Deep Water
by Jamie Sumner
Intermediate, Middle School    Atheneum    224 pp.
4/24    9781665935067    $17.99
e-book ed.  9781665935081    $10.99

Open-water marathon swimming (any continuous swim over ten kilometers) is not for the faint of heart and is typically done with meticulous planning, careful consideration for the weather and water conditions, and a skilled kayaker and other safety supports in place. But when her mother abruptly leaves and doesn’t come back, Tully impulsively decides to swim the 12.1-mile Lake Tahoe Marathon, a.k.a. “the Godfather swim.” At twelve, she will be the youngest person to complete the swim, and she is doing so in risky weather conditions, with an inexperienced kayaker, and without her father’s knowledge. Tully’s mom, an endurance athlete, was her daughter’s swim coach whose obsessive exercise kept her depression at bay, and Tully believes that “this swim [is] going to bring my mother back.” Written in verse, including occasional concrete poems, the book is organized in chapters by the hours into the swim (Hour One, Hour Two); as Tully gets further along, there is a peeling-of-the-onion effect, where with each passing hour more is revealed about her mother’s mental health and the lies Tully told herself to mask more painful truths. This touching and deeply affecting novel takes on difficult topics such as maternal abandonment and codependency and gives readers a peek into the feelings and thoughts that underpin childhood trauma.

From the July/August 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.