It's obvious that Cox is not a writer. She is, in fact, a swimmer. The clunky writing isn't really what bothered me about the book. I feel like it just never picked up any speed. When I was 2/3 of the way through, I caught myself wondering when The Big Thing was going to happen, and then I thought, "Oh, I think this is it. Huh." I was shocked when I turned the page near the end and saw the header "Afterword." Having said all that, I think if you are SUPER EXCITED about polar exploration OR swimming, you might like this book quite a lot. I am not excited whatsoever about either, so that had an impact on my enjoyment of the book.