Diving In

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood gives Fifty Shades vibes, but in my opinion is much better, due to good editing and an overall more engaging story line.

Scarlett is a D1 diving and premed student at Stanford. Her intense drive for perfection has served her well, until an injury her sophomore year. She is cleared to dive again her junior year, but is facing major mental blocks both with diving and school.

Things begin to change when her co-diver, Pen, breaks up with swimming god and Olympian, Lukas. It turns out that Scarlett and Lukas share a desire to engage in BDSM. With Pen’s encouragement, they begin exploring a sexual relationship together.

But right from the start there seems to be more between them than good sex.

The story navigates Scarlett’s personal development as she overcomes her fear of another injury and failure. Of course it also follows Scarlett and Lukas’s complicated relationship.

Back in Time

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is a slow and satisfying historical fiction read taking place in Maine during 1789.

It is based on the life of Martha Ballard, an accomplished midwife in her community. Martha wrote daily diary entries and snippets of these are shared throughout the book.

One night following a delivery, Martha is called to inspect a dead man who was pulled from the frozen river. She determines that he was beaten and hung.

The dead man is one of two accused of raping the pastor’s wife. Martha testifies on her behalf, but it will be a long and trying journey in their hope for justice.

The second accused happens to be the town judge. He is determined to push Martha and her family out of their residence. He also is responsible for bringing a new doctor into town who attempts to derail Martha’s reputation.

More is revealed about Martha’s family and the townspeople through the long winter. Martha has a great impact on so many due to her role.

The author does an excellent job of marking the passage of time with story events, flashbacks and journal entries. Eventually, Justice comes about in an unexpected way, and Martha is able to solve the murder.

Strong Narratives

The Silence that Binds Us by Joanna Ho delves into topics of suicide, grief and racism.

May’s older brother seemed to have it all: favor with their parents, popularity as a star senior on the school’s basketball team, and a recent acceptance into Princeton.

His shocking suicide turns May and her parents’ world upside down. Especially when an influential businessman/parent of one of May’s classmates blames the recent suicides and stress among teens in their community on Asian parents’ pressure on their kids.

May sends a rebuttal to the town newspaper which creates further division in her community and negative consequences for her mom’s job.

Despite her parents’ warnings to stay quiet, May teams up with her closest black friend and her brother to confront racism. They discover that everyone has stories that deserve to be shared.

Through this process, May continues to work through her own grief and her relationship with her parents- specifically her mother.

This book handles tough topics with a direct yet sensitive approach.

Missing Margo

Paper Towns by John Green is a recent read completed with my school’s book club.

I’m normally a John Green fan, but this book wasn’t a favorite.

Quentin is infatuated by his former childhood friend and neighbor Margo. He admires her from afar, until she barges back into his life one night. She takes him on a revenge mission, in which she gets back at her cheating boyfriend and friend. Quentin feels they may be able to build on this experience, but she vanishes.

He becomes obsessed with finding her. Luckily, she has left little clues along the way. While his closest friends are caught up with typical senior year activities such as prom and parties, Quentin determines to find Margo.

When he finally figures out her location, a small group decide to skip graduation to go on a road trip from Florida to New York to find her. They have a specific amount of time to arrive before she will leave.

Once there, Quentin will finally find out if there could be something between them or not.

Unknown Roots

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros is the third book of the Empyrean series.

I spent a good part of the book confused about who’s who and uncertain of some events. Despite this confusion, book three is just as action packed as the first two of the series.

Violet is determined to find a cure for Xaden before he turns into a full venin. He’s lost control twice, and it’s only a matter of time before he fully turns. Added to her urgency is an attempt to find more of Andarna’s kind in order to restore the wardstone which will keep citizens safe. She digs into her family history to learn as much as she can.

Together with a select group, they embark on a journey to explore the isles. In doing so, they encounter long lost people and secrets that impact future events.

Standing in their way is a supreme venin, named Theophanie, who appears to have lightning wielding powers too. She is determined to turn Violet and to capture Andarna. And she is much stronger and faster than Violet.

There are battles, new forms of magic and romance scenes leading up to the final epic battle that will change everything.

Miracle

After Life by Gayle Forman is about second chances and how life connects us in unexpected ways.

Amber was killed by a hit and run driver when she was seventeen. Seven years later she returns home feeling as though it’s an ordinary day.

Learning about her accident sets her off on a mission to make sure her life had meaning. Her first impulse is to see her high school boyfriend. This encounter does not go as Amber expected. Neither does her mom’s reaction to seeing her.

