Review: Underwater by Marisa Reichardt
Title: Underwater
Author: Marisa Reichardt
Series: Standalone
Publication: January 12, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Summary: “Forgiving you will allow me to forgive myself.”
Morgan didn’t mean to do anything wrong that day. Actually, she meant to do something right. But her kind act inadvertently played a role in a deadly tragedy. In order to move on, Morgan must learn to forgive—first someone who did something that might be unforgivable, and then herself.
But Morgan can’t move on. She can’t even move beyond the front door of the apartment she shares with her mother and little brother. Morgan feels like she’s underwater, unable to surface. Unable to see her friends. Unable to go to school.
When it seems Morgan can’t hold her breath any longer, a new boy moves in next door. Evan reminds her of the salty ocean air and the rush she used to get from swimming. He might be just what she needs to help her reconnect with the world outside.
Underwater is a powerful, hopeful debut novel about redemption, recovery, and finding the strength it takes to face your past and move on.
This book was on my Most Anticipated Books list for this year and I was very excited to finally be able to read it. The summary was intriguing and very mysterious, but honestly, the reviews really sold it to me. I'm sorry to say this book was just not for me. I am so disappointed, because I WANTED to love this book but I just couldn’t get into it.
First, let's begin with the positives. Marisa Reichardt writing technique was very simple, but I still think it was beautiful and unique. It's easy to read, which I think complements this story, because a complex system of writing would just be too convoluted and harsh. I found it simple, yet beautiful. There was some romance that lingered in the background and didn’t overshadow the main story. Because this is not a romance story. It is a story about self-discovery and recovery. More specifically, it revolves around a teenage girl who has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(though they never explicitly diagnose her as PTSD in the book, but she has PTSD symptoms). This is strictly an emotional character-driven book that delves into deep introspection and trauma.
I did have some problems with this book though. First, the transitions between the past and present is very confusing. For example, while I thought I was reading a scene in the present, I noticed that the scene actually takes place in the past and I just never realized the change. The story jumps between the past and the present without any warning and it was difficult to distinguish the two.
What killed the book for me though was the fact that I got bored with this story. I was waiting for a climax or major conflict to arise, but nothing actually happens in this book. We just get a detailed description of the daily activities (or lack of because she is always alone in her apartment) of a girl who refuses to leave her home.
With that said, this is not a bad book. It's just not for me. There are numerous raving reviews on Goodreads, so there are people who love this book, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I just couldn’t love it as much as I wanted to. If you want to read a hopeful story that deals with realistic issues, then you should check out this book. You might like it.
