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Swimming with Ghosts
From the acclaimed author of Washing the Dead and Bertrand Court comes a satirical and chilling, yet deeply-sensitive, tale that captures the ethos and ruin of children’s competitive swimming, where parents must face the haunting spirits of their own tumultuous upbringings or risk losing their way and—in turn—themselves.
It’s June 2012. The magical and slightly cultish River Run swim club is alive with the spirit of fun competition when a perfect storm brews between team moms and best friends, Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein. The ghost of family addiction has turned up, looming over their carefully planned pasta parties, tie-dye nights, and pep rallies, forcing them to face their unresolved childhood trauma.
Gillian responds by trying to control everyone around her, while Kristy relapses into her dangerous addiction to love. Real sparks fly on the night of the derecho—a freak land hurricane—which sweeps through Northern Virginia, knocking out power for days. The storm ignites a tinder box of secrets, leaving Gillian and Kristy alone in the hot dark—their shame their only company.
At times humorous and devastating, Swimming with Ghosts is a hauntingly dark, yet uniquely tender story of the various entrapments of addiction and lingering trauma, and what it takes to overcome our hidden legacies of disgrace and discover a once unimaginable freedom made possible by confronting life’s greatest storms with the people closest to us.
It’s June 2012. The magical and slightly cultish River Run swim club is alive with the spirit of fun competition when a perfect storm brews between team moms and best friends, Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein. The ghost of family addiction has turned up, looming over their carefully planned pasta parties, tie-dye nights, and pep rallies, forcing them to face their unresolved childhood trauma.
Gillian responds by trying to control everyone around her, while Kristy relapses into her dangerous addiction to love. Real sparks fly on the night of the derecho—a freak land hurricane—which sweeps through Northern Virginia, knocking out power for days. The storm ignites a tinder box of secrets, leaving Gillian and Kristy alone in the hot dark—their shame their only company.
At times humorous and devastating, Swimming with Ghosts is a hauntingly dark, yet uniquely tender story of the various entrapments of addiction and lingering trauma, and what it takes to overcome our hidden legacies of disgrace and discover a once unimaginable freedom made possible by confronting life’s greatest storms with the people closest to us.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 13, 2023
9 people are currently reading
568 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Brafman
7 books76 followersWriting is not my first gig. I’ve also worked as a coffee barista, radio advertising salesperson, and filmmaker, among other jobs. My resume reads like a ransom note, yet this assortment of life experiences has propelled me toward my big passion, the coaxing and telling of stories.
As a filmmaker, the stories that surfaced after the cameras stopped rolling drove me to write some bad short fiction. I kept writing, though, and eventually earned an MA in fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University. My short fiction has since won some nice awards, including a special mention in the Pushcart Prize Anthology, and my essays and stories have appeared in Slate, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Tablet, Lilith Magazine, the minnesota review, and numerous other publications. I am currently at work on my third book of fiction, a novel titled Status Change.
In addition to my own writing, I help others find and tune their narrative voices. I teach creative writing at The Johns Hopkins MA in Writing Program, the George Washington University, The Washington Center for Psychoanalysis’ New Directions Program, and smaller workshops throughout the Washington, DC area. In 2003, I founded Yeah Write, a writing coaching business.
A Milwaukee,Wisconsin native and University of California, San Diego alum, I still dream about Kopp’s custard and La Jolla Cove swims. I now live just north of the Washington, DC border, in Glen Echo, Maryland, with my husband and two children.
As a filmmaker, the stories that surfaced after the cameras stopped rolling drove me to write some bad short fiction. I kept writing, though, and eventually earned an MA in fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University. My short fiction has since won some nice awards, including a special mention in the Pushcart Prize Anthology, and my essays and stories have appeared in Slate, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Tablet, Lilith Magazine, the minnesota review, and numerous other publications. I am currently at work on my third book of fiction, a novel titled Status Change.
In addition to my own writing, I help others find and tune their narrative voices. I teach creative writing at The Johns Hopkins MA in Writing Program, the George Washington University, The Washington Center for Psychoanalysis’ New Directions Program, and smaller workshops throughout the Washington, DC area. In 2003, I founded Yeah Write, a writing coaching business.
A Milwaukee,Wisconsin native and University of California, San Diego alum, I still dream about Kopp’s custard and La Jolla Cove swims. I now live just north of the Washington, DC border, in Glen Echo, Maryland, with my husband and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
June 23, 2023
Actual Rating 2.5
It’s June 2012 in Virginia, and the River Run swim club is in full swing. It’s Gillian’s family’s legacy, and she’s about as involved as possible in all aspects of the club. But when the unexpected happens, her husband Charlie decides to get more involved, and Gillian finds herself losing her much-loved control. And then her best friend, Christie, starts lying to her and ghosting her. These three adults find their lives changing and intertwining in unexpected and sometimes unhealthy ways.
This story is told from four POVs: Charlie, Gillian, Christie, and Justin. The inclusion of Justin (Gillian’s son) felt a little odd. He was helpful in rounding out certain parts of the story, but his POV wasn’t particularly relevant until the last third of the book or so. His characterization was also quite weak and aside from acting as an outside view of the adults, he didn’t add to the story. I did enjoy how the other POVs added much to the story, relationships, and drama. The work is character-driven, and the author did an okay job with the characterization of the protagonists. The secondary characters were only there to support the protagonists, though – no development or depth to be found.
The pacing of the work felt a little off, but this was likely since it was light on the plot and heavy on the characters. My main issue with this is that I didn’t really connect with any of them in the way I wanted to. There were also instances when characters made decisions that seemed out of left field with no good explanation, as well as a couple of subplots that started off as major focuses but were left as dead ends. I think my biggest dislike of this book was that there were many things going on and incorporated, but almost none were meaningfully explored or included, leaving it all feeling rather superficial. This unfortunately bled into the characters as well.
Despite these areas of weakness, the story was fine, and I wanted to know how things were going to end up. This was an easy, summer-themed read that had some drama and serious themes but didn’t dive too deeply into them. The narrators of this work did an excellent job, which certainly added to my enjoyment of this read. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for allowing me to read this book, which will be published July 4th, 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
It’s June 2012 in Virginia, and the River Run swim club is in full swing. It’s Gillian’s family’s legacy, and she’s about as involved as possible in all aspects of the club. But when the unexpected happens, her husband Charlie decides to get more involved, and Gillian finds herself losing her much-loved control. And then her best friend, Christie, starts lying to her and ghosting her. These three adults find their lives changing and intertwining in unexpected and sometimes unhealthy ways.
This story is told from four POVs: Charlie, Gillian, Christie, and Justin. The inclusion of Justin (Gillian’s son) felt a little odd. He was helpful in rounding out certain parts of the story, but his POV wasn’t particularly relevant until the last third of the book or so. His characterization was also quite weak and aside from acting as an outside view of the adults, he didn’t add to the story. I did enjoy how the other POVs added much to the story, relationships, and drama. The work is character-driven, and the author did an okay job with the characterization of the protagonists. The secondary characters were only there to support the protagonists, though – no development or depth to be found.
