FatedAtraxia's Book Reviews

Learning to Swim

Title : Learning to Swim
Genre : Young Adult
Author : _rishiika

Review

Title:

I think this was a very well chosen title. In a metaphorical sense and literal one.

Cover:

I take the blue being water. The boy and girl indicating a romance beginning over a coffee. It is certainly fitting for the novel.

Summary (Blurb):

I don't have much to say about the blurb. I don't think it's bad but I don't think it's exemplary. One thing I can say, is I don't think the list is very necessary. It could definitely be the preface or prologue of the book, though.

What I liked about this book :

There character development is actually great. It's also devastating what the character is going through and I can 100% relate, which is one of the best things. I do like the chemistry of Jay and Jamie.

What I didn't like about this book :

I didn't connect to Jay until a little bit more than half-way through the first chapter. At first, I thought he was just someone that over analyzed the little coffee shop and just the coffee shop franchise in general. It did make it for a slow read.

It didn't seem that Jay was getting over the inner turmoil, it's like he never got over what had happened in the end. I feel like there could absolutely be more to 'Learning to Swim' especially pertaining to the turmoil that Jay and his parents are facing. I say this because there are five stages of grief; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and then Acceptance. As I was reading, I had only seen anger and depression, not really acceptance. I think that the last conversation between Jay and his parents is great but I surely don't feel like they went through the five stages together or separate.

Grammar. The grammar made for a very long and slow read. But, it's literally just some necessary commas that can be taken out.

Overall:

A great book that has some minor issues, but two major issues. I feel like Jay and his parents didn't get through the problem that was stated in the beginning of the book. It was like they were just beginning to get through it. The Second being, it should have taken more swimming lessons to learn how to swim. I want to feel the fear that he was going through and for it to show that he was fearing he would drown.

Ratings :

8.6/10

Grammar 3/5

Vocabulary 4/5

Character development 5/5

Plot 5/5

Descriptions 4/5

Placement/Use 5/5