Coming up for Air

Coming up for Air

by Miranda Kenneally

SYNOPSIS:

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 try out, so she 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.

Not 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 lose to win?

Read More
4378
Book #8 in Series

The YA Contemporary you need to read.. now!

I loved Catching Jordan and Breathe, Annie, Breathe, but this one here.. oh, it is definitely my top favourite. This is without doubt Miranda’s best book so far, and it gets from me 5 shiny stars!

I loved EVERYTHING about it: the writing, the humour, the storyline, the ending, the characters – Maggie is one of the best main characters in a contemporary story, I absolutely adore her; as for Levi, he is such a sweet guy.

COMING UP FOR AIR is pretty much drama free, even though there is personal or relationship struggle and a bit of anguish. The characters are mature for their age (they don’t give in to peer pressure, well, not too much anyways) and there is plenty communication between the characters (even though sometimes they have no idea what they actually want and that leaves some room for heartbreak).

This is also a book I would deeply recommend to teens that feel pressured both socially and “professionally “… Oh, there is so much I loved about this book, I am immensely happy and thankful to have been given the chance to read it in advance.

So, small steps… what’s to like?

Friendship
These are some of the best friendships in the book world. The four of them (Maggie, Levi, Georgia, Hunter) are incredibly supportive, loyal and so fun, even though they are all under pressure and have such a small amount of time to spend together, but they take advantage of each moment and make up for the lost time.

Family
The interactions are simply hilarious, I was as hypnotised by the dynamics between them as with the friendship factor. I loved Maggie’s parents and Levi’s grandparents. Well, I loved pretty much everyone except for one character show

.

Dialog
Isn’t it nice when it feels completely natural and not forced at all? Not to mention when you laugh out loud along with the characters because you simply can’t help it. All of it felt.. right and entertaining and I enjoyed all their conversations – the deep and the awkward.

Focus
This is NOT one of those stories where things get terribly wrong when the characters fall in love. They stay true to who they are, they don’t become silly, empty shells that don’t do anything else but think of each other, they don’t turn their backs on their other friends or their ideals, they stay focused and the love story is just a great addition to their amazing selves.

Love Story
When I read the synopsis I feared it would make for some awkward moments, but the truth is that everything worked so well. Her decision, the proposition, the way their relationship evolved, the ups AND the downs. They were sweet, the romance was hot and fun to witness, even when things didn’t work out Maggie didn’t sound like a whinny little girl, she was owning even her bad judgements and mistakes. Yes she wanted to punch herself, but she kept going.

And the epilogue
Oh! It all comes back to the very beginning and it is beautiful!
I also loved Jordan in this book, as she makes a few quick appearances here and there.

Conclusion

I could say a lot more about it, but I don’t want to spoil your surprise. Trust me when I say that this book is incredibly fun and (did I mention how) hot and I recommend you with all my heart!

If you enjoyed the other companion novels you will adore this one.
If you are new to the series I advise you to start with Catching Jordan, the first one in the ‘series’, even though this book can work very well as a standalone. I didn’t read all the books either and I still loved Coming Up for Air to pieces!

As a side note… This story made me think of my teenage years, I miss my friends back then. We grew apart, as people sometimes do when the move to college, to different towns or counties, or simply move on with their lives. It also didn’t help that Facebook decided to remind me of some high-school pictures where we were having tons of fun together. So yes, this book makes me miss them badly!

« »

LEAVE A COMMENT

4 responses to “Coming up for Air”

  1. I just love this series. I loved how close Levi and Maggie were from the very start. And the epilogue was the best. Great review! ud83dude0a

    • Ari says:

      Yes, their friendship was one of the best points in the story, from the beginning to the very end. I loved their dynamic and chemistry… they gave me that feeling when you simply want to hug the characters, so cute those two! Thank you!

  2. Ah, I will request this ASAP! It sounds so cute and funny. (Now you made me remember my days in school, five girly girls playing soccer, lol). nI love books that makes me remember these things (like Paper Towns)

    • Ari says:

      You did so many things… music, sports… Go girl, there is so much you can do still :DnThe 4 ones here were into different kind of sports, only 2 of them were into swimming, but their friendship was so amazing! And they were so damn funny and cute. I absolutely can’t wait for you to read it, to see what you think of it. You can read Catching Jordan in the meantime, that was really fun too!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *