Review: Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally
Hundred Oaks Series
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Swim. Eat. Shower. School. Snack. Swim. Swim. Swim. Dinner. Homework. Bed. Repeat.

All of Maggie’s focus and free time is spent swimming.  She’s not only striving to earn scholarships—she’s training to qualify for the Olympics.  It helps that her best friend, Levi, is also on the team, and cheers her on. But Levi’s already earned an Olympic tryout, so Maggie feels even more pressure to succeed.  And it’s not until Maggie’s away on a college visit that she realizes how much of the “typical” high school experience she’s missed by being in the pool.

No one to shy away from a challenge, Maggie decides to squeeze the most out of her senior year.  First up? Making out with a guy.  And Levi could be the perfect candidate.  After all, they already spend a lot of time together.  But as Maggie slowly starts to uncover new feelings for Levi, how much is she willing to sacrifice in the water to win at love?

Review:

Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally is a sweet contemporary young adult novel of friendship and love.

As high graduation approaches, competitive swimmer Maggie King is quite contemplative as she realizes she might be a bit behind the curve when it comes to relationships and life experience. She spends so much time focused on swimming she has little time for a social life. She has a close knit circle of friends which includes fellow swimmer Levi Lucassen, cheerleader Georgia and baseball player Hunter but she has no dating experience.   Although Maggie has absolutely no regrets about the time she devotes to swimming, she is ready to explore her sexuality. Maggie decides to ask her best friend Levi to teach her how to hook up. While Levi is initially a little hesitant to agree to her suggestion, he finally agrees to her plan.  Their lessons quickly turn steamy and their relationship soon becomes complicated by unexpected emotions just as their respective swim competitions heat up.

Levi and Maggie are well-adjusted teenagers who have families who are incredibly supportive.  Their swimming schedules are pretty grueling so there is not much opportunity for typical teen activities. Levi has already made the cut to try out for the Olympics and Maggie is hoping to secure her cut as well.  Neither of them have the time or desire for a relationship and they are taken off guard when their friendship begins to change after they start making out. Maggie is open to discussing what comes next for them but will Levi be open to taking their relationship to the next level?

Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally is a wonderful coming of age novel with a realistic storyline and a fantastic cast of characters. this latest addition to the Hundred Oaks series can easily be read as a standalone but I highly recommend the other books in the series as well.

1 Comment

Filed under Coming Up for Air, Contemporary, Hundred Oaks Series, Miranda Kenneally, Rated B, Review, Romance, Sourcebooks Fire, Young Adult

One Response to Review: Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally

  1. Timitra

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kathy