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Art & Coll #3
Sink or Swim
I sat back on my bed, heart hammering. So that's what I was. A friend. You weren't my friend, Art. You were my lover. Friends make you laugh and support you and stop you feeling alone. They don't make you go to bed night after night curled up in misery. You're not my friend.
313 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
11 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
About the author
Kate Cann
45 books239 followersWhen I was a child, I wanted to be a witch. My first foray into writing was a series of nasty spells full of rats’ tails and bats’ wings. Then, when I turned thirteen, I began keeping a lurid diary, full of adoration or loathing, depending on who I was writing about. I used my later diaries for the Diving In trilogy.
I never thought ‘I want to be a writer’, but I loved books and writing. At school, I was rubbish at just about everything but English, so I went on to Kent University where I did two degrees in English and American Literature. At Kent, I fell dramatically in love with the man I'm still married to. We had loads of fights and adventures, but we kept coming back together. He's still the person I most want to spend time with. Awww!
My first proper job was in a publishing house, Time Life Books, as a copy-editor. I felt very glamorous. I used to go to the huge YMCA on Tottenham Court Road at lunchtime and do aerobics classes (very big in the 1980s and yes - I wore legwarmers). Then I'd fall asleep over my desk in the afternoon.
When my two kids came along, I set up as a freelance copy-editor and worked from home. By chance I got given some teenage books to edit, and I hated the way they treated sexual relationships: they were either full of gloom and doom, or were gushy, unrealistic candyfloss. So I got bitten by the ‘I can do better than this’ bug, and started writing. I remember the first day I started to write - it took me over. I forgot to eat (unthinkable for me) and I nearly forgot to collect the kids from school. About a year after that, Diving In was accepted for publication.
When I ran out of material from my diaries and memories, I realized my daughter and son were teenagers, and started eavesdropping on them. They were extremely tolerant about this although they did sometimes demand money from me.
Big changes have been afoot recently. My kids have left home - really left home, not just gap-year-travelling/university left home, and my old man is doing the sort of work that means he can work from home a lot of the time. So we've sold up and moved into the wilds of Wiltshire and so far I am absolutely loving it. The space, the silence, seeing the stars at night in the pitch black, the owls, the trees, the walks, the great food in the local pubs - everything! I'd started to bring nature into my books - it all started with Crow Girl - and now I'm working on two books about a city girl who gets plunged into the wilds. So the move is very much linked to and helping my writing. I think the sheer beauty and power of nature and how it can get right inside you is something a lot of kids are cut off from today.
I still love London though - the plan is to come up every couple of weeks, catch up with all my old mates, possibly do something seriously cultured like go to the theatre. And I want to travel a bit more, too - offsetting my increased carbon footprint with an enormous compost heap.
I love long conversations, running, reading, gardening, walking and white wine (in moderation of course) and I’m the first to admit I have the life of Reilly (who apparently had a pretty cushy life). I start the day with a run or walk with my dog, when I think about what’s going to happen next in the book I’m writing. Then I have a huge breakfast, and get down to work. I write on (or if it’s cold, in) the spare bed with a laptop, my dog at the bottom of the bed. If it’s sunny, I write in the garden, on a sun-lounger. Tough, ay? I also have this theory that you can’t be truly creative for more than about three or four hours a day, so in the mid afternoon, I knock off, and do my emails and stuff. Told you it was cushy.
I never thought ‘I want to be a writer’, but I loved books and writing. At school, I was rubbish at just about everything but English, so I went on to Kent University where I did two degrees in English and American Literature. At Kent, I fell dramatically in love with the man I'm still married to. We had loads of fights and adventures, but we kept coming back together. He's still the person I most want to spend time with. Awww!
My first proper job was in a publishing house, Time Life Books, as a copy-editor. I felt very glamorous. I used to go to the huge YMCA on Tottenham Court Road at lunchtime and do aerobics classes (very big in the 1980s and yes - I wore legwarmers). Then I'd fall asleep over my desk in the afternoon.
When my two kids came along, I set up as a freelance copy-editor and worked from home. By chance I got given some teenage books to edit, and I hated the way they treated sexual relationships: they were either full of gloom and doom, or were gushy, unrealistic candyfloss. So I got bitten by the ‘I can do better than this’ bug, and started writing. I remember the first day I started to write - it took me over. I forgot to eat (unthinkable for me) and I nearly forgot to collect the kids from school. About a year after that, Diving In was accepted for publication.
When I ran out of material from my diaries and memories, I realized my daughter and son were teenagers, and started eavesdropping on them. They were extremely tolerant about this although they did sometimes demand money from me.