The pacing of the work felt a little off, but this was likely since it was light on the plot and heavy on the characters. My main issue with this is that I didn’t really connect with any of them in the way I wanted to. There were also instances when characters made decisions that seemed out of left field with no good explanation, as well as a couple of subplots that started off as major focuses but were left as dead ends. I think my biggest dislike of this book was that there were many things going on and incorporated, but almost none were meaningfully explored or included, leaving it all feeling rather superficial. This unfortunately bled into the characters as well.
Despite these areas of weakness, the story was fine, and I wanted to know how things were going to end up. This was an easy, summer-themed read that had some drama and serious themes but didn’t dive too deeply into them. The narrators of this work did an excellent job, which certainly added to my enjoyment of this read. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for allowing me to read this book, which will be published July 4th, 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
July 27, 2023
Unfortunately I really struggled to get into this multiple POV domestic drama. Revolving around a community swim club, this story alternates between different members of a family, each of whom is struggling with various secrets and sins.
From a sex addict mother, to an ambitious, adultrous husband looking to win the swim championship and their teen son dealing with his own relationship drama on top of his parents'. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and didn't feel like there was much of an actual plot, rather than kind of rambling anecdotes until a freak storm brings everything to a head.
The narration was good with a full cast and the writing wasn't bad I just couldn't get into this one as much as I was looking forward to the swim club focus from the book's description. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to listen to an early ALC in exchange for my honest review. It's very possible it was just a me thing and I wasn't in the mood for this type of story at the time.
From a sex addict mother, to an ambitious, adultrous husband looking to win the swim championship and their teen son dealing with his own relationship drama on top of his parents'. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and didn't feel like there was much of an actual plot, rather than kind of rambling anecdotes until a freak storm brings everything to a head.
The narration was good with a full cast and the writing wasn't bad I just couldn't get into this one as much as I was looking forward to the swim club focus from the book's description. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to listen to an early ALC in exchange for my honest review. It's very possible it was just a me thing and I wasn't in the mood for this type of story at the time.
June 12, 2023
This is a strange one for me—I’m posting this review a day before the book comes out. :0 Thank you to Keylight Books of Turner Publishing for my complimentary copy! BookTube brings the good stuff, even to small fries like me. :P
The marketing for this book was a little off, imho. I came into it with the expectation that we’d be following “frenemies,” or maybe just straight-up rivals, as they pitted their grade-school children against each other during swimming competitions. Or even as part of the same team, since belonging to the same swim club usually means you’re playing for the same team…anyway.
That last part is accurate. Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein live in the same neighborhood and are both part of the Manta Ray pool. But most of the rest of my expectations turned out to be false. The two women weren’t “frenemies” or rivals, but straight-up friends, besties who called themselves “Krillian” for over a decade. Their children aren’t pitted against each other in any way; two of them aren’t involved with swimming at all, and the other two are both life guards and swim coaches, and a second generation of friends.
Gillian is particularly involved with the swim club as a whole, acting as a sort of at-large organizer for groups and events. She’s following in the footsteps of her late father, Sebastian Norton, who was an expert swimmer and a big man on campus. Kristy is involved as her “right-hand woman.”
This is a multi-POV story so every character needs an arc where they have to confront something about themselves. For Gillian, it’s that she’s repressing memories about her father’s semi-private and far more flawed persona of being a mean, philandering alcoholic. Gillian can’t deal with negative emotions (Sebastian from the past, or the growing array of problems in the present); she turns to suppressing her feelings and “doctoring” her life through hash-tagged social media posts.
Charlie, her husband, lost his job where he’d been floundering for awhile. Part of this is a good thing; he loses weight and feels happier, more present. …but he’s also not dealing with the massive debt he’s incurring as it doesn’t appear he’s looking for a new job. Instead, he decides to coach the Manta Rays for the summer (this book intentionally takes place in 2012, to coincide with some weather craziness in the DC area at the time. I still remember that summer, too! :P)
Their college-aged son, Justin, is also a POV, but he’s the weakest one. In most ways, Brafman is using him as a vehicle to deal with the adults from a different perspective. Justin isn’t entirely without personality or backstory, but it’s slight. :/ That being said, thanks to being a POV, it’s much larger than his brother’s or either of Kristy’s children.
And finally, Kristy carries the main plot, so I’ll go ahead and spoil that inciting incident. Kristy came from a semi-broken home (broken until her mother married her stepfather, though Kristy herself was basically treated like her mother’s stepchild.) When her stepfather, Travis, asks for help with a flooded basement, Kristy comes across the birth certificate her mother stashed away. There she finds that her father is none other than Sebastian Norton.
It's a somewhat convenient development, given that Kristy is a newcomer to the rich, made-up NoVa suburb. (Brafman provides some context, though this is all backstory and both of Kristy’s parents area dead, so it’s not really the point.) The important thing, of course, is how it triggers Kristy’s “love addiction,” a serious thing she suffered with in the past. Feeling like the unwanted stepchild in her family means she was constantly craving love and acceptance, usually by competing with other women and “stealing” their husbands/boyfriends. And now that she learns Gillian is her half-sibling, and the daughter whom Sebastian actually claimed…well. I think you can see where this is going. :P
So, in all honesty, there’s very little about this that has to do with swimming, or the competitive nature of the sport. The competition is there, but in other relationships, hee. We’re also dealing with a real-life set of freak storms that hit the northeast US around this time 11 years ago. It ends up causing massive damage at the pool (which, in story, amounts to Gillian losing most of the tangible, sanitized good memories of her father) and then everyone (or most everyone) in the neighborhood lost power for several days. In constant mid-90s degrees weather. *shudder* That was tough to read, too! :P
I liked the multi-POV for the reminder that no one’s life is perfect. Everyone is, in fact, swimming with ghosts. :P But what I don’t like so much is that not every story feels wrapped up at the end. Speaking of a swan dive, the Clouds were rapidly swan diving towards bankruptcy—what happened with that? Did Charlie ever get another job? And Gillian—well, she had to face a lot about her family, but I also kinda wish Brafman went deeper into her social media addiction. Then again, maybe that would make the story too neat.
Finally, the Weinsteins were a bit of a disappointment. It was a pretty two-dimensional set up there. Honestly, Kristy and David’s relationship seemed built on flipping the bird to their parents, good sex (but without much emotional investment, so it seemed,) and, well, they have kids, but they never talked about them. In fact, amidst her personal secrets she was keeping from David, Kristy also kept their daughter, Mia’s, issues a secret from him.
