Swimming is where she excels, where she can actually see her hard work pay off. In fact, the coach of the high school team has asked her to move up a year early in the hopes Annabelle's butterfly stroke will lead the team to victory!
Now she has something to focus on when she thinks about all the looks she gets from her friends when she doesn't understand things at school. Mia and Jeremy have been her best friends since she moved to the island, but lately, everything with Mia seems like a competition, and Mia isn't happy unless she's winning.
She still likes hanging out with Jeremy, but he seems worried about her hanging out with the older kids, especially Conner. Annabelle doesn't understand why everyone is so upset about Conner. He's only two years older, and he seems to be going out of his way to make her feel welcome on the team.
Add a letter from the father she hasn't seen in years, and Annabelle suddenly feels like she is drowning under the weight of everyone's expectations.
I have to be honest; I didn't really care for Laurie Morrison's new book. Annabelle spends all her time complaining. I did have some compassion for her struggles with school in the beginning, but then she just kept making horrible and dangerous decisions! If I were her mom, I would probably lock her up for the rest of the summer. Maybe she's just a little too realistic as a whiny 7th grader. I didn't want to spend time with her, and it was a struggle to finish the book.
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