Perhaps this is just one gigantic extended metaphor for that weird time of uncertainty between high school and college . . . but I don't really see this as a fit for a YA audience. There's a magical realism that might work its way into a nostalgic new adult novel, but there's not enough separation for a YA audience.

Night Swimming is the kind of book that makes you nostalgic for a summer you never actually had. Aaron Starmer nails that in-between feeling of being on the edge of adulthood, where every moment feels significant, even if you don’t know why.

Trevor’s yearning for Sarah is so raw and realistic—it’s messy, unbalanced, and full of unspoken expectations. The way Starmer writes their dynamic feels painfully familiar, like watching someone chase a feeling rather than a person. Sarah, meanwhile, is fascinating in her unpredictability, which makes her both magnetic and frustrating.

The whole “swimming in every pool” concept is fun and chaotic, but it’s when they find the hidden pool that the story really grips you. There’s an eerie shift in tone, almost dreamlike, and that’s where the book separates itself from a typical summer romance.

What stood out the most to me was the atmosphere. Starmer brings the ‘90s to life without over-explaining—just the right amount of mixtapes, late-night drives, and quiet moments that hit harder than the big ones. It’s a book that makes you feel something, even if you can’t quite put your finger on what. If you love stories about longing, nostalgia, and a little bit of the strange, this one is worth picking up.

The setting and story had so much potential. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it through the whole book.

This book totally took me back—mixtapes, staying out until dark, that mix of excitement and fear about the future. It perfectly captures what it feels like to be young, reckless, and completely unsure of what’s next.

Trevor and his longtime crush, Sarah, decide to spend their summer sneaking into every pool in town. It starts off fun and wild, but when their friends join in, things take a turn. One night, they find a hidden pool in the woods, and suddenly everything feels… off. Time stops making sense, reality blurs, and they all have to face some uncomfortable truths about growing up.

This book felt like a fever dream—nostalgic, weird, and kind of haunting. The writing is beautiful, the atmosphere is amazing, and even when I wasn’t sure what was happening, I couldn’t stop reading. If you want something different, a little eerie, and full of ’90s vibes, this one’s worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group

Well…this was not what I was expecting! I have no idea how I missed the magical realism when reading the synopsis!

This is a super unique coming of age YA.

Two teenagers make it a goal to swim in every pool in town before the summer is over. Their adventure leads to including more friends and an odd natural spring pool where the magical realism comes into play. I don’t want to say too much and spoil it! I loved the ending! Thought provoking for sure.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

I was so happy to get this arc that when I got approved I immediately flew through it. It starts off like many other books but takes a strange turn after a while. It took some time for me to figure out what was happening but by the end it had me thinking pretty deeply about life and the world around us. It was an interesting take on being a teen and the choices we make. This book has stayed with me since I read it and I think it will for some time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This book was definitely wild and different. I really enjoyed all the 90's nostalgia. However, I didn't care to much for the characters or the ending of the book. I think it just wasn't my jam so to say. I do think there are people out there who will really enjoy it. It just wasn't for me but that's okay. Everyone is different when it comes to reading books. So, I am still glad I broadened my horizons and read this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review. If this is your cup of tea then I hope you will read it as well! Happy reading y'all!

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This was beautiful!! Oh my gosh absolutely amazing, made me cry. Don’t talk to me for a couple weeks while I continue to process this book!!

Night Swimming features Trevor and Sarah, two high school seniors in the limbo between high school and college who decide to swim in every pool in their hometown. The book is filled with 90s references, but you don’t have to be a 90s kid to understand them and invites readers in regardless of their age.

I wasn’t sure about the short and snappy writing style, but I started to love it over time. Reminds me a lot of the snappy writing in The Inheritance Games. The only reason this isn’t a 5 stars is because I would have liked to learn more about our characters, especially the side characters who we only got a glimpse into.

Overall, a 4.5 ⭐️ I’d recommend this to coming-of-age story lovers, and those who like speculative elements/magical realism to their contemporary stories.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC of this book!

#yafiction #bookstagram #booklover #aaronstarmer #nightswimming #90sbooks #netgalley #ebook #bookreview #newbookrelease #arcreview #arcreviewer

Although this storyline wasn't for me, I can see why it might appeal to certain readers. My biggest issue with it was that the writing style felt a little unpolished and juvenile. I do think the publisher's description was a little misleading, as I was expecting something like a nostalgic cross between Can't Hardly Wait and Stranger Things. I'd recommend it to teen readers looking for a short coming of age story.

thank you so much netgalley for allowing to be able to read this arc! the first thing that drew me to this book was the beautiful cover and the blurb really drew me. Once i started reading, it was very difficult to follow along. the story telling felt very monotone, and pretty confusing. I really didn’t know what was going on. unfortunately this book wasn’t for me but it definitely can be for someone else.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you Netgalley, Aaron Starmer and Penguin Workshop for this eARC!!