I dunno, I was hoping they’d feel a little more three-dimensional, especially since they were the story’s “Jewish rep.” But these Weinsteins (and maybe I have my own baggage, as a member of a Weinstein clan myself,) were a bunch of stereotypes: rich, disaffected, drop a holiday or Hadassah reference here or there, send the son to Israel with his grandparents, really just to get him out of the way of the rest of the plot. :P There’s no real Jewish investment—or any investment—here. The Weinsteins sure aren’t from Brafman’s earlier novel, WASHING THE DEAD!
I guess it’s not a complete deal breaker, since the Weinsteins (sans Kristy) aren’t really the center of the story, but the lack of texture is still disappointing. My final quibble would be I think the “epilogue” section that took place in May 2013 was a bunch or rapid-fire exposition. Not very satisfying, except possibly that final image of a sort of resolution between some folks. /spoilers!
This book, I believe, would be marketed as women’s upmarket fiction. It lacks some of the depth and a lot of the language of my hoity toity literary fic. :P This is arguably more readable…and relatable in a lot of ways. Some people have problems reading characters who make big messes for themselves, but…well, I’ve always had a little empathy for that, heh. If you’re looking for a summer-themed read that dips into various topics but doesn’t get too depressing or serious, then this might be worth a look!
The marketing for this book was a little off, imho. I came into it with the expectation that we’d be following “frenemies,” or maybe just straight-up rivals, as they pitted their grade-school children against each other during swimming competitions. Or even as part of the same team, since belonging to the same swim club usually means you’re playing for the same team…anyway.
That last part is accurate. Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein live in the same neighborhood and are both part of the Manta Ray pool. But most of the rest of my expectations turned out to be false. The two women weren’t “frenemies” or rivals, but straight-up friends, besties who called themselves “Krillian” for over a decade. Their children aren’t pitted against each other in any way; two of them aren’t involved with swimming at all, and the other two are both life guards and swim coaches, and a second generation of friends.
Gillian is particularly involved with the swim club as a whole, acting as a sort of at-large organizer for groups and events. She’s following in the footsteps of her late father, Sebastian Norton, who was an expert swimmer and a big man on campus. Kristy is involved as her “right-hand woman.”
This is a multi-POV story so every character needs an arc where they have to confront something about themselves. For Gillian, it’s that she’s repressing memories about her father’s semi-private and far more flawed persona of being a mean, philandering alcoholic. Gillian can’t deal with negative emotions (Sebastian from the past, or the growing array of problems in the present); she turns to suppressing her feelings and “doctoring” her life through hash-tagged social media posts.
Charlie, her husband, lost his job where he’d been floundering for awhile. Part of this is a good thing; he loses weight and feels happier, more present. …but he’s also not dealing with the massive debt he’s incurring as it doesn’t appear he’s looking for a new job. Instead, he decides to coach the Manta Rays for the summer (this book intentionally takes place in 2012, to coincide with some weather craziness in the DC area at the time. I still remember that summer, too! :P)
Their college-aged son, Justin, is also a POV, but he’s the weakest one. In most ways, Brafman is using him as a vehicle to deal with the adults from a different perspective. Justin isn’t entirely without personality or backstory, but it’s slight. :/ That being said, thanks to being a POV, it’s much larger than his brother’s or either of Kristy’s children.
And finally, Kristy carries the main plot, so I’ll go ahead and spoil that inciting incident. Kristy came from a semi-broken home (broken until her mother married her stepfather, though Kristy herself was basically treated like her mother’s stepchild.) When her stepfather, Travis, asks for help with a flooded basement, Kristy comes across the birth certificate her mother stashed away. There she finds that her father is none other than Sebastian Norton.
It's a somewhat convenient development, given that Kristy is a newcomer to the rich, made-up NoVa suburb. (Brafman provides some context, though this is all backstory and both of Kristy’s parents area dead, so it’s not really the point.) The important thing, of course, is how it triggers Kristy’s “love addiction,” a serious thing she suffered with in the past. Feeling like the unwanted stepchild in her family means she was constantly craving love and acceptance, usually by competing with other women and “stealing” their husbands/boyfriends. And now that she learns Gillian is her half-sibling, and the daughter whom Sebastian actually claimed…well. I think you can see where this is going. :P
So, in all honesty, there’s very little about this that has to do with swimming, or the competitive nature of the sport. The competition is there, but in other relationships, hee. We’re also dealing with a real-life set of freak storms that hit the northeast US around this time 11 years ago. It ends up causing massive damage at the pool (which, in story, amounts to Gillian losing most of the tangible, sanitized good memories of her father) and then everyone (or most everyone) in the neighborhood lost power for several days. In constant mid-90s degrees weather. *shudder* That was tough to read, too! :P
I liked the multi-POV for the reminder that no one’s life is perfect. Everyone is, in fact, swimming with ghosts. :P But what I don’t like so much is that not every story feels wrapped up at the end. Speaking of a swan dive, the Clouds were rapidly swan diving towards bankruptcy—what happened with that? Did Charlie ever get another job? And Gillian—well, she had to face a lot about her family, but I also kinda wish Brafman went deeper into her social media addiction. Then again, maybe that would make the story too neat.
Finally, the Weinsteins were a bit of a disappointment. It was a pretty two-dimensional set up there. Honestly, Kristy and David’s relationship seemed built on flipping the bird to their parents, good sex (but without much emotional investment, so it seemed,) and, well, they have kids, but they never talked about them. In fact, amidst her personal secrets she was keeping from David, Kristy also kept their daughter, Mia’s, issues a secret from him.
I dunno, I was hoping they’d feel a little more three-dimensional, especially since they were the story’s “Jewish rep.” But these Weinsteins (and maybe I have my own baggage, as a member of a Weinstein clan myself,) were a bunch of stereotypes: rich, disaffected, drop a holiday or Hadassah reference here or there, send the son to Israel with his grandparents, really just to get him out of the way of the rest of the plot. :P There’s no real Jewish investment—or any investment—here. The Weinsteins sure aren’t from Brafman’s earlier novel, WASHING THE DEAD!
I guess it’s not a complete deal breaker, since the Weinsteins (sans Kristy) aren’t really the center of the story, but the lack of texture is still disappointing. My final quibble would be I think the “epilogue” section that took place in May 2013 was a bunch or rapid-fire exposition. Not very satisfying, except possibly that final image of a sort of resolution between some folks. /spoilers!
This book, I believe, would be marketed as women’s upmarket fiction. It lacks some of the depth and a lot of the language of my hoity toity literary fic. :P This is arguably more readable…and relatable in a lot of ways. Some people have problems reading characters who make big messes for themselves, but…well, I’ve always had a little empathy for that, heh. If you’re looking for a summer-themed read that dips into various topics but doesn’t get too depressing or serious, then this might be worth a look!
May 25, 2023
This book felt so poignant to me, almost nostalgic. As as former summer swimmer on a team just like the Manta Rays, and with a very active mother in terms of making sure the team is well-fed and taken care of during swim meets, I felt like I was dropped right into the heart of my past.
