Up for Air

by Diana Harmon Asher

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle struggles in school, no matter how hard she tries. But as soon as she dives into the pool, she’s unstoppable. She’s the fastest girl on the middle school swim team, and when she’s asked to join the high school team over the summer, everything changes. Suddenly, she’s got new friends, and a high school boy starts treating her like she’s somebody special—and Annabelle thinks she’ll finally stand out in a good way. She’ll do anything to fit in and help the team make it to the Labor Day Invitational, even if it means blowing off her old friends. But after a prank goes wrong, Annabelle is abandoned by the older boy and can’t swim. Who is she without the one thing she’s good at? Heartwarming and relatable, Up for Air is a story about where we find our self-worth.
 

• ISBN13: 9781419733666
• Publish Date: 7 May 2019 (first published 22 August 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Abrams
• Imprint: Amulet Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://abramsandchronicle.co.uk/book/up-for-air/

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Annabelle spent all of 7th grade struggling to achieve academically. Her mother, step father, and best friends all seemed to succeed with ease, while even with accommodations, tutoring, and extra studying, Annabelle could not do better than Cs. Summer, however, was where she shined.

Inside the pool, Annabelle was able to close off the rest of the world and excel. After breaking almost all the under-14 pool record, the high school swim coach offered her a spot on the team. Annabelle was flattered, excited, and a little scared, but what she didn't realize was how being on the team would change her whole summer.

Up for Air was a fantastic entry into the upper middle grades field. Morrison navigated that complicated in-between so well. Annabelle went from being the top of her middle school team and crowd, to the bottom of the high school set. She was thrust into a whole lot of new and more mature situations, and didn't always make the best choices for herself. It was sometimes tough watching Annabelle make these bad decisions, but she definitely came out more knowing and resilient.

At one point during the book, Annabelle suffered an injury, and was unable to swim. From there, it was sort of a downward spiral for her, which really broke my heart. It was easy to see how important swimming was to Annabelle, but it was also obvious that she tied her self-worth to her swimming excellence. Without having that opportunity to standout in the pool, she began to drown in a sea of insecurity. Morrison did such an incredible job wrapping me in Annabelle's emotions, and they came across as so authentic, as well as being really relatable. My love for Annabelle was a sure thing from the very beginning of this tale, and I was right there rooting for her the entire time. I liked that she misstepped, but kept moving forward. Failures are often stepping stones to success, and it was great the way Morrison utilized Annabelle's setbacks in this story.

Yes, this summer was filled with a lot of ups and downs for Annabelle. She suffered quite a few setbacks and some heartbreak, but she also forged some great friendships, renewed a friendship, and reevaluated yet another. She learned a lot about herself, her parents, and her step-father. There are a few especially lovely moments shared with her mother towards the end, where they reveal important truths to each other, and I was particularly happy with the way mom came to terms with Annabelle's scholastic future.

Overall: An honest look at that challenging in-between time we face in our early teens, which was filled with bumps and bad decisions, but ultimately an experience that left Annabelle stronger and wiser.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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