Books I've read: Breathing Underwater

 

I came across this one when I was browsing the Libby app for something to read while I ate lunch since I'd finished my earlier read.  It sounded like something I'd be interested in, and did not disappoint.

Freya has visited her grandparents on their remote island home every summer she can remember.  She and her brother Joe became different people on the island, exploring, swimming, fishing and mixing with the summer people who come to camp.

But this year is different.  Last summer Joe drowned in a boating accident and life just hasn't been the same since.  Not only is there a huge hole in her life where Joe used to be, but her parents have been squabbling and the family are moving out of the home they've lived in forever to get away from the painful memories.

Freya isn't sure how being back on the island without Joe will feel, but it's her favorite place in the world and doesn't want to lose that as well.

At first it's strange for her.  Memories of Joe assault her at every turn.  She even feels like she sees him here and there, but rather than being scared or saddened by it, Freya is calmed by his ghostly presence.  As the summer crawls by in a series of picnics, parties on the beach, swims and burgeoning new friendships with this year's summer people, Freya begins to open up to the possibility that life may not be as bleak as she was beginning to think.  

This is a sweet, quiet book about grief and love and learning to accept both as natural parts of life.  The island setting is vividly evoked and becomes a central character in the story, much the same way Joe's memory is.  It's a good thing the island is so well drawn because many of the supporting characters are really just sketches and don't have enough depth or substance to really hang onto.  But this could have been intentional - when you're grieving, sometimes you can't risk getting close enough to other people to really see them as more than shadows.

So I'd recommend this one.  It's not full of drama or big moments, but I found it satisfying enough.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Freya has come to visit her grandparents who live on a remote island. Last year she visited them with her brother - but last year her brother died alone in a boating accident. Whilst back on the island, Freya finds a way, with the calming presence of her grandparents and the gentle care and attention of the people around her, to adjust to the fact that her brother has gone, and that life - and love - are still vibrantly in the air. A perfect coming of age for any young girl just tipping into teenhood.