The main character Susannah was very hard to relate to but the overall story was great. Susannah's parents are the best. Her sister is pretty great too and Harry. He deserved better than susannah.

RATING: 3/5

Loved this book's concept, but it didn't resonate with me like I thought it would. I think this would be great for teens, with its themes of sports and self-discovery.

I'm a big fan of slow romantic contemporary YA that serves as a character study for the characters. Susannah is an at times frustrating character but someone who I grew to love over the course of the book. I loved the love that grew between her and Harry and their mutual love of swimming and the water.

I purchased this book for my high school library. My students have enjoyed it. and it has circulated well.

From the premise alone, I knew this book sounded powerful, resonant, and absolutely beautiful. And... I was right.

Swimmers will love the authentic descriptions of strokes and competitions. Romance fans will love the blossoming relationship between Susannah and Harry. And anyone who's ever felt (1) As if they're not who they once were, or (2) As if they've lost themselves, their way... well, this title will feel pretty powerful.

Breath Like Water by Anna Jarzab, 416 pages. Inkyard Press, 2020. $16. CENTERING ME, LGBTQIA
Language: R (93 swears, 33 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Sixteen-year-old Susannah loved her body and the way she swam before biology changed her shape and ended her swimming career before it really started. She’s still fighting for her dream of swimming in the Olympics, but it’s slow going. Susannah is convinced that the only way to make it is to block out everything else – which becomes a challenge when she meets Harry.
Susannah and Harry feel like real people with dreams, secrets, and flaws. I love how Jarzab made these people that I have nothing in common with feel relatable, but my favorite part of the book is actually her descriptions of water and life through Susannah’s point of view. Life is hard for all of us, and finding the beautiful, joyous parts helps us endure difficulty and make the changes we need in order to move forward – even if it means turning at the crossroads. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, innuendo, and sex; the violence rating is for self harm and mentions of suicide.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. There was something missing for this to be a perfect book. I can't quite put my finger on it but just felt like something was lacking. Besides that interesting read

DNF -did not finish. I decided not to keep reading this novel because I did not connect with the writing and plot. Thank you, netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

I think I would’ve enjoyed this book more if I was a swimmer or just an athlete in general. I played sports as a child and teenager but just for fun and I never thought I would play them long term so I couldn’t relate to that aspect! Besides that the story was great and I think people that understand the high stakes of sports would enjoy it more!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


Real rating: 3,5 stars.


TRIGGER WARNING: anxiety, depression, mental illness, self-harm (mentioned), suicidal thoughts.


Susannah has loved swimming and the pool since she was seven and she was fourteen when she won gold at the world championships. Everyone was expecting great things from her, a sparkling career and even more brilliant results, but two years later her career is on the brink of collapsing, her fast times gone - the growth and changes due to adolescence have altered her body in form. and dynamics and Susannah doesn't feel comfortable in those curves that make her feel heavy and not good enough like the swimmer she once was. She also feels like she let down all the expectations her former Olympic champion coach and herself had in mind.

After a bad run in a competition which resulted in a disqualification not only for her, but also for the three swimmers in the team with her, and humiliated in front of everyone by her coach Dave - who now no longer seems to care about her and believe in her future as a winning swimmer - Susannah wonders if the dream of going to the Olympics is destined to remain unfulfilled. She still finds herself wondering if it's worth it and why she keeps doing it - but swimming is always the thing she loves the most in the world.

During the next practice, Susannah discovers that the cute boy who witnessed her public humiliation is now part of the team and that Dave has hired a new assistant coach, Beth.
But Susannah, stubborn and reluctant to change, is determined to avoid both Harry and Beth - Harry because he seems to read into her and see her every ambition and fear and Beth for some sort of misplaced loyalty to Dave.

But what if it was just letting Harry into her life and switching coaches that could change Susannah's life and career?


The start with this book was good - I had read the first 15% in just one afternoon. What made me turn my nose up afterwards was the fact that most of the moments when Susannah and Harry first become friends and then something more happens off the page and is presented to us as a fait accompli without having seen enough of the development - this vaguely gave me the feeling of having read an instalove. By that, I don't mean anything bad: Susannah and Harry are cute together, exactly what they need at that moment, but everything focuses so much on the action in the pool during training and competitions that the story gets lost in other aspects - and sometimes I didn't feel emotionally involved as I had hoped.

Susannah is fundamentally selfish, totally focused on herself and on the dream of joining the Olympic team, so very often she doesn't even notice what's going on around her - but we can't even blame her because she knows what she has to give up if she wants to achieve her goal and her family is not as rich as her friends', so her parents undergo all kinds of sacrifices to make her dream come true. Making it to the Olympics would repay them for everything they've always done for her.

