janet Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as Bright's Before We Go, which I read earlier this year. Although they were interesting and mostly likeable, I found it hard to relate to the characters, and wasn't that drawn into the story.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story by a beautiful author.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, I was pretty tickled to read a book set partially in Lethbridge though!

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of Swimmers through a First Reads Giveaway. Overall, I enjoyed it. After an event that affected many, Hunter reaches a low point in his life. Only 17 years old, he is "shipped off" to live with his aunt - far away from his old life. Rather than enter another high school, he is homeschooled by a nearby neighbor and her daughter, Poppy. This is a story about how Hunter and Poppy say goodbye to their painful pasts and face the future together, even if they aren't physically in the same place.

The two main characters, Hunter and Poppy, are both separately interesting and unique. But the relationship they form with each other is so unexpected and wonderful that I really learned to appreciate them. I love seeing how two characters from seemingly two different worlds meet and interact and in this case, find out they aren't all that different. Bright alternates between present narration and flashbacks, which I thought was a good approach to telling the story.

There were, however, a few areas where I feel like the author could have improved. First, physical character description. Now, hear me out, I know this is a personal preference and that not everyone likes to know EXACTLY what a character looks like so that they can visualize on their own. However, I like to know more about the physical appearance of characters so I feel like I am at least being accurate in my visualizations. Second, I thought there was more room for excitement through the entire book. There are several situations that are either exciting or devastating or something other than "blah" and yet I never really felt any of those emotions. The author references a sad situation - one that nobody likes to talk about - several times at the beginning of the book, but once we finally find out what happened, it was like "oh…okay.". There were definitely places where scenes could have been more built up. Lastly, I may stand alone in this but I thought Aunt Lynne's character should have been much more developed. She played a HUGE role in Hunter's life and story and took a huge risk and was his only support system for a time and I don't feel like we really got to know her. I would have liked to.

So my advice is to read it. It's a short book, an easy read. It won't make you fall out of your chair with emotion BUT it's a good book and an interesting story with the types of characters that we don't see interact much in other books. I applaud Bright for that.

[Mari Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This YA book isn't nearly as much like the publishers description as I would have liked. First of all, this is told from the POV of Hunter and not Poppy, like the write up suggests. The characters are thinly drawn and aren't very likable as written. I think the main thing that bugged me about this book is that nothing much really happens. There is a tiny bit of mystery surrounding Poppy's father but not enough to make it very suspenseful. The writing is somewhat disjointed, especially in the beginning, but this book mainly suffers from the lack of a good plot. Too much language and drug use included to recommend to anyone under the age of 16.
A free digital ARC was provided to me by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting enough, but it was a very slow. Nothing really happened. The characters were fairly flat, the "big reveal" was unsatisfying and the unfolding of the story, though intended to be clever, was somewhat disjointed. I felt like it all ended a little bit too disappointingly and a little too suddenly - where was the rest of the story? Everything was wrapped up and tied with a neat little bow, but I felt that there needed to be more. Within a few hours, I had actually forgotten that I had finished it.

The writing was decent enough - I think that given a few more years and some maturity to her writing Amy Bright will be a pretty good author. She writes well and it was a quick read.


*Received from a Goodreads giveaway*

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to be a first reader, and it was a lovely read full of suspense. It was a book both my 15 year old daughter and I enjoyed and we had fun exploring our opinions about it after we both read it.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

I feel this story would have benefited by being 150 pages shorter. In the end the story was not very complicated and took a.long.time to get to any sort of point.

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this book took place over two places: Victoria, BC and Lethbridge, AB. I am familiar with both so it was really cool to understand the references and feel like I had an 'in' with the book. It is a good YA book and I highly recommend it. Great book to promote Canadian authors.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. I think this would have been 4 stars if it wasn't for the ending which just seemed to lack something. Great little Albertan novel!

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received a copy of this book on a giveaway*
I really enjoyed this book. It's short and an easy read.
Really recommend it for people who love short stories.

[Amy Mathers · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/swimmers/