Head Above Water

by S.L. Rottman

For a sixteen-year-old high school junior, Skye has a lot on her plate. As she faces the challenges of caring for her disabled brother and making time for school, swimming, and a boyfriend, Skye begins to gain a new perspective into what is truly important in her life.
With her mother holding down two jobs to support the family since Skye’s father left years ago, Skye is given the primary responsibility of caring for her older brother Sunny, who has Down syndrome.
Skye’s relationship with her brother constantly challenges and sometimes frustrates her. All the while, Skye is trying to maintain her GPA, and she is training intensely to qualify for the state championships as a member of her high school swim team, in hopes of earning a college scholarship. She is also struggling to come to terms with her feelings for her boyfriend, who wants more from her than she is ready to give.
Award-winning author S. L. Rottman has crafted an absorbing young adult novel that powerfully depicts the emotional turbulence of teenage life and the difficulty of negotiating complex human relationships.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

Skye Johnson, a junior in high school, is an excellent swimmer, and is training to qualify for State. The state swimming competition could net a college scholarship for Skye. Her older brother, Sunny, has Down Syndrome. Since her divorced mother must work more than one job to support the family, she is away from home most of the time, and it is Skye's job to watch out for Sunny. He's a great kid, always cheerful, but he does require a lot of time from Skye as she makes sure he does his homework, and manages to get home from school, along with fixing him meals. There is just not much time for anything else...just Sunny, school, and swimming.

Then Skye meets Mike and her priorities begin to change. Sunny wants to learn to swim: he adores his sister, and wants to be just like her, and he wants Skye to teach him how. Life is frustrating, and Skye finds herself being dishonest with her mother in order to find time for herself. She had promised to give Sunny swimming lessons, but instead signs him up for classes so that she can spend time with Mike - only to find out that he may not be the nice guy that she thought he was.

Her life is further complicated when Sunny qualifies for Special Olympics, and his meet is at the same time as Skye's state championship swim. Skye's emotions are on a roller coaster, and her pain and frustration had me crying and then cheering for her victories.

Rottman is a master at characterization and plotting. The author brings to life the reality and rewards of caring for someone with a learning disability in a fast-paced story that is hard to put down.

[Jose M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The noble Head Above Water is about how family and friendship is the most important thing in life. The main characters of this noble are Skye, Sunny (Skye older brother), Mike, Jenny, and Skye's and Sunny’s mom. Skye is a junior in High school and a state qualifying swimmer, she lives with her older Brother Sunny and her single mother that occupies two jobs to provide her family with all the necessary things they need each and every day. Skey has to take care of her big brother Sunny because he has down syndrome. So she feels that she has no time to herself because she always has to babysit him. Jenny is Skye's best friend she is an only child, lives with her mom and dad, and has a boyfriend named Jon. Mike is the antagonist and Skye’s boyfriend he tried to rape Skye and bullied Sunny behind her back and he got caught by his parents and Skye's mom and sent to the office to apologize to Skye and Sunny for all of his wrongdoings.
I recommend this noble to all the young adults that are going through tough times with their families and don’t have time to themselves this noble will show you the importance of family and friends. The author S.L. Rottman well did a well done job with his transition and explanations to why something happened. None of his scene left any important detail out to confuse you everything when together smooth

[Just a person]

This is a story about a swimmer, a daughter, a sister and a friend--but most of all it is a journey of Skye accepting and learning who she is.
I connected with aSkye, and even if I haven't been in some of her unique roles as a caretaker to her brother with Down's, and I've never had any experience with competitive swimming, her struggle to find her place, and really appreciate what life has to offer even in the midst of hard times makes for a wonderful story.
The way she handles things that life throws at her is understandable. She has real emotions and we get to experience them with her. What I really appreciate though is how she ultimately learns from it, and though she's not perfect, the next time she's faced with similar, she is better able to respond. I know that in my own life I've refused to learn and grow, but Skye wasn't like that and we got to see her progress and hopefully learn from it.
This is an older book, but I think that it definitely deserves a chance to shine again with new readers.

[Aspen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only way I could describe any of the emotions and all of them at the same time is, Its like a tidal wave. It (the book) sweeps you up and instantly you become apart of the story. This is mainly about how Skye struggles with her everyday life and shes human, so in turn, she makes mistakes. At the same time though, shes not. Being the girl that i am, i find this story to be extremely realistic. And completely fictional. You have to relate in a sense, and then your hooked. Thats how a good story should go. This is by far one of the best excuted books that I have read and i definitely want to read more books and such by this author. If you have anything in common With Skye based on the description, you definitely need to read this book. It will most likely make you look at life in a completely different way.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally picked this book up because of the title, and I found so much more. I read this for the first time in Jr. High and I can remember being so excited. Skye was the first character that I felt I could really relate to. I feel like this was really the first YAL title I read on my own, without any teacher influence or input. This was the first book I read that felt real, that felt like it could actually happen to me or to someone I knew. I really think this is the book that got me into YAL titles.

[Sam Novakowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skye is a junior in highschool who loves to swim, she wants to have her own time to herself because of 99% of the time she takes care of her brother who has Down Syndrome. She had stared dating the most popular guy in school he turns out to be a jerk and try to force her to do things. Skye had started to be mean to Sunny and puch him away. In the end Skye does the right thing breaks up with Mike and than helped Sunny. Skye had stopped thinking about herself and Sunny was able to swim and finish the swim in Special Olympics.

[Jordyn Mcgee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a teenage girl named Skye who is training for the state swimming championships so she can win a college scholarship. She also cares for her older brother Sunny, who has down syndrome. Skye chooses to break a trust while trying to make time for her new boyfriend but finds out she is faced with an even greater dilemma.

[Sheila Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter, who happens to be a middle school librarian, is a big fan of this author. I read one of Rottman's earlier books and felt it had potential, so I looked for more of her novels. This one is very good! It's told in first person and feels as though a teenager could have written it. I'd recommend it for readers ages 13 and older.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author! Skye, a high school junior, tries to find the time for both family obligations and personal interests, which include caring for her brother who has Down's Syndrome, dating her first boyfriend, and swimming competitively.

[Yashoda Krishna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason why I loved this book was because it showed what could happen in my life. if it did happen to me, I would be able to relate. I loved how the author described every single move the main character made. She made it very informative but at the same time, mysterious.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise that was executed in an okay manner. Nothing special, nothing awful. As a side note, Skye is a fast swimmer but not THAT fast...




*** FOR SAKE OF READING LOG: 262 PAGES ***

[Koqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this book a lot. it is about a girl whoo likes to swim and about her life. she has to teach her older brother to swim because he wants to learn to swim. when he was younger he tried to but he drowned and started to scream and cry.

[Annemarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book very much. The plot was slow and there were innapropriate parts to it.