Title: Swimming to Freedom
Author: Robbie Michaels
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press
Length: 186 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Teen Fiction
At a Glance: One of the things that did frustrate me was the author not addressing everything, like Brandon’s mom, but that was the only real low point in a beautifully crafted story filled with growing characters that show that rainbows come after storms.
Reviewed By: Jenn
Blurb: You can’t realize your dream when you’re living someone else’s.
Swimming was Brandon’s passion, the water his escape—but all of that ended when his workaholic father shifted his focus from business to training Brandon to become an Olympic champion. What Brandon once did for love is now a chore performed to stave off his controlling father’s criticism.
Brandon meets and falls in love with Tyler, a swimmer from another team. Despite their busy schedules, they find time together away from prying eyes, largely thanks to their friend Joel. But when Brandon comes out to his father, he finds himself on the street, taking shelter beneath a bridge. With the river nearby to practice in and protection from the rain, things aren’t so bad.
Then nature turns against him, and the resulting flood might be the one obstacle he can’t overcome.
Review: Swimming to Freedom is a great coming to age story about Brandon as he grows out from under his over-bearing father’s thumb, and builds a life he wants. There are a lot of ups and more downs that leave you cheering him on.
Brandon is a quiet guy who longs for the life of a normal teenager: having a mobile, driving license and friends, I think even having an email address would be enough of a start for him. The story starts with him going to swimming practice with a fellow team-mate, Joel, while his dad is away. This time, where Joel gives him a lift, bonds the two and cements their friendship for the rest of the book. I think we all want a friend like Joel who, despite being a bit too arrogant, is also caring, considerate and there for his friends. He even recognises when he lets his arrogance go overboard, and apologises for it.
While we get a handle on Joel’s character quicker, the real heart of the story is Brandon and him discovering himself. With Joel on his side, he starts to fight back against his oppressive father and when Tyler, Brandon’s love interest, shows up, he has something tangible to fight for, and we see him really come into his own.
The growing relationship between the two guys is beautiful to see, and when Brandon finally comes out to his father, and is thrown out, the relationship is put to the test. They both conquer it admirably and give us a satisfying end. Though, I wouldn’t have minded a little epilogue of Brandon at the Olympics (maybe even after winning gold), thanking everybody except his father.
One of the things that did frustrate me was the author not addressing everything, like Brandon’s mom. She’s never mentioned once. Does she exist? Did Brandon come to be just left on his father’s doorstep, and the man uncharacteristically took the child in? We also never discover just why Brandon’s older brother was kicked out of the house and practically erased from their father’s life.
This was probably the only real low point in a beautifully crafted story filled with growing characters that show that rainbows come after storms.
You can buy Swimming to Freedom here:
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