"Swimming With Ghosts" is a suspenseful family drama surrounding two families plagued with jealousy and betrayal and a neighborhood swim club in Virginia. One family, the Cloud's, is run by swim team organizer Gillian, who's been a part of the River Run swim club since she was a child, when her father, Sebastian Norton, was the superstar of the club. But while everyone found Sebastian charistmatic and larger-than-life, his wife and children knew the truth - that he was a drunk. In present day, her husband Charlie has volunteered to be the new team coach, and he goes from a lazy, uninspired corporate employee to a head-shaven, fit, popular swim coach. Gillian's best friend Kristy Weinstein notices, and as a love addict, se becomes obsessed with him. She also has a major secret to tell, and she's behaving so erratically that the reader knows that something is about to blow up everything during the final party of the swim season.
It's such an interesting contrast, these characters trying to fake their way through endless summer days, trying to convince their children that everything is a-OK, when in reality you're seeing these characters unraveling at the seams and their children DEFINITELY noticing. Dysfunctional family histories, alcoholism, suppresssing emotions, addiction to presenting life as "perfect" on social media, obsessions...they're all slowly revealed until an unexpected yet fulfilling storm of activity at the end. Such a uniquely structured novel - who would have thunk a book stationed at a pool, revolving around a diving motif, could be so enjoyable. I wouldn't call this a light beach read, but I'd call it a sophisticated page-turner!
Thank you to NetGalley and Keylight Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Find this book July 4, 2023!
"Swimming With Ghosts" is a suspenseful family drama surrounding two families plagued with jealousy and betrayal and a neighborhood swim club in Virginia. One family, the Cloud's, is run by swim team organizer Gillian, who's been a part of the River Run swim club since she was a child, when her father, Sebastian Norton, was the superstar of the club. But while everyone found Sebastian charistmatic and larger-than-life, his wife and children knew the truth - that he was a drunk. In present day, her husband Charlie has volunteered to be the new team coach, and he goes from a lazy, uninspired corporate employee to a head-shaven, fit, popular swim coach. Gillian's best friend Kristy Weinstein notices, and as a love addict, se becomes obsessed with him. She also has a major secret to tell, and she's behaving so erratically that the reader knows that something is about to blow up everything during the final party of the swim season.
It's such an interesting contrast, these characters trying to fake their way through endless summer days, trying to convince their children that everything is a-OK, when in reality you're seeing these characters unraveling at the seams and their children DEFINITELY noticing. Dysfunctional family histories, alcoholism, suppresssing emotions, addiction to presenting life as "perfect" on social media, obsessions...they're all slowly revealed until an unexpected yet fulfilling storm of activity at the end. Such a uniquely structured novel - who would have thunk a book stationed at a pool, revolving around a diving motif, could be so enjoyable. I wouldn't call this a light beach read, but I'd call it a sophisticated page-turner!
Thank you to NetGalley and Keylight Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Find this book July 4, 2023!
July 10, 2023
DNF - I don't want to talk about this book.
April 9, 2023
I love the idea of this story and I know all about team sports and drama with parents so this felt familiar at times and very relatable. Brafman does a great job with the main characters and I felt immersed in the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Three stars!
August 7, 2025
Alison warned me that this was a weird weird book and she was right. Takes place near home and centers around a summer swim team which is why it was appealing in the first place and was relatable at times but yeah overall such a weird story
July 26, 2023
I tore through Michelle Brafman's SWIMMING WITH GHOSTS, eager to find out how the plot would unfold, but also queasy about where it was headed. The story captures so vividly a hot Virginia summer at a suburban pool, and is told with a sly, kind humor about it all. As painful as it is to follow her characters as they are swung around by their addictions and troubled pasts, the novel is entertaining and amusing in all the right ways. Kindheartedness is the foundation upon which this story is built.
August 16, 2024
Not what I’d usually pick up, but the setting was so blatantly referencing MCSL that I couldn’t resist giving it a shot as a former summer swimmer from the DMV. I remember where I was on the night of the derecho vividly!!! I liked the short chapters and the POV switches, though I will say that Justin felt a little bland. Talk of Tiff and the slurpees got old fast.
Would try out another if this becomes a series though.
Would try out another if this becomes a series though.
February 23, 2024
I enjoyed the characters and the setting of the book. I do wonder how the team did that summer.
June 22, 2023
The premise of this sounded so interesting, but sadly it’s not written in a way that makes the best of such an intriguing plot.
Gillian Norton Cloud is the Queen of the River Run Club and Pool. Not only did she grow up there, but her father is famous for the swan dive he dove, the one Gillian captured on film and the one that made the Norton family so famous at River Run. In the summer of 2012 things start going awry when Gillian’s meek husband, Charlie, decides to take a more prominent position at the swim club as head coach. Then her best friend, Kristy, starts acting crazy and Shannon, a new Swim Mom, steps in and changes up the big Luau. Gillian‘s life is like an iceberg- she posts multiple times a day to Facebook and anyone who just knows her family from that is only seeing the pristine tip. They don’t see all of the cracks and broken off chunks that are happening beneath the surface and as long as Gillian has her way, that’s how it will stay- even when Kristy’s unraveling soon leads to the unraveling of Gillian’s not so perfect life.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Michelle Brafman had some pretty serious daddy issues going on while writing this. The underlying theme appears to be dysfunctional people and daddy issues and it got pretty old very quick.
This book is written in third person from the viewpoints of Gillian, Charlie, Kristy, and Justin, Gillian and Charlie’s youngest son. While it’s nice because we get a comprehensive telling of the story, we are also drawn in to the dysfunction these people are and it’s really a little much. I think Ms. Brafman had a good idea for the subject matter, but the execution falls severely flat. Thank you to NetGalley and Turner Publishing Company for an advanced copy of this book. This hit shelves on June 13th.
Gillian Norton Cloud is the Queen of the River Run Club and Pool. Not only did she grow up there, but her father is famous for the swan dive he dove, the one Gillian captured on film and the one that made the Norton family so famous at River Run. In the summer of 2012 things start going awry when Gillian’s meek husband, Charlie, decides to take a more prominent position at the swim club as head coach. Then her best friend, Kristy, starts acting crazy and Shannon, a new Swim Mom, steps in and changes up the big Luau. Gillian‘s life is like an iceberg- she posts multiple times a day to Facebook and anyone who just knows her family from that is only seeing the pristine tip. They don’t see all of the cracks and broken off chunks that are happening beneath the surface and as long as Gillian has her way, that’s how it will stay- even when Kristy’s unraveling soon leads to the unraveling of Gillian’s not so perfect life.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Michelle Brafman had some pretty serious daddy issues going on while writing this. The underlying theme appears to be dysfunctional people and daddy issues and it got pretty old very quick.