Big changes have been afoot recently. My kids have left home - really left home, not just gap-year-travelling/university left home, and my old man is doing the sort of work that means he can work from home a lot of the time. So we've sold up and moved into the wilds of Wiltshire and so far I am absolutely loving it. The space, the silence, seeing the stars at night in the pitch black, the owls, the trees, the walks, the great food in the local pubs - everything! I'd started to bring nature into my books - it all started with Crow Girl - and now I'm working on two books about a city girl who gets plunged into the wilds. So the move is very much linked to and helping my writing. I think the sheer beauty and power of nature and how it can get right inside you is something a lot of kids are cut off from today.
I still love London though - the plan is to come up every couple of weeks, catch up with all my old mates, possibly do something seriously cultured like go to the theatre. And I want to travel a bit more, too - offsetting my increased carbon footprint with an enormous compost heap.
I love long conversations, running, reading, gardening, walking and white wine (in moderation of course) and I’m the first to admit I have the life of Reilly (who apparently had a pretty cushy life). I start the day with a run or walk with my dog, when I think about what’s going to happen next in the book I’m writing. Then I have a huge breakfast, and get down to work. I write on (or if it’s cold, in) the spare bed with a laptop, my dog at the bottom of the bed. If it’s sunny, I write in the garden, on a sun-lounger. Tough, ay? I also have this theory that you can’t be truly creative for more than about three or four hours a day, so in the mid afternoon, I knock off, and do my emails and stuff. Told you it was cushy.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 27, 2012
I have a lot of time for Kate Cann’s Diving In (‘Art and Coll’) trilogy. Even though the storylining is a bit rough, I think it captures something true about teenage relationships. There’s a realism (sometimes giddy, sometimes bleak) to the books that is missing from most of the other 1,783 teen romances I’ve read.
Cann eschews a lot of the familiar teen novel clichés. Heroine Coll may be consumed by her relationship with bad boy Art, but she also Does Stuff. She has hobbies. She gets a job. She studies for her exams. All of this stuff is usually missing from teen romances.
Plus, Coll does what is so often verboten in teen novels: she has sex. And sometimes it’s great. And sometimes it’s terrible. And sometimes it’s only okay. GASP. Realism!
That’s not to say the books are perfect. There’s no real plotting outside of the central Coll/Art love story, and each book (particularly the final one) ends rather abruptly. Some of the secondary characters – notably, best friend Val – are never fully developed. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Val was just a function to prove that Sometimes Teenage Sex Goes Wrong.
However, on balance, I’d say that if you’re fond of reading about messy, true-to-life relationships, you could do worse than to pick up this trilogy.
P.S. Plus points to this book for containing motorbike excursions with lesbian overtones. Also: Joe/Coll! My OTP when I was 14! Still my OTP!
Cann eschews a lot of the familiar teen novel clichés. Heroine Coll may be consumed by her relationship with bad boy Art, but she also Does Stuff. She has hobbies. She gets a job. She studies for her exams. All of this stuff is usually missing from teen romances.
Plus, Coll does what is so often verboten in teen novels: she has sex. And sometimes it’s great. And sometimes it’s terrible. And sometimes it’s only okay. GASP. Realism!
That’s not to say the books are perfect. There’s no real plotting outside of the central Coll/Art love story, and each book (particularly the final one) ends rather abruptly. Some of the secondary characters – notably, best friend Val – are never fully developed. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Val was just a function to prove that Sometimes Teenage Sex Goes Wrong.
However, on balance, I’d say that if you’re fond of reading about messy, true-to-life relationships, you could do worse than to pick up this trilogy.
P.S. Plus points to this book for containing motorbike excursions with lesbian overtones. Also: Joe/Coll! My OTP when I was 14! Still my OTP!
November 12, 2010
When I began this short and easy-to-read series I was delighted with the teenage angst and romantic dilemmas (although I warn its a little racier than most YA), but the end of this trilogy made something in me really angry. Both Coll and Art have issues, but where Coll is sweet and confused, Art is a straight narcissist who manipulates, womanizes, and shows a complete lack of empathy time and time again. Just when you think, "Oh, he really does have a heart underneath all that chiseled beauty." Bam! He turns out to be the !@&% that you thought. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 is because sometimes there are guys like that slinking their way around the world. I was dumbfounded with the ending; I'm just going to pretend that Coll learned a life lesson through his jerky experience and will find someone worth loving who will love here wholeheartedly back.
April 8, 2015
I haved loved reading this series and now that it's finally over, I'm going to really miss it. I wished I knew how it 'really finished'. Where Coll's relationship stood + what she did with her life. I am thinking of reading 'Art's Story' - it apparently says if they end up together and answers most of my questions. But I know it will be painful to read it through Art's perspective and not Coll's since it has been through her side of the story. It is most important to say that I am going to miss these books and reading this series, hopefully one day I can and will return to the story and tales of Coll and Art's life.
August 13, 2011
teeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrible
December 28, 2012
It is an alright book. I wouldn't say it was particularly amazing, but for those who like teen dramas about boys I suppose this books for you. I read it thinking it was something completely different, and picked it up at the library without recognising it was the third book of its trilogy.