I was really looking for a cute lil maybe horror novella to throw into my early 2025 reads, and I was super interested in the blurb- a mysterious pool? what would be in it? ELDRITCH BEING MAYBE???

Nope none of that- just some kids trying to figure out their lives while pool jumping, and with a weird phenomenon happening to them in the last half of the book.

I feel like now knowing that I wasn’t really the target demographic for this book, I maybe would have skipped over it but I’m also kinda glad I read it, because it was genuinely written in a very lovely way. The teens are super relatable and realistic, the anxieties that our MMC Trever are working through are extremely similar to the ones I had when I first graduated high school (10 years ago this June), so I could in a way relate to that.

I feel like this book is the perfect graduation gift to any senior that loves reading, because it deals a lot with the uncertainty of the future past high school, and it showcases people that maybe aren’t 100% sure what they’re gonna do with their lives. The only reason I am giving my it 3⭐️ is because it felt like it didn’t really pick up in terms of storyline and character development until 3/4 of the way through- I was continuously confusing characters and I wasn’t sure who was dating who, so in those aspects I felt like it could have had a bit more development.

This book is really perfect for any young adult who maybe isn’t sure what they’re gonna go with their lives, or if they’re feeling pressure from one area of their lives or another- it gives them a reminder to just.. dive in.

I really enjoy the 90s vibes and feel, but the story itself never really captivated me and I finished simply to know what the interludes were referencing. The ending wasn’t really satisfying and I felt like the characters just didn’t do much. Onto the next!

I really loved this one. I wasn't sure what to expect as I went in only knowing that it was a coming of age, 90's nostalgia book. I really liked the creepy vibe of not knowing what was actually going on during these night swims and in between the chapters. It reminded me a little of a Twilight Zone episode, especially since their seemed to be nod to The Bewitchin' Pool.
Although written about teens, I think that any age would enjoy this as there has a been a point in all of our lives where we're afraid to move forward and figure out what's next.

Thank you to Aaron Starmer, the publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC.

Perks of Being a Wallflower was a formative post-high school text for me and many of my friends, so when I read the synopsis for Aaron Starmer's Night Swimming, a post-high school exploration of big emotions and what could be, I figured it might be for me.

Set in the late 1990s, Night Swimming is a 'mix tape' of a novel with a speculative twist. Trevor is an all-American, golden retriever of a guy who is in love with his friend Sarah. Sarah has a boyfriend. But when she pitches a crazy idea to him the night of the last party of high school--to swim all of the pools in their small town, whether or not they're allowed to--he takes her up on her offer and spends the rest of the summer with her.

Trevor, unfortunately, is a teenage boy and let's his emotions get the better of him and inevitably reveals what they've been up to to his other friends, who join them on one last night swim that takes a turn when they meet the kooky owner of their last pool. She tells them of a natural pool out in the woods maintained by a local family and they, particularly Sarah, jump at the chance to extend their summer project.

At the pool, time flows weirdly and, eventually, they realize that they've been there for significantly longer than they thought they had been. The pool is a sort of purgatory that allows the teenagers to stay frozen in time until they've decided they've had enough. For Sarah, who is squeezing every last drop of blood from the stone that is her summer, this is ideal. Not everyone agrees.

Weirdly, I liked this book a lot more before it got speculative. I found the pool as purgatory as coming of age metaphor a little heavy-handed and would have preferred to see more fleshed out characters. Starmer attempts this, but the novel's brevity - usually a strength in my book - results in relatively flat characters that feel cribbed from The Breakfast Club and other teen movies than actually realized.

I don't think it's exactly a classic, but it's readable and might be fun if you want to relive a bit of teenage youth. Three of five stars.

This book was wild. It definitely subverted expectations. It had a meaningful message about self-discovery and adapting to change. However, I didn't care much for the characters, and I have no idea what happened in the end.

The characters are fun, with a good dynamic. They seem very well-suited to the 1990s, almost like the cast of characters you’d find in movies like “American Pie” or “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Trevor and Sarah have a solid relationship and a “will they/won’t they” vibe, although I did feel in places that she was defined more by her relationships to male characters than as a character in her own right. The other characters provide good foils for them.

This was a very strange experience, but I loved it. A coming-of-age, nostalgic tickle, fever dream. The story did not go where I was expecting it to when I picked this book up, but I enjoyed it much more this way. I think that the ending was a little rushed feeling, but overall I really enjoyed the story!

What a strange and interesting little book. The first third of the book was so slow to me and I just wanted to get through it. But then it took a turn and really grabbed me. I think it’s best to go into this book without knowing what it’s about. Very thought-provoking.