This book is written in third person from the viewpoints of Gillian, Charlie, Kristy, and Justin, Gillian and Charlie’s youngest son. While it’s nice because we get a comprehensive telling of the story, we are also drawn in to the dysfunction these people are and it’s really a little much. I think Ms. Brafman had a good idea for the subject matter, but the execution falls severely flat. Thank you to NetGalley and Turner Publishing Company for an advanced copy of this book. This hit shelves on June 13th.
July 1, 2023
4.5 stars: Great Book, Terrible Cover
Don’t let the cover fool you; this book is not a rom-com, beach read, cartoonish kinda story.
What it IS, is a deeply drawn character driven story on the impact of addiction on family. I was obsessed with this audio book, listening in just three days, talking out loud to the characters, sighing and yelling and cringing at their behavior. And yes, sometimes just wanting to hug them in close and say “there, there.”
We all know these people, and some of us have been these people: the woman addicted to love, to attention, to wanting the family she didn’t feel she got as a child; the woman who organizes everything and everyone, the swimming club, her family, other peoples’ closets, and yet can’t see her own family history in world of truth; the husband who leaves everything to his wife to do, and I mean everything (the man is hardly in the story!) and yet expects perfection; the husband who finds self-worth in his job, and yet no longer has that job, who resents his wife for his own shortcomings, who blames others for his terrible decisions; and the kids who have to see this generation make all the mistakes, and wonder when their turn is next.
At first, looking at that cover and reading the blurb, I wondered if it would be the trope-ish privileged white people and their summer at the swim club. On the surface it is, but this author dives in deeply to the messy family life underneath and wrote a book that I will think about for quite some time.
And do the audio - fabulous cast of narrators!
Don’t let the cover fool you; this book is not a rom-com, beach read, cartoonish kinda story.
What it IS, is a deeply drawn character driven story on the impact of addiction on family. I was obsessed with this audio book, listening in just three days, talking out loud to the characters, sighing and yelling and cringing at their behavior. And yes, sometimes just wanting to hug them in close and say “there, there.”
We all know these people, and some of us have been these people: the woman addicted to love, to attention, to wanting the family she didn’t feel she got as a child; the woman who organizes everything and everyone, the swimming club, her family, other peoples’ closets, and yet can’t see her own family history in world of truth; the husband who leaves everything to his wife to do, and I mean everything (the man is hardly in the story!) and yet expects perfection; the husband who finds self-worth in his job, and yet no longer has that job, who resents his wife for his own shortcomings, who blames others for his terrible decisions; and the kids who have to see this generation make all the mistakes, and wonder when their turn is next.
At first, looking at that cover and reading the blurb, I wondered if it would be the trope-ish privileged white people and their summer at the swim club. On the surface it is, but this author dives in deeply to the messy family life underneath and wrote a book that I will think about for quite some time.
And do the audio - fabulous cast of narrators!
June 17, 2023
If there’s another author who writes with as much compassion for her characters as Michelle Brafman does in SWIMMING WITH GHOSTS, I haven’t found them. The writing is beautiful. I hated having to interrupt the story for sleep or work. I spent the last third of the novel choked up, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Read this gorgeous novel!
July 12, 2023
Thank you to Netgalley, Turner Publishing and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Michelle Brafman’s Swimming With Ghosts follows two families as they navigate a secret that both connects and destroys them. Told from the multi-POVs of Gillian, Charlie, Kristy, and Justin, chaos ensues as secrets are uncovered, dirty laundry is aired, and irreversible choices break a family apart. You can expect this to be FULL of drama.
However, as exciting as it sounds, I found that it dragged for the first 2/3’s of the book.. I kept putting it down and it took me far too long to finish. Still, I pushed through (mostly because it was an ARC and I was determined to review it), and found the last 1/3 to be much quicker in pace. If it weren’t for that ending and the multi-POV, it probably could’ve put me in a slump.
Overall, I’d say this one was okay. I thought it would be more suspenseful but found it lacking. Not memorable for me but not bad.
Michelle Brafman’s Swimming With Ghosts follows two families as they navigate a secret that both connects and destroys them. Told from the multi-POVs of Gillian, Charlie, Kristy, and Justin, chaos ensues as secrets are uncovered, dirty laundry is aired, and irreversible choices break a family apart. You can expect this to be FULL of drama.
However, as exciting as it sounds, I found that it dragged for the first 2/3’s of the book.. I kept putting it down and it took me far too long to finish. Still, I pushed through (mostly because it was an ARC and I was determined to review it), and found the last 1/3 to be much quicker in pace. If it weren’t for that ending and the multi-POV, it probably could’ve put me in a slump.
Overall, I’d say this one was okay. I thought it would be more suspenseful but found it lacking. Not memorable for me but not bad.
June 24, 2023
Thank you to the author, publisher, narrators and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version in exchange for my review.
I'm just going to say it. I didn't like this book. I kept listening, hoping to get to the 'good parts' or to have it all click and make sense. It didn't. There was SO. MUCH. TO. DISLIKE about this book. Just, so, so, so much.
I don't even want to talk about it. I'm probably an outlier, but I can't say one single good thing about this book. I didn't even like the narrators.
1 star for 'didn't like it'. I won't recommend this to anyone at all.
I'm just going to say it. I didn't like this book. I kept listening, hoping to get to the 'good parts' or to have it all click and make sense. It didn't. There was SO. MUCH. TO. DISLIKE about this book. Just, so, so, so much.
I don't even want to talk about it. I'm probably an outlier, but I can't say one single good thing about this book. I didn't even like the narrators.
1 star for 'didn't like it'. I won't recommend this to anyone at all.
April 17, 2024
"Swimming with Ghosts" is a page-turner of domestic suspense where families try to outdo one another through the swim league of their children. The characters are richly drawn and there is a secret and legacy that haunts the two closest friends and their families. In its wisdom and satire of the mothers who compete for facebook posts, it reminded me of "The Lifeguards" in the best way. Funny, tender, and. heartbreaking, I highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
March 25, 2023
SWIMMING WITH GHOSTS by Michelle Brafman is a smart, sassy perfect-for-summer read. Kristy Weinstein and Gillian Cloud are suburban moms and BFFs so in sync that people call them Krillian. For ten summers they’ve reigned as the go-to parent duo in charge of the River Run Manta Rays swim team during “the ten-week-long, adrenaline-saturated cocoon that is community summer swimming.” Until the summer of 2012, when the entire Washington DC-Metro area is hit by a derecho – and a furor of taboo-breaking “ghosts” surfaces from each woman’s past. The devastating storm, a land hurricane, is an apt metaphor for this fast-paced novel, filled with Brafman’s amusing and meticulously observed details of contemporary life, and her nuanced observations about the havoc that addiction and long-suppressed trauma can wreak on families.