The story comes together through multiple viewpoints at different times before her death: Amber’s, her younger sister, her parents, her boyfriend, a teacher and her former best friend.

This story is well written and thought provoking. It had me reaching for tissues by its conclusion.

Earth Protector

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig (same author as The Midnight Library) is a science fiction-type tale with philosophical thoughts about appreciating life, fortitude through trauma and care for the environment.

Retired teacher Grace gets a letter from a former student who is going through a tough time in life. She uses the opportunity to share her own story with him in hopes of providing encouragement.

Grace is a somewhat recent widow who also lost her nine(?)-year-old son to a bike accident years earlier. She has existed in a world of depression and guilt ever since. Drastic changes are in store when she receives word that a former coworker named Christina left her a home in Ibiza.

Grace decides to go to Ibiza to find out what happened to Christina. In doing so, she finds herself part of a plot full of magic stemming from an otherworldly energy in a protected area of the ocean.

This energy is called La Presencia. Grace’s encounter with it gives her superhuman abilities which she now must consider using to fight the evil force that is determined to destroy Ibiza’s protected areas.

Through her time in Ibiza she meets new friends while discovering Christina’s fate, fights against negative forces, and learns to truly live again.

Night Walker

The Night Guest by Hildur Knűtsdőttir is a fast-paced thriller taking place in Iceland that left me with so many questions.

Iðunn has been waking up every morning feeling as though she ran a marathon. She is sore and completely fatigued. Some mornings she wakes with unexplained bruises, substances or blood.

Doctors are unable to help beyond recommending psychiatric help or sleeping pills. The latter seems to work at first until she begins noticing increased signs of violence. A tracking device reveals that she is walking to a particular spot every night.

Iðunn is afraid of the person she becomes once she falls asleep. Her sister’s death from two years earlier may be the cause, and it seems that it’s her sister creating the mayhem. She begins falling into a muddled state of sleeplessness as she traverses her days and interactions- trying to avoid sleep.

Spoilers ahead – I’m not sure if something is lost in the translation, but I finished this book with so many questions. I’m not sure why cats were the night person’s early targets. It was also unclear to me whether her sister killed herself or was drowned. Finally, the ending had me floundering- is she seeing her sister’s ghost, a hallucination or is it meant to be symbolic of the weight she’s felt since her passing. Did she kill her?

This book has a great concept and successfully showed its narrator’s disjointed state of mind.

Writing His Story

James by Percival Everett is getting a lot of great reviews. It provides an alternate view of Huckleberry Finn, namely from slave Jim’s perspective.

I vaguely remember reading pieces of the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as a girl (maybe grade school?), and I wasn’t sure this book would capture my interest. I couldn’t be more wrong. I devoured it in two days.

Jim is a highly educated slave, and has raised his young daughter and other slave children to read and write too. He also taught them how to behave as slaves in speech and behavior when around white people for their own protection.

Jim decides to run away when he discovers that he is going to be sold. Huck ends up with him since he is escaping his own issues, primarily an abusive father.

Jim hopes to find someone who can help buy his wife and daughter so they can be together again. Traveling down the Mississippi as a wanted, runaway slave with a white boy leads to many challenges. The two experience danger and violence (toward Jim and other slaves) in their quest for survival.

A couple of incidents include being stuck with a pair of white conmen, traveling with a white singing troupe that perform in black face and being sold to a vicious owner (among many other incidents).

As word of a civil war begins circulating, Jim decides he must return to save his family on his own. When he discovers that they’ve been sold, he sets off again.

Jim confronts his adversaries and shows his true self. He is not the acquiescent slave Jim. He is a strong, courageous, intelligent man. He is James, and he has a story to share.

There are so many other important moments and details throughout this book. I read voraciously to know Jim’s story and in hopes of justice. I closed this book feeling its story resound in my mind. Knowledge and words are powerful.

Silence is Violence

Kneel by Candace Buford is my final 2025 high school Nutmeg nominee. It’s a racially charged book taking place in a Louisiana town.

Russell and his football team have the potential to have a great senior year. That is until their toughest rivals from the neighboring white school instigate a fight during one of their first games.

Russell’s town lost a teen to police brutality. A terrible case in which the officer faced no charges. Rampant racism continues as Russell’s teammate faces charges for the fight while the instigator gets off with a slap on the wrist.

Russell is pressured to decide between activism or staying quiet to ensure looks from D1 colleges. His decision will potentially affect his ability to play, his relationship with teammates and his parents. His love interest is also part of the decision.

Events build to a boiling point at a peaceful protest that is portrayed as a riot.

Russell is able to make a final decision that brings needed attention to the horrific racism and inequality in their town.