I was very excited to receive this ARC and really looking forward to reading it, but now that I've finished it I feel a bit sad and hopeless.

I think this is a really interesting portrayal of teenage girl rage.

Gaia is a memorable character and she is usually angry. There are happy moments here and there: the summer of reading with Iris, receiving the dictionary, improving her scores at school. But more than that we get the sense of anger, anger at her housing situation, he mom, her financial situation, jealousy of her friends hanging out without her, etc. It's understandable but a bit overwhelming.

It's a heartbreaking book.

Gaia is an unforgettable protagonist, her struggles and ambitions shaped by the circumstances of her family’s relocation from urban poverty to a seemingly idyllic lakeside town. Her mother’s fierce determination and her father’s silent despair create a home filled with tension, ambition, and unspoken pain, while her anarchist brother and watchful younger siblings round out a family fighting against the tides of their fractured reality.

The friendships Gaia forms with Agata and Carlotta are as tender as they are precarious. As Gaia navigates bullying, betrayal, and the harsh judgments of her peers and elders, her alienation deepens, forcing her to turn inward. This inward journey is beautifully, heartbreakingly rendered, capturing the loneliness and fury of a girl grappling with her place in an unforgiving world.

After a tragedy within Gaia’s friend group, the narrative takes a darker turn, and the emotional fallout is profound. As her friends drift away and her family continues to fracture, Gaia’s transformation into someone driven by anger and resentment feels both inevitable and deeply tragic. The novel’s raw portrayal of her descent—and her vow to make the world pay for its injustices—is as chilling as it is sympathetic.

The novel is unflinching in its depiction of societal and class divides, showing how these forces shape and often limit the lives of those caught in their grasp.

This powerful, emotionally resonant novel lingers in the mind long after its final pages. With its richly drawn characters and masterful exploration of pain, resilience, and the yearning for something more, it’s a story that demands to be read, discussed and remembered.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Lake's Water is Never Sweet by Giulia Caminito is a raw, intense exploration of poverty, class, and resilience, all wrapped in hauntingly vivid prose. The story follows Gaia, a young woman navigating life in a small Italian lakeside town after her family relocates from the outskirts of Rome. Her mother’s relentless ambition to escape poverty clashes with Gaia’s growing anger and disillusionment, creating a tense, deeply emotional narrative.

I found the book gripping but heavy, with its unflinching depiction of hardship and alienation—Gaia’s internal struggles really stuck with me. The lake, almost a character itself, adds an eerie and symbolic layer to the story. While it’s not a light read, it’s beautifully written and thought-provoking, perfect for anyone who loves literary fiction with strong emotional undercurrents. If you liked books that dive deep into class dynamics and fractured families, this is definitely worth checking out.

I really enjoyed reading this, it had that element that I was looking for from the description. The overall story worked and had characters that I was looking for. Giulia Caminito wrote this perfectly and I was engaged with the story being told. Everything was really well done and can’t wait for more.