The book opens with a snapshot of a beloved Manta Rays tradition, a Pasta Pep Rally dinner on the night before a dual meet: “A typical June Friday night: lifeguard whistles, ice cream truck music, and the occasional ‘My turn next!’ from a kid waiting in line at the diving board.” Krillian has organized the parent volunteers who create this summer idyll. The two women are also devoted to the respective lives they’ve built with their husbands, teen and college-aged kids, all four of whom have grown up swimming on the team. But for all their marks of conventional family and lifestyle success, Kristy and Gillian are haunted, too, by dysfunctional childhood experiences they haven’t fully dealt with or shared.
Quickly - like the swan dive that repeats as a motif through the novel - Brafman plunges them and us headfirst into 2012 and upends just about every measure of equilibrium except the Manta Rays redoubtable swim team schedule. In short sections – from a single paragraph to five or six pages – the narrative alternates four points of view: Kristy, Gillian, Gillian’s husband Charlie, and their son Justin, a college student home for the summer who is an assistant coach on the team.
Summer swimming anchors this story, and in a way you could say Swimming With Ghosts is a book about anchors. It’s a portrait of a foundational phenomenon of many modern American childhoods: the parents who help to organize their kids’ activities, with a goal of creating supportive environments for learning skills and experiencing cooperation, competition, winning and losing. When Gillian’s husband Charlie loses the dead-end job he hated anyway, for example, he steps forward to take over the job of coaching the Manta Rays full-time. We see the pure joy of Charlie’s self-discovery in his new role, and his talent for inspiring his swimmers to unexpected bests.
Charlie’s transformation highlights the need for the Manta Rays to adapt to change, which Gillian resists. Tension over which traditions to preserve and which to jettison spills into Gillian and Charlie’s marriage, eventually sinking them to the story’s deeper-lying anchors. It’s not giving away spoilers to say these include Gillian’s haunting memories of growing up with her alcoholic father, and Kristy’s loops of destructive compulsive behavior. Brafman sets things up early, so that in the book’s most shocking moments, when the extreme weather intensifies – both externally and internally – what happens feels organic to the story.
One of the great pleasures of reading Swimming With Ghosts is Brafman’s talent for rendering her characters’ outrageous transgressions believable by grounding them deftly in mundane, relatable detail – like the “tiny rip in the lace of a bra strap” that catalyzes Gillian’s recognition of her friend’s betrayal. It’s a detail made all the more resonant because the reader can put it together with what Brafman has given us of Kristy’s side of the story, and a family secret she’s been hiding.
In the DC-Metro area in 2012, the night was calm before the derecho swept through, leaving much cleaning up to do in its wake. Like the aftermath of the storm’s shocking upheaval, Swimming With Ghosts finishes with a glimpse into an altered calm – a calm that’s both sweet and sad and, one senses, better braced for hard weather. I highly recommend Swimming With Ghosts, and with the provocative issues the novel raises so sensitively, I think it would make a great book club pick, too. There’s so much to talk about, and so much to enjoy.
The book opens with a snapshot of a beloved Manta Rays tradition, a Pasta Pep Rally dinner on the night before a dual meet: “A typical June Friday night: lifeguard whistles, ice cream truck music, and the occasional ‘My turn next!’ from a kid waiting in line at the diving board.” Krillian has organized the parent volunteers who create this summer idyll. The two women are also devoted to the respective lives they’ve built with their husbands, teen and college-aged kids, all four of whom have grown up swimming on the team. But for all their marks of conventional family and lifestyle success, Kristy and Gillian are haunted, too, by dysfunctional childhood experiences they haven’t fully dealt with or shared.
Quickly - like the swan dive that repeats as a motif through the novel - Brafman plunges them and us headfirst into 2012 and upends just about every measure of equilibrium except the Manta Rays redoubtable swim team schedule. In short sections – from a single paragraph to five or six pages – the narrative alternates four points of view: Kristy, Gillian, Gillian’s husband Charlie, and their son Justin, a college student home for the summer who is an assistant coach on the team.
Summer swimming anchors this story, and in a way you could say Swimming With Ghosts is a book about anchors. It’s a portrait of a foundational phenomenon of many modern American childhoods: the parents who help to organize their kids’ activities, with a goal of creating supportive environments for learning skills and experiencing cooperation, competition, winning and losing. When Gillian’s husband Charlie loses the dead-end job he hated anyway, for example, he steps forward to take over the job of coaching the Manta Rays full-time. We see the pure joy of Charlie’s self-discovery in his new role, and his talent for inspiring his swimmers to unexpected bests.
Charlie’s transformation highlights the need for the Manta Rays to adapt to change, which Gillian resists. Tension over which traditions to preserve and which to jettison spills into Gillian and Charlie’s marriage, eventually sinking them to the story’s deeper-lying anchors. It’s not giving away spoilers to say these include Gillian’s haunting memories of growing up with her alcoholic father, and Kristy’s loops of destructive compulsive behavior. Brafman sets things up early, so that in the book’s most shocking moments, when the extreme weather intensifies – both externally and internally – what happens feels organic to the story.
One of the great pleasures of reading Swimming With Ghosts is Brafman’s talent for rendering her characters’ outrageous transgressions believable by grounding them deftly in mundane, relatable detail – like the “tiny rip in the lace of a bra strap” that catalyzes Gillian’s recognition of her friend’s betrayal. It’s a detail made all the more resonant because the reader can put it together with what Brafman has given us of Kristy’s side of the story, and a family secret she’s been hiding.
In the DC-Metro area in 2012, the night was calm before the derecho swept through, leaving much cleaning up to do in its wake. Like the aftermath of the storm’s shocking upheaval, Swimming With Ghosts finishes with a glimpse into an altered calm – a calm that’s both sweet and sad and, one senses, better braced for hard weather. I highly recommend Swimming With Ghosts, and with the provocative issues the novel raises so sensitively, I think it would make a great book club pick, too. There’s so much to talk about, and so much to enjoy.
June 26, 2023
Name of Book: Swimming with Ghosts
Author: Michelle Brafman
Narrators: Hillary Huber, Scott Brick, Sophie Amps, and Pete Cross
Genre: Adult Drama
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Pub Date: July 4, 2023
My Rating: 3.4 Stars
Pages: 380
I was drawn to this story by the title. I am not a swimmer nor do I call myself any kind of a an athletic but I have spent hours on the side lines of soccer fields, baseball diamonds but most of my time has been on the pool deck. This started when my energetic three year need something to do during the long Chicago winters. The indoor pool at the Y was the answer. Now that energetic child is the mother of three amazing athletics – good at everything but excellent in the water; first swimming but true love - water polo.
The second reason is the narrators are audiobook performers that I love!
Third bonus reason- as if I needed another reason - is the author’s bio:
Author Michelle Brafman tells us –
Writing is not my first gig. I’ve also worked as a coffee barista, radio advertising salesperson,
and filmmaker, among other jobs. My resume reads like a ransom note, yet this assortment of
life experiences has propelled me toward my big passion, the coaxing and telling of stories.