Though reluctant to let Harry into her life for fear of distraction, Susannah still can't stay away from him and Harry is the only person she can confide in about her fears and overwhelming fear of failure - while she can't say that to her parents for fear of disappointing them and not even to her friends, who still remain the competition at the end of the day.
And it is only when Harry finally opens up to her and confides his problems that Susannah will understand how much selfish she has been up to that point - she will understand that there are things that need to be dealt with alone, but others that we need help with from someone and there's no shame in asking for help.

"Breath Like Water" is a novel that focuses a lot on sport, on friendships that still remain the competition to be faced at a certain point, on the passion and tenacity it takes to move forward and not give up even in the face of insurmountable unexpected events and on knowing when instead it's the case to leave because what you do no longer brings you joy. It also talks about anxiety and mental illness, how important therapy and having people around you who love and support you are.

Despite the hint of instalove, given what is at stake, I really appreciated that the author hasn't chosen the easy path, but has chosen to show the reality of adolescent relationships that are still immature or that happened at the wrong time, the inevitability failure at some point and the strength to get up and get back into the game even when dreams seem even less within our reach than they were before - the need to heal, perhaps and/or especially alone, before being ready to bear the emotional weight of another person.

Despite a few flaws, I liked the story: it has a strong message within of taking care of yourself both physically and mentally and not giving up on fighting to make your dreams come true - failure doesn't have to be the end of something, but the chance to try again and do better.

The premise for this novel sounds terrific. It is based around our protagonist, a teenage swimmer who is in the running for an eventual Olympic team spot. Then, puberty hits. As with many sports involving teen girls, bodily changes, make a world of difference in success. So think girls' gymnastics, where the girls are incredible before puberty and ANY normal bodily growth that changes their center of gravity. Skills or speed that may have been possible when in a youthful/childlike body, these things are more attainable than later. In addition to teenage growth and changes, she also develops a romantic interest in a fellow swimmer.
The characters are great but the plot is a bit lagging. Maybe a little extra editing or maybe I am just the wrong audience for this.
Good read for the young crowd.
#BreathLikeWater #NetGalley #HarlequinTEEN #InkyardPress

*Thanks to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the complimentary copy for my honest review*

This wasn't a bad book, just a little underwhelming for me. I read this book primarily in one sitting, not because I was hooked and couldn't put it down, but I kept waiting for something to happen. The characters were fine, I especially loved Harry, but other than that I didn't really care for this one.

Susannah Ramos was once a world champion swimmer. But as puberty hit and her body changed, she lost the speed that once came so naturally. A new coach could help her turn it back around. Or a romance with a new team member could distract her and steal the focus she needs to finally win again.

This book was a real roller coaster of emotions. The good and the bad kept rolling at Susannah. Every time she seemed to be conquering one challenge, another would rear its ugly head. The success of the book, however, comes from watching Susannah's character develop and mature in spite of (or because of?) all the tough decisions she needs to make and act on.

Overall, I'd give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Susannah wasn't a very likable character, but she tried. Her romantic interest was also hit or miss for me. The storyline was believable and teen angst-y. The swimming competition parts also felt sincere.

Actual rating is more like 3.5 ⭐️ But raised up because of the solid and inspiring message that this story told.

I am not the biggest fan of contemporary YA because I just know there will be instalove, and sure enough it felt like that’s exactly what happened here. However the relationship was extremely well fleshed out and the dynamics between the characters were raw.

I liked how dedicated and focused our MC was and how much she grew over time. I like the latinx, mental health, and lgbtq representation. All of these elements were deftly handled and really made the second half of the book that much better. If there are only a handful of contemporary YA books out there that I like, then this is one of them.

Participated in the blog tour a few months back, added it to my goodreads, and also mentioned it on the Hey YA podcast! Thanks again for including me in the tour.

**4.5 stars**
Okay, so this was really unexpected. It is young adult but it deals a lot with serious issues, including mental health. I thought the writing was perfect. The wording and descriptions were so detailed. It was almost poetic in parts. It had a lot of good lessons in there, about trying to find who you are and what you want out of life. I had a little bit of difficulty relating to the characters, but other than that, this was really well done. I’ll be looking for more books by this author.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

this was an enjoyable read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the storyline in the book.

I read a LOT of books about swimmers this summer but this one not only gave us a great look into the life of a swimmer in an athletic sense, but it dove into some tough topics.

A surprisingly good YA read with a lot of heart, I can’t believe it took me so long to pick this one up! 4.5 stars from me!