NIGHT SWIM by Jessica Keener
Genre is hot. Page-turning thrillers, mysteries and romances keep our pulse racing and underscore our hectic lives. These whirlwind escapes are enjoyable, but sometimes we need to slip away softly.
Jessica Keener’s Night Swim transports us into 16-year-old Sarah Kunitz’s life with the finesse of a classical composer. Sarah’s world wraps around us like the opening of The Moonlight Sonata. The family dynamic is so true, we see a bit of ourselves in every character. This is the mark of a seasoned writer. But amidst the familiar comfort an undercurrent of unrest gnaws and we commit to Sarah’s journey because we are anchored in truth.
Then Sarah’s world cracks open like the second half of Beethoven’s masterpiece, and we hang tight while she navigates through the debris of her disintegrating family to find salvation. Night Swim is filled with heartache, yet flows with love and poetic depth.