April 24, 2015
This book was featured as part of a Throwback Thursday post.
Check out the full review:
http://treasurecovebookreviews.com/20...
Happy reading =)
Check out the full review:
http://treasurecovebookreviews.com/20...
Happy reading =)
May 29, 2024
(NL-editie) This book was one of my favorite childhood books and therefore part of my 2024 youth re-read. 5 ★ because I absolutely loved this trilogy as a kid.
August 30, 2019
I read this book almost a decade ago, and I have re-read it several times. This book honestly got me through a really rough breakup. I was dealing with someone who had treated me in a similar way to the male character in this series and it helped me get over it and move on with my life. The author really had a great grasp of human nature and about pain and recovery from being mistreated.
January 16, 2024
My favorite of the series, as a young teen i read these without my parent knowing, i felt like i was the character in the book, it felt relatable, although it really wasn't. These were my first ever books i ever read. Very nostalgic for me.
Read
September 22, 2022#91
Borrowed from the library.
FS:
LS:
Borrowed from the library.
FS:
LS:
August 22, 2023
This is the book that didn’t need to happen. A third just for the sake of it.
September 29, 2025
found the book while traveling :)
June 25, 2025
This is the third one in the trilogy.
Coll and Art have broken up and Coll is putting a brave face on not coping very well and is feeling very raw and vulnerable. She starts to work at a cafe on Saturday nights to stop her friends from persuading her to go out. The other waitress Maggie ends up being a great friend. I loved how she tried to empower Coll yet supported her when she made some mistakes. Coll also has a bit of a showdown with Val who is struggling with her longterm boyfriend Greg.
I loved the ending of this and how Coll realises she needs to go away from everything after her A-levels and her relationship with Art.
Coll and Art have broken up and Coll is putting a brave face on not coping very well and is feeling very raw and vulnerable. She starts to work at a cafe on Saturday nights to stop her friends from persuading her to go out. The other waitress Maggie ends up being a great friend. I loved how she tried to empower Coll yet supported her when she made some mistakes. Coll also has a bit of a showdown with Val who is struggling with her longterm boyfriend Greg.
I loved the ending of this and how Coll realises she needs to go away from everything after her A-levels and her relationship with Art.
April 10, 2017
Jag tyckte inte boken var sådär jättebra, bara medelmåttig. Den handlar om Coll som försöker gå vidare efter att ha blivit dumpad av sin pojkvän. Tänk er Twilight-Bellas depression efter att Edward stack fast lite mindre dramatiskt, alltså utan skriken och mardrömmarna. Till sist blir Colls bästa vän sur på henne för att hon fortfarande är nere. De blir ovänner och Coll skaffar ett jobb. Där träffar hon Maggie som i fortsättningen av boken fungerar lite som en psykolog för Coll. Maggie har själv vart i ett sånt förhållande som Coll, så hon vet hur det är.
June 23, 2016
I can't say I didn't just breeze through this book, but man was it frustrating! I understand Art's character is meant to be "wounded" and "sealed off" but good grief, he's an ass! I wanted so badly for Colette to just drop him off! Excited to read the fourth one, curious to see if it will help explain Art--and obviously, most importantly.. will these two get together for good? I can't say I really want them to at this point; Colette deserves much better honestly.
March 11, 2008
Last book in the trilogy from Kate Cann. Quite emotional, but still funny. The characters are very real and I felt a sense of connection with them. Having read this series as a teenager, it helped to know that I wasn't the only one experiencing these emotions, and going through a similar situation. Great books
September 12, 2015
I think it's great that finally coll stood up to art and controlled the relationship for once and did what she needed to do, I also loved the open end of the book and that you could see it what way you wanted to but I loved having arts story on my kindle so I could read the ending all in all I am happy how it ends
November 26, 2020
Do you ever read something that makes you wish you had read it when you were younger?! Me too.
This is a three part series and I won’t lie I haven’t read the first two but it isn’t necessary in this case, this read totally pulls you in.
Coll is a teen dealing with heartbreak, friendship and family, this isn’t by any means a complicated read but the meanings this book holds is so much more 🌱
This is a three part series and I won’t lie I haven’t read the first two but it isn’t necessary in this case, this read totally pulls you in.
Coll is a teen dealing with heartbreak, friendship and family, this isn’t by any means a complicated read but the meanings this book holds is so much more 🌱
September 11, 2016
Swedish title: Över ytan
February 14, 2012
its nice
June 23, 2012
was kind of disappointed in how this all got wrapped up. certainly wasn't as good as the others.
February 22, 2013
One of the best books i've ver read. Need to find the book about Arts side of the story :)
May 2, 2013
I loved this series so much. It could have gone on for books and books if they stayed this good.
June 28, 2013
Relatable
May 14, 2015
I want more!
July 22, 2013
Read this about ten years ago. Nice light read, but I've outgrown it
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews