Angels Can't Swim
Title: Angels Can’t Swim
Author: Alexandra McCann
Genre: Contemporary NA Fiction
Rating: Five Stars!
On a college swim team, there are
three very different girls living three very separate but linked lives . . .
Jenna loves to swim and she’s a valued
member of her college swim team, but Jenna has a couple of secrets. One, she really likes the attention her
athleticism brings her; and two, she secretly craves everyone’s approval,
especially her team’s coach. Coach Ted is renowned for leading his team to
victory, and while some believe that he’s a little too involved, all of the girls respect and adore him, and Jenna
especially doesn’t mind his praise or the way he touches and lingers too long,
and she definitely doesn’t mind that he thinks so highly of her that he’s
willing to entrust her to watch his children, and maybe do a little something
more . . .
Maggie got into college on an
academic scholarship but her heart has always been in the water. As a walk-on,
Maggie feels compelled to perform at the highest level and always feels as
though she has to prove herself to the team. The pressure that she places on
herself is immense and often leaves Maggie feeling homesick for the small town
and large family she’s left behind. Thankfully, there’s a boy, a good Christian
one that she knows her family will approve of, and so Maggie begins to spend
time with him, hoping to alleviate her loneliness, but she quickly discovers
that unsupervised private time can lead to lots of trouble . . .
Eden has a few secrets that she
doesn’t want to admit, even to herself — namely that she’s gay and that she’s in
love with Jenna, her very straight, very boy-crazy teammate. It all seems so
unfair and wrong — her abnormal feelings and her abnormal desires toward a girl,
and so she suppresses her emotions as best as she can, usually with food, which
also comes at a huge price as her bingeing and purging slowly begins to spiral out
of control . . .
Angels
Can’t Swim offers an emotionally riveting and unique view into the lives of
a college swim team. The characters are compelling and as their stories unfold,
the reader cannot help but become immersed in their plights — each girl
struggling to come into their own while navigating some very real, very
complicated issues. The novella, which is brilliantly written, hits on many
taboo topics that deserve attention, and the author does an amazing job of
tying the girls’ lives together while still exploring each storyline with
grace, realism, and heart.
