Abby Lipman has it all: she's the best female swimmer in her school, is about to swim for the Olympic qualifier, and dates the best (not to mention, most attractive) male swimmer on the team. Abby's father was once in her shoes, but a freak accident ended his swimming career before it had even started. Consequently, she swims for both of them, fulfilling her ongoing dreams and the ones he never got to live out. When she passes out after a meet, her coach sends her to the doctor for permission to swim again, where she is devastated to learn that she has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an enlargement of the heart that jeopardizes her future. She is immediately prescribed a heart-slowing drug which, despite potentially saving her life, destroys her ability to swim competitively. In addition to not being able to race, her boyfriend decides that there's not room in their relationship for HCM and breaks it off. With the qualifier swim coming up, Abby decides to continue her training against the advice of her doctors and peers, but she didn't count on being under the watchful eye of Alec, a team member who she previously looked down on. As the two grow closer, Alec urges Abby to stop risking her life for swimming. When she can no longer lie to herself about her chances of winning while on the medication, she makes an impossible decision: she's going to win that meet or die trying, and that means taking herself off of the meds behind her parents' backs. This life-changing decision has huge consequences for her, but will the qualifier swim be her last one, or will she come to her senses in time to save her own life?
I received this book from my monthly Bookcase Club Box, which, by the way, is a really awesome service available for book-lovers. When I first picked it up, I was certain it was going to be your typical sappy romance novel, but I guess that goes to show you that you really can't judge a book by its cover. I couldn't put it down! The constant suspense caused by her continuing her training with HCM keeps you turning pages to find out what's going to happen, and you can't help but sympathize with her as you watch not only her dreams but also her father's crash and burn. That being said, I found her character a little annoying because she was legitimately going to put her life in danger just to swim a race, not to mention lying to pretty much everyone about what was going on. I eventually decided that her actions were due to her age and the shock of the diagnosis, so it wasn't a huge obstacle while I was reading.
In addition to being a good novel in general, it's also informative; Dominy talks about HCM briefly at the end of the book. HCM is a real disease that affects 2 in 500 people, especially athletes, killing most of them before they've even been diagnosed. The realistic nature of the condition makes the story even more poignant, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to a heart foundation.
Pros:
- A can't-put-it-down page turner!
- Realistic and relatable storyline
- Good character development
Cons:
- Main character can be a little unlikable when making rash decisions
- Parents' characters seem a little underdeveloped off the bat
- Typical teenage drama (some directly attributable to HCM diagnosis)
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