When You Least Expect It

by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Avid competitive rower Holly is seventeen. There is nothing she wishes for more than to compete in the Olympics. When she fails to make the rowing team that is going to Europe she is shattered. Her dream has exploded and she is left dealing with the disappointment. She is also confronting a new reality at she and her mother have moved in with her mother's boyfriend and his two sons. And then her mother announces she is pregnant. . . a situation she has been hiding from Holly. This news is a blow to the close relationship Holly thought she had with her mother. And it provokes her to conceal secretly taking up training as a single-scull rower with a coach who has his own tragic story. And when Holly starts seeing someone who could become a significant romantic partner, she hides that from her mother as well. How long can you keep secrets like this? This page-turning story is enhanced by fascinating detail of what it means to be a competitive rower -- as well as an emotional core that is powerful and compelling.

Genres: Young Adult, Canada

464 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2021

About the author

Lorna Schultz Nicholson is an award winning author who has published over 50 books, including children's picture books, middle grade, YA fiction and sports non-fiction. Lorna divides her time between Edmonton and Penticton, where she and her husband share their homes with their Mexican rescue dog.
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Reviews

[Jean Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sports can be such a powerful framework for telling a story, and this book nails it. The sport is rowing - and no, you don't have to be a fan or know anything about rowing to be captured by this story of Holly, a teen struggling to follow her own dreams while her life just keeps getting more complicated. Some of the complications might be of her own making, but many are not, and the story mines the underlying themes of loss and facing the truth. A powerful read for teens and adults.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, what an amazing novel by Lorna! Now, I would love to try rowing sometimes. Lorna is amazing at developing her characters. It’s so easy to get attached to them. The plot with all those secrets was driving me insane! I was so scare for Holly!!! I kept thinking that it will blow up in her face at any time or put her in a very dangerous situation. I strongly recommend reading it!

[Joan Galat · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't need to be an athlete to relate to Lorna Shultz Nicholson's multi-dimensional rower protagonist—Holly Callahan. Life is complicated for this teen and getting cut from the national rowing team is just one of the issues Holly grapples with during a transformative summer. The opportunity to discover the ins and outs of competitive rowing is a bonus, and alternating chapters in verse lead to a gripping end.

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't one I would normally choose for myself, but this has to be in my top 10 books of the year now. Holly is a fantastic protagonist, and the themes of loss, hard work, and struggle are so heavy throughout this in a way that doesn't feel overbearing. Nicholson creates a path for Holly that feels real, and despite the occasionally frustrating decision, her choices are genuine, what a teenager would actually make in the moment. This is ultimately a story of grief, but one put in such a positive way while still feeling real, and I'm so glad to have found it.

[Brian Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lorna’s understanding of the sport and the psychology of the sport of rowing is clearly evident throughout the novel. Although I am not the target audience for this genre, I was fixated with wanting to know what was going to be the outcome. I was not disappointed. Thank you Lorna for writing such a believable rowing novel.

[Rick Bayko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up from a booth at the Canadian Henley Royal Regatta and was happy to read that important parts of the action in the novel also took place there. While it might be categorized as a teen book I thoroughly enjoyed it as a rowing book with family and coaching dynamics thrown in for good measure. A quick and easy read that flowed like a friendly downstream current.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great young adult book about perseverance and dealing with adverse situations. Detailed explanations about the sport of rowing, including a glossary of terms in the back. Shows the impact of various types of relationships.

[Brittany Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read a book about rowing in 10+ years. I loved so much about this book. I couldn’t put it down!

[JF]

G&B recommend