She goes on to tell us ~
I teach creative writing at The Johns Hopkins MA in Writing Program, the George
Washington University, The Washington Center for Psychoanalysis’ New Directions Program,
and smaller workshops throughout the Washington, DC area. In 2003, I founded Yeah Write, a
writing coaching business.
I am a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native and University of California, San Diego
Alum, I still dream about Kopp’s custard and La Jolla Cove swims. I now live just
north of the Washington, DC border, in Glen Echo, Maryland, with my husband
and two children.
Story is told from the POV of Gillian, Christie, Charlie, and Gillian’s son Justin.
Kristy Weinstein and Gillian Cloud are suburban moms and BFFs who work so closely together people call them Krillian. For ten summers they’ve reigned as the 'go-to' parent duo in charge of the River Run Manta Rays swim team.”
Story starts with a Pasta Pep Rally/dinner which is a Manta Rays tradition; everyone brings a different kind of pasta- which is always a big hit!
When the head coach’s real job results in him having to move; our duo has to find a new ‘head coast’. Gillian’s husband Charlie is current out of work and was a swimmer so volunteers for the position.
I wanted to love this but I found these potty-mouthed characters so unlikeable; the story had me curious so I hung in there.
Although my curiosity was satisfied, I never reached the point of enjoying this.
Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Day scheduled for: July 4, 2023.
Author: Michelle Brafman
Narrators: Hillary Huber, Scott Brick, Sophie Amps, and Pete Cross
Genre: Adult Drama
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Pub Date: July 4, 2023
My Rating: 3.4 Stars
Pages: 380
I was drawn to this story by the title. I am not a swimmer nor do I call myself any kind of a an athletic but I have spent hours on the side lines of soccer fields, baseball diamonds but most of my time has been on the pool deck. This started when my energetic three year need something to do during the long Chicago winters. The indoor pool at the Y was the answer. Now that energetic child is the mother of three amazing athletics – good at everything but excellent in the water; first swimming but true love - water polo.
The second reason is the narrators are audiobook performers that I love!
Third bonus reason- as if I needed another reason - is the author’s bio:
Author Michelle Brafman tells us –
Writing is not my first gig. I’ve also worked as a coffee barista, radio advertising salesperson,
and filmmaker, among other jobs. My resume reads like a ransom note, yet this assortment of
life experiences has propelled me toward my big passion, the coaxing and telling of stories.
She goes on to tell us ~
I teach creative writing at The Johns Hopkins MA in Writing Program, the George
Washington University, The Washington Center for Psychoanalysis’ New Directions Program,
and smaller workshops throughout the Washington, DC area. In 2003, I founded Yeah Write, a
writing coaching business.
I am a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native and University of California, San Diego
Alum, I still dream about Kopp’s custard and La Jolla Cove swims. I now live just
north of the Washington, DC border, in Glen Echo, Maryland, with my husband
and two children.
Story is told from the POV of Gillian, Christie, Charlie, and Gillian’s son Justin.
Kristy Weinstein and Gillian Cloud are suburban moms and BFFs who work so closely together people call them Krillian. For ten summers they’ve reigned as the 'go-to' parent duo in charge of the River Run Manta Rays swim team.”
Story starts with a Pasta Pep Rally/dinner which is a Manta Rays tradition; everyone brings a different kind of pasta- which is always a big hit!
When the head coach’s real job results in him having to move; our duo has to find a new ‘head coast’. Gillian’s husband Charlie is current out of work and was a swimmer so volunteers for the position.
I wanted to love this but I found these potty-mouthed characters so unlikeable; the story had me curious so I hung in there.
Although my curiosity was satisfied, I never reached the point of enjoying this.
Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Day scheduled for: July 4, 2023.
July 30, 2023
I am very sad to say that Swimming with Ghosts was not the book for me. I think the premise is great. You have 3 adults going through different things in their lives, I would say like a mid-life crisis almost. We see how these 3 adults go through their struggles. I say we have the view of the 3 adults but we also have an extra POV of the child of 2 characters and he is just there to fill in some holes.
We have 4 POVs in the story first is Gillian, Gillian is the daughter of a hometown hero who is a diver. From the outside her home life seemed perfect, but her dad was not so great. Due to her childhood she learned to deal with life by asserting control. She has to feel like she is in control to feel safe. When she starts loosing her control her life seems to spin and she flashes back to her difficult childhood. Then we have Gillian's husband, Charlie, who lost his job that he hated. He now has gotten fit and decided he would coach the swim team that his wife is in control of. He decides to do this instead of getting a job and paying off the increased amount of debt he is incurring. Not only is he opening secret credit cards, but he tells his wife. Oh you can just work extra to pay our bills....Our third is Gillian's best friend Kristy. Kristy has a love addiction which is where you seek out love or attention. Kristy basically was the outcast in her family her mom treated her like crap and after her sister was born she just sought out love in any way she can. She relapses in this addiction when some of her family secrets come out and triggers those old loveless feelings. Lastly we have Justin. Justin is Jillian and Charles' college age child. That's pretty much all we get for Justin. As I said earlier he is only here to fill in holes.
We have all of these characters and no real substanse. The characters are all very surface level and there isn't any real character development aside from each person involved in their own little bubbles. I don't know if I was supposed to feel anything for these characters but all I felt was annoyed and bored. I think there was a great idea here but it didn't come together all that well.
As for the narration, I love when we have different narrators for each POV, it helps break up the characters and gives them their own voice and seemingly different perspectives. There are a two narrators that I've listened to previously which are Scott Brick (Don't Go Down There, Pros and Cons, and The Heist) and Sophie Amoss (You Know Her). These two plus our other two narrators did a great job bringing a voice to each of their POVs. They really did help bring some life to the story.
We have 4 POVs in the story first is Gillian, Gillian is the daughter of a hometown hero who is a diver. From the outside her home life seemed perfect, but her dad was not so great. Due to her childhood she learned to deal with life by asserting control. She has to feel like she is in control to feel safe. When she starts loosing her control her life seems to spin and she flashes back to her difficult childhood. Then we have Gillian's husband, Charlie, who lost his job that he hated. He now has gotten fit and decided he would coach the swim team that his wife is in control of. He decides to do this instead of getting a job and paying off the increased amount of debt he is incurring. Not only is he opening secret credit cards, but he tells his wife. Oh you can just work extra to pay our bills....Our third is Gillian's best friend Kristy. Kristy has a love addiction which is where you seek out love or attention. Kristy basically was the outcast in her family her mom treated her like crap and after her sister was born she just sought out love in any way she can. She relapses in this addiction when some of her family secrets come out and triggers those old loveless feelings. Lastly we have Justin. Justin is Jillian and Charles' college age child. That's pretty much all we get for Justin. As I said earlier he is only here to fill in holes.
We have all of these characters and no real substanse. The characters are all very surface level and there isn't any real character development aside from each person involved in their own little bubbles. I don't know if I was supposed to feel anything for these characters but all I felt was annoyed and bored. I think there was a great idea here but it didn't come together all that well.
