Amy Fellner Dominy

"How can the heart of a fighter be damaged?"

A wonderful story that not only brings awareness to a condition many don't know about, it also brings up love and heart and what it means to compete and love it.

Abby was hard to love at first. She's so determined and headstrong and stubborn - but so true of a 16 year old. I loved her friend Jen and her swimming team. I even loved her little ones that she taught. Abby has heart.

Alec was a wonderful distraction to the story, that kept things light at times - but also kept things true. Abby isn't all about swimming. I didn't much care for Connor I didn't feel he was fully flushed out. But what I did know, I was unimpressed with

all in all, great story, wonderful characters and characters with heart you can't help but love.… (more)

TW: dating violence; self-harm for manipulative purposes; emotional abuse; sexual assault
This romanticizes dating violence. I think in parts of this book, i was expecting adult boundaries and actions out of teenagers, which is unrealistic and unfair. At other times, I solidly believe that I am right in hoping Emma would behave differently. Her boyfriend does not die at any point. At the forty percent mark of the ebook, he burns his arm with candle wax badly enough to need bandages. He does this because he's upset his girlfriend is going to Rome without him, and the unspoken addition that -she's continuing her education and beginning a career- without him. At the seventy percent mark, there's implied sexual assault. Emma narrates, so her inner monologue explains her actions and why she makes decisions that she does. At the eighty percent mark in the ebook, her boyfriend carves her name into his arm and cuts his wrist. Run, Emma, run! He's acting this way because you're not doing what he wants. This was all so uncomfortable, which it's intended to be. The ending was abrupt and the author clearly didn't want too much harm to come to the boyfriend for whatever reason, which is how he gets out with so few injuries relatively, and they're not permanent. I was annoyed by this. I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone.… (more)