e-Audio, 04:42:40
Narrated by: Jasmine Mendez
Release Date: March 14, 2023
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: February 28- March 1, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: PRH App (I received a copy of this audiobook from the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Recounting of sibling death, drowning
For Readers Interested In: MG, Novels in verse, Swimmers, Texas local reads, Disability, Sports (Swimming), Racial/Ethnic DiversityA novel-in-verse by about a 12-year-old Dominican American swimmer who is diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis.
Aniana del Mar belongs in the water like a dolphin belongs to the sea. But she and Papi keep her swim practices and meets hidden from Mami, who has never recovered from losing someone she loves to the water years ago. That is, until the day Ani’s stiffness and swollen joints mean she can no longer get out of bed, and Ani is forced to reveal just how important swimming is to her. Mami forbids her from returning to the water but Ani and her doctor believe that swimming along with medication will help Ani manage her disease. What follows is the journey of a girl who must grieve who she once was in order to rise like the tide and become the young woman she is meant to be.
*YOUR THOUGHTS*
Since I’m challenging myself to read 12 books with disabilities or chronic illnesses, I’ve been on the lookout for more titles. So imagine my surprise when I found one I hadn’t heard of yet. And it was set not only in the state you live in, but also your hometown…… So yeah, I had to grab this!
Starting first with the novel in verse bit. If you know anything about me, you know that I struggle with these. I like to listen to them to make sure I get the right cadence of the words, but also, with me listening to things sped up, the correct cadence is completely thrown out anyway. So where is the common ground? Reading with my eyeballs? Another no because again, I struggle with them. I find myself flying through it and not really taking in any of the words. Just to have to read the whole thing over again. But for some reason, I was able to slow this audio down to the regular 1 speed and I was still into it. I guess my ADHD was interested enough in knowing that this book was set in Galveston. It could also be the fact that the narrator was completely perfect, whatever it was, this novel in verse wasn’t one I struggled with at all.
The setting was perfect for this story. When people mention an island, my mind never immediately goes to Galveston, so this was a pleasant surprise. In this the author mentions different things about the island like the brown water and the way the close knit family that the people have created, and it’s so 1000% true. It really brought the story to life. Also, the way she took care in talking about the things like the brown water and why it was that way was pretty awesome. It gets tiring to just hear that your water is never blue like the other islands all the time. So I was happy that someone took the time to learn why instead of bashing us.
The story itself was so good because although it was written in verse, it felt like a whole story. Does that make sense? Like I always feel like I’m missing something from the story when I read a novel in verse, like I’m still having to jump and connect the dots or come to conclusions on my own. And that’s not the case here. It was a novel in verse, but it told an entire story. The reader is never set to wonder what’s happening at any time. It’s all provided for them.
The plot was a lot more intricate than I thought it would be tho. I wasn’t expecting her mom to hate the fact that she was swimming. I thought she would find out about the disease and then stop thinking it would hurt rather than help, and then find out it does the opposite. But I guess that wasn’t enough drama. Because her mom didn’t like the fact that she swam, and it was for good reason. I was shook! Especially because I spent the whole book not liking her. I could understand, but I also kept saying she needed to see someone because it wasn’t fair for her to continue depriving her children certain things. Especially when they could potentially be life saving.
Which brings me to the characters. This is where I struggled. I hated that they didn’t ask her what she wanted to do or how she felt. I’m a firm believer if she has a mouth and knows the words, she should be able to tell you what she wants. And this was absolutely feasible and they continued to deny her of something that was good for her. Yeah that wasn’t ok to me. This is when I was screaming at them to go get help and leave her out of it lol And the way the other parent let it continuously go on without also encouraging help? Yeah I wasn’t a fan of any of the adults in this book. With a disease like this, you can’t always see it, you rely heavilly on the person it’s affecting, so not listening to when she says something helped or could help was ludicrous to me. And while I get what happened to them was traumatic and I was sad for her, I didn’t think that the MC deserved to carry the weight of that. Especially when she didn’t even know what had happened.
This book was so good! I really enjoyed reading the book and getting to know how other people think of Galveston Island. This read legit snuck up on me. Jasmine Mendez is definitely an author to watch! I hope there’s more to come from her!
Overall I give this
