Julie's Review: Swimming For Sunlight

Author: Allie Larkin
Series: None
Publication Date: April 23, 2019
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 352
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary 
FictionRating: 5/5
Bottom Line: How do you fix yourself when you feel like you've been broken for so long?
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Summary: Aspiring costume designer Katie gave up everything in her divorce to gain custody of her fearful, faithful rescue dog, Barkimedes. While she figures out what to do next, she heads back to Florida to live with her grandmother, Nan.

But Katie quickly learns there’s a lot she doesn’t know about Nan—like the fact that in her youth Nan was a mermaid performer in a roadside attraction show, swimming and dancing underwater with a close-knit cast of talented women. Although most of the mermaids have since lost touch, Katie helps Nan search for her old friends on Facebook, sparking hopes for a reunion show. Katie is up for making some fabulous costumes, but first, she has to contend with her crippling fear of water. 

As Katie’s college love Luca, a documentary filmmaker, enters the fray, Katie struggles to balance her hopes with her anxiety, and begins to realize just how much Bark’s fears are connected to her own, in this thoughtful, charming novel about hope after loss and friendships that span generations.

Review: I kind of want to be a mermaid in a fantastic costume made by Kay! The descriptions of the costumes were so vivid, I felt like I was in the room with her when she was sewing.

Kaitlin, Katie, Kay has been through a lot. She was in a marriage that didn't really work for her and gave up everything in the divorce to keep her dog, Barky. She drives back home to Florida to live with her grandmother while she gets back on her feet. The thing is, I'm not sure she knows what that really means. Katie has been an anxious soul since she was a kid when her father died in front of her. She's dealt with it by closing herself off to most people. Except now her anxiety is affecting her ability to function and in a lot of ways her dog. I could also feel Kay and Barky’s anxiety as I read the words used to describe her fears. Her fears of losing the people closest to her. You can lose what you push away, right? 

The friendships that are threaded through this novel are special. I hope that when I’m an older lady, I have friends like that around me. They keep pushing Kay out of her shell so that she can deal with her fears, especially the one that revolves around water. You can't make costumes for mermaids if you don't understand how things move in water. 

Ms. Larkin does a fantastic job of making you understand anxiety and fears. How our experiences shape us as an adult and how mental illness needs to be recognized and dealt with. This is a very special novel and I can’t recommend it enough.

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Julie's Review: Stay

Author: Allie Larkin
Series: None
Publication Date: July 26, 2011

Publisher: Plume
Pages: 308
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Joe, the dog, steals your heart and the novel
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Summary: Savannah "Van" Leone has been in love with Peter Clarke since their first day of college. Six years later, Peter is marrying Van's best friend, Janie. Loyal to a fault, Van dons her pumpkin-orange, maid-of- honor gown and stands up for the couple, struggling to hide her true feelings even when she couldn't be more conspicuous. After the wedding, nursing her broken heart with a Rin Tin Tin marathon plus a vodka chaser, Van accidentally orders a German Shepherd puppy over the Internet. When "Joe" turns out to be a hundred-pound beast who only responds to commands in Slovak, Van is at the end of her rope-until she realizes that sometimes life needs to get more complicated before it can get better. ~powells.com

Review: If a book cover were to ever make me want to get a dog, then the cover for Stay accomplishes that. Problem: Kids are allergic to dogs and well Joe is a German Shepard one of my favorite breeds. So, for now, I will live through Van's experience and just stare at the cute puppy on the cover.

Van, short for Savannah, is at the wedding of her two best friends as the book opens up. Except shes' secretly been in love with the groom since meeting him in college. The problem is, she never expressed feelings to Peter. So, while nursing her broken heart she orders a puppy over the Internet, which you already know isn't going to be exactly what she expects. Fortunately for Van, he's exactly what she needs. 

While the book might seem like it's about Van getting over Peter, but it's about the relationship with her mom and her mom's best friend. It's about figuring out what makes her happy. Is it really Peter that will make her happy? As she and Joe settle into a routine, she learns to move on, which might just include a handsome veterinarian.

Ms. Larkin writes Van so that no matter where you are in your life, you can relate to her. She could be your best friend, you, your sister, etc. The point is, she's an accessible heroine.  You want her to find happiness and to learn sometimes letting go is getting happy.  There are times when I laughed out loud, especially when it came to some of Joe's antics. There were also a couple times when my eyes got teary because of what Van had to deal with at the time. The secondary characters in Stay are a hoot. Not only do they provide some comic relief but some life lessons as well.

If you like dogs or even if you don't, you really should check out Stay. It's a quick and delightful read. 

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