Learning to Swim

Learning To Swim

by Sara J. Henry

    "If I'd blinked, I would have missed it.  But I didn't, and I saw something fall from the rear deck of the opposite ferry: a small, wide-eyed human face, in one tiny frozen moment, as it plummeted toward the water."

    When she witnesses a small child tumbling from a ferry into Lake Champion, Troy Chance dives in without think.  Harrowing moments later, she bobs to the surface, pulling a terrified little boy with her.  As the ferry disappears into the distance, she begins a bone-chilling swim nearly a mile to shore with a tiny passenger on her back.

    Surprisingly, he speaks only French.  He'll acknowledge that his name is Paul; otherwise, he's resolutely mute.

    Troy assumes that Paul's frantic parents will be in touch with the police or the press.  But what follows is a shocking and deafening silence.  And Troy, a freelance writer, finds herself as fiercely determined to protect Paul as she is to find out what happened to him.  What she uncovers will take her into a world of wealth and privilege and heedless self-indulgence—a world in which the murder of child is not unthinkable.  She'll need skill and courage to survive and protect her charge and herself.*

    I really enjoyed this book.  A lot of the books I read are fantasy, but this realistic fiction novel was both new and refreshing.  The characters in this book are relatable and they tugged on my heartstrings, each in turn.

    If I could change one thing about this book, it would be the climax.  It was a little cliche and over dramatic.  However, I would still recommend this book.

*From the dust jacket

The Eighth day

The Eighth Day

by Dianne K. Salerni

    The day after he turns thirteen, orphan Jax Aubrey awakes to a world without people.  His reaction?  It must be the zombie apocalypse.  When everything goes back to normal the next day, he's sure he's lost it.
    Then Riley Pendare, Jax's eighteen-year-old guardian, breaks the news: yesterday was the Eighth Day, an extra twenty-four hours between Wednesday and Thursday.  "Transitioners," like Jax and Riley, live in all eight days.  Others, like Evangeline, the teenage girl who's hiding in the house next door, exist only on this special day.
    The thrill of having a secret day wears off when Jax discovers Evangeline is being hunted by people who want to use her to eliminate the seven-day world—and everyone who lives there.  With the threat of human destruction hanging in the balance, Jax has to make a choice: Trigger an apocalypse or save his new friend?  That's a lot to figure out . . . even with an extra day. *

    This series is one of those books that gives you everything you want.  There are no unneeded scenes and the writing style is both impressive and realistic.  And by realistic I am a close as reality as you can get when writing a fictional story.

    One thing that I really loved about this series was that is was from a character that is not the hero or destined savior or hiding fugitive.  It's in the perspective of someone who looks at the hero and does everything that can to live up to that standard.  There have been books that I have read similar to this where I have not liked viewing out of the main characters spectrum, but this series was done very well and I did not have that problem.  I was greatly able to imagine the story as I chose when the protagonist was not in every situation and scenario.

I would highly recommend this book.  Maybe it's a little young and it's a fairly easy read, but it is completely enjoyable and engaging.

*From the dust jacket