ARC Review: Girl Underwater♥ by Claire Kells

Girl Underwater
Claire Kells

• Publisher: Dutton (March 31, 2015)
• ISBN-13: 978-0525954934
• Genre: YA, Adventure
• Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles
• Source: Review copy was sent via Dutton Books. Thank you Danielle.
• Synopsis:An adventurous debut novel that cross cuts between a competitive college swimmer’s harrowing days in the Rocky Mountains after a major airline disaster and her recovery supported by the two men who love her—only one of whom knows what really happened in the wilderness. Nineteen-year-old Avery Delacorte loves the water. Growing up in Brookline, Massachusetts, she took swim lessons at her community pool and captained the local team; in high school, she raced across bays and sprawling North American lakes. Now a sophomore on her university’s nationally ranked team, she struggles under the weight of new expectations but life is otherwise pretty good. Perfect, really. That all changes when Avery’s red-eye home for Thanksgiving makes a ditch landing in a mountain lake in the Colorado Rockies. She is one of only five survivors, which includes three little boys and Colin Shea, who happens to be her teammate. Colin is also the only person in Avery’s college life who challenged her to swim her own events, to be her own person—something she refused to do. Instead she’s avoided him since the first day of freshman year. But now, faced with sub-zero temperatures, minimal supplies, and the dangers of a forbidding nowhere, Avery and Colin must rely on each other in ways they never could’ve imagined. In the wilderness, the concept of survival is clear-cut. Simple. In the real world, it’s anything but.

• Avery Delacorte is a swimmer, and the irony in this novel of she's stuck in water.. Well, not literally - her airline had crashed due to a disaster, and now she must survive on an island with four other survivors: three children and Colin Shea. Avery has avoided Colin Shea her whole life, I wouldn't classify them as enemies because they never speak to each other - they just pretend the other one doesn't even exist. Now, Avery must speak with Colin, she needs to take care of herself and the children. She's in for the adventure of her life.

•  Girl Underwater is a debut novel about survival and adventure, so of course I had to read it. Books about adventures are probably my most favorite, If they have romance - that's great, but if they don't I still like them regardless. By adventure, I don't mean road trips, I mean actual survival - like on an island, dessert, wilderness etc. I really enjoyed reading this novel - Avery Delacorte does survive, I don't believe that's a spoiler because the very first chapter is of her in the hospital, and usually you can find the sample of the first few chapters on Amazon. I'm not mentioning what happens to the rest of the characters though - It's a novel with flashbacks. It's between past and present, what happens afterwards, and what happens in between. The writing is something refreshing and unique - I've read books about survival that start with the present and end in the present only.

• I loved all of the characters.. I liked Avery because she's a vulnerable but at the same a time a kick ass heroine. Avery is a flawed character, but that is exactly what makes her authentic and genuine. People can relate to her more, they can understand her better. She had automatically took charge once they landed on the island, usually people would be numb because they might not survive - however, it's opposite in the case here. She becomes numb only when she is rescued.. The aftermaths of the disaster get to her then, I thought that was very different than other survival novels. 

• The character growth of Avery was very interesting as well.. Colin Shea was amazing as well, he's very quiet and brooding. Finally, another male lead I have liked in months! The little children were everything to me in this novel even more than the survival and romance aspects. Their innocence and bravery really got to me. Well.. hello amazingly, cute romance between Colin and Avery. This isn't a fluffy romance, it's more on the heavier side. The means to survive bond these two characters together, and they need each other now. I did like the slow burn and the love/hate relationship between the two characters. Although, I do have to wonder, if they weren't stuck on this island, would they have still been together? This novel would make a great movie though.

• The survival aspect of Girl Underwater was pretty fantastic, I loved reading how they tried to survive day by day - I think I learned a couple of things from this book, I shall use it IF I ever am lost in the middle of nowhere .. I did like the swimming aspect of the book, Colin and Avery are both swimmers which helps them in surviving. This is a survival story, but more than just physical survival - it does have an internal battle with Avery as well which is more of the focus. I liked reading her thoughts, and how she was coping with the stress. The flashbacks were a bit too much at times - the ending was too wholesome as well, it was rushed - I would have liked a more developed ending. Overall, I would rate this novel four butterflies. It is a beautiful debut novel and the writing is brilliant.

Recommended for fans of On The Island, Withering Hope, and Red Hill.

• Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & follow :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures.. 
  

  
  
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