Review #3 Angels Can't Swim
Alexandra McCann is a brand new author, who sent me an email last month with a request to read her new novella Angels Can't Swim. Obviously, I was flattered and excited to read her new book. She explained the plot as a short story about; "Three college juniors. A swim team. A manipulative coach. Unexpected life circumstances. A girl struggling with her sexuality. A story that you will not forget."
I was hesitant at first as I typically do not like sports related anything and I honestly don't know much about swimming as a sport, but I really enjoyed this novel as it was less about the actual sport and more to the tribulations the three main characters; Jenna, Maggie, and Eden were going through.
All three girls are on their college swim team and have very different qualities. Jenna is the star of the team and she has an unhealthy relationship with success and praise from her coach. Maggie is a devout christian and is the least gifted in swimming; she struggles with her new relationship and staying abstinent through temptations. Eden spars with accepting her sexuality and her attraction to Jenna and along with some self image issues she has turned to bulimia to help her gain some control and it has started to affect her performance in practice and swim meets.
Seeing each of these characters struggle and still maintain their relationships between their family and each other is inspiring and I think that drives the plot the most. Overall, I really liked the concept, although, I would really have liked this to be a full length novel with more development of the characters and their backstories as well as the events of the novel. This is an incredible backbone for a much broader story and shows real potential to be an even better story.
McCann stated that she felt as though her demographic is young adults and I have to agree with her as there were some adult and explicit themes although not so much I felt uncomfortable reading this. This would have easily been a book I picked up in my early high school years. I can honestly recommend this one to anybody who needs a quick read.
Angels Can’t Swim
Author: Alexandra McCAnn
Pages: 102 Digital Copy
Date: June 2018
Publisher: Self-Published through KDP
Price: 4.99 USD*
ISBN: 1983190527