Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2012/08/learning-to-swim.html
Learning To Swim is a mystery. It is the story of Troy Chance. On a ferry in Lake Champlain, she sees a child fall into the lake. She jumps in and saves him. His name is Paul, and he won't say how and why he ended up there. Troy brings him home, and waits to see if someone comes looking for him. No one does. Thus starts the mystery that Troy attempts to unravel - Who is this child? How did he end up on a ferry by himself? How did he fall in? Why isn't anyone looking for him?
The start of the book is enjoyable if you willingly suspend the disbelief that someone would discover a child and not immediately report it. Unfortunately, for me, it deteriorates from there. The sequence of events and characters seems implausible. Some things seem to come together too conveniently, and some like the ending seem to arrive out of nowhere.
Threaded throughout the book are hints about Troy's past. This mystery leads Troy on a journey of self-discovery as well. Where she is in life and where she is going. Learning to Swim becomes a metaphor for learning to live. However, it never becomes clear what exactly in her past has led to her current life and the choices she makes when she finds Paul. That aspect is never fully explored and hence feels incomplete.
So, unfortunately, the book does not live up to the interest generated by its description.
Learning To Swim is a mystery. It is the story of Troy Chance. On a ferry in Lake Champlain, she sees a child fall into the lake. She jumps in and saves him. His name is Paul, and he won't say how and why he ended up there. Troy brings him home, and waits to see if someone comes looking for him. No one does. Thus starts the mystery that Troy attempts to unravel - Who is this child? How did he end up on a ferry by himself? How did he fall in? Why isn't anyone looking for him?
The start of the book is enjoyable if you willingly suspend the disbelief that someone would discover a child and not immediately report it. Unfortunately, for me, it deteriorates from there. The sequence of events and characters seems implausible. Some things seem to come together too conveniently, and some like the ending seem to arrive out of nowhere.
Threaded throughout the book are hints about Troy's past. This mystery leads Troy on a journey of self-discovery as well. Where she is in life and where she is going. Learning to Swim becomes a metaphor for learning to live. However, it never becomes clear what exactly in her past has led to her current life and the choices she makes when she finds Paul. That aspect is never fully explored and hence feels incomplete.
So, unfortunately, the book does not live up to the interest generated by its description.
It is hard to convey how enjoyable this book was to read. I had a clear sense of the characters and locations and was always happy to pick it back up and find out more about the mystery. I quickly read the second in the series and could see more books that include the whole case of characters that the author has developed.