As for the narration, I love when we have different narrators for each POV, it helps break up the characters and gives them their own voice and seemingly different perspectives. There are a two narrators that I've listened to previously which are Scott Brick (Don't Go Down There, Pros and Cons, and The Heist) and Sophie Amoss (You Know Her). These two plus our other two narrators did a great job bringing a voice to each of their POVs. They really did help bring some life to the story.
June 2, 2023
Thanks to Michelle Blankenship at Blankenship PR for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
For me, this was a great satire, with great insights into American characters. That's not to say they're always good characters. Some are very unlikeable. But they're fabulously created. My love of character development over plot is really felt here. Yes there's plot, but for me, it's the intricacies of the people that holds my attention.
You can tell that Michelle Brafman has experience with professional swimming, she has this knowledge and this passion that exudes from the page.
It's a world I am not familiar with - professional swimming and swim meets etc. And so some of it was lost on me in terms of specifics, but the excitement helps buoy you along. Who knew it would be filled with such drama?!
It was fascinating to see the generational problems and trauma and expectations on the next generation. I loved seeing the dynamics between the parents and their children, trying to keep secrets from them, but in doing so, they open themselves up to even more questions. And you can almost count down to when things are going to erupt.
It may not immediately strike you as a twisty thriller, but there are definitely elements of it. It's full of darkness and secrets and deception, and it drags you right down with it.
There were, on occasion, times where it felt a bit...bogged down by detail, shall we say. Not enough to overly affect the reading or lesson my opinion on it, but it did lose its way a couple of times in terms of pacing.
The formatting in my digital copy was a little off, but I'm sure that'll be sorted by the final copy. It just meant I had to concentrate a little more. And to be honest, that may not be a bad thing, as it meant I really had to give more time for the story, as I'm guilty - like most people I imagine - of skim reading sometimes, and then you don't always get 100% of the words, and I felt in this story, that was important.
It's got lots of short chapters, and if you've read my reviews before, you'll know I prefer short chapters. And I think that actually plays to the story's strength as it makes it more fast-paced and choppy.
It is a hard read at times. It's very raw and honest. It's probably not one I'd suggest you take on your beach holiday. It's one that requires concentration. And at times I even found it difficult to read. Whether that's more about the book or about me as a reader I don't know. But I'd still recommend it for anyone who wants a thoughtful piece to ponder.
For me, this was a great satire, with great insights into American characters. That's not to say they're always good characters. Some are very unlikeable. But they're fabulously created. My love of character development over plot is really felt here. Yes there's plot, but for me, it's the intricacies of the people that holds my attention.
You can tell that Michelle Brafman has experience with professional swimming, she has this knowledge and this passion that exudes from the page.
It's a world I am not familiar with - professional swimming and swim meets etc. And so some of it was lost on me in terms of specifics, but the excitement helps buoy you along. Who knew it would be filled with such drama?!
It was fascinating to see the generational problems and trauma and expectations on the next generation. I loved seeing the dynamics between the parents and their children, trying to keep secrets from them, but in doing so, they open themselves up to even more questions. And you can almost count down to when things are going to erupt.
It may not immediately strike you as a twisty thriller, but there are definitely elements of it. It's full of darkness and secrets and deception, and it drags you right down with it.
There were, on occasion, times where it felt a bit...bogged down by detail, shall we say. Not enough to overly affect the reading or lesson my opinion on it, but it did lose its way a couple of times in terms of pacing.
The formatting in my digital copy was a little off, but I'm sure that'll be sorted by the final copy. It just meant I had to concentrate a little more. And to be honest, that may not be a bad thing, as it meant I really had to give more time for the story, as I'm guilty - like most people I imagine - of skim reading sometimes, and then you don't always get 100% of the words, and I felt in this story, that was important.
It's got lots of short chapters, and if you've read my reviews before, you'll know I prefer short chapters. And I think that actually plays to the story's strength as it makes it more fast-paced and choppy.
It is a hard read at times. It's very raw and honest. It's probably not one I'd suggest you take on your beach holiday. It's one that requires concentration. And at times I even found it difficult to read. Whether that's more about the book or about me as a reader I don't know. But I'd still recommend it for anyone who wants a thoughtful piece to ponder.
June 28, 2023
For many kids in the Baltimore area, joining the neighborhood summer swim team is a rite of passage. It’s a seasonal sport intended to be low stakes and fun but, in a region that produces Olympic champions like Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky, it’s no surprise the summer ritual often becomes extreme. I’m a former North Baltimore Aquatic Club swimmer turned Central Maryland Swim League summer coach, so I can attest to the chlorine-induced madness.
Yet as fellow ‘swammer’ and now author Michelle Brafman explores in her new novel Swimming with Ghosts, summer swim team intensity doesn’t always remain in the water. It floods onto the pool deck where parents become entrenched in all sorts of drama, both big and small. Of course, these swim-parent theatrics often have nothing to do with the sport itself.
Brafman, who swam competitively through college and raced for the University of California San Diego, experienced this spectacle firsthand when she became a swim-mom. The idea for Swimming with Ghostswas born when she witnessed herself and other parents get carried away during the summer swim season. “This intensity isn’t just about swimming,” she thought. There was more beneath the surface.
In the novel, team moms and best friends Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein – known around the pool by the combined name ‘Krillian’ – enter the summer of 2012 expecting another idealistic season at their beloved River Run swim club. But as the season unfolds, the duo faces harsh truths about their individual and shared pasts. When confronted with the ghosts that follow them from summer to summer, Gillian and Kristy must determine if they will let these lingering traumas drown their relationship.
A Wisconsin native, Brafman now resides in Glen Echo, Maryland, and teaches fiction writing in the Johns Hopkins MA in Writing Program. Swimming with Ghosts is Brafman’s third book following the publication of Bertrand Court: Stories and the novel Washing the Dead. Her essays and short fiction have also appeared in Slate, LitHub, The Forward, Tablet, and elsewhere.
I met with Brafman to discuss the inspiration behind Swimming with Ghosts and how her teaching at Hopkins intersects with her own writing process. Read on to learn why this equally devastating and humorous novel deserves a spot in your pool bag this summer. (See the full article here: https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories...)
Yet as fellow ‘swammer’ and now author Michelle Brafman explores in her new novel Swimming with Ghosts, summer swim team intensity doesn’t always remain in the water. It floods onto the pool deck where parents become entrenched in all sorts of drama, both big and small. Of course, these swim-parent theatrics often have nothing to do with the sport itself.
Brafman, who swam competitively through college and raced for the University of California San Diego, experienced this spectacle firsthand when she became a swim-mom. The idea for Swimming with Ghostswas born when she witnessed herself and other parents get carried away during the summer swim season. “This intensity isn’t just about swimming,” she thought. There was more beneath the surface.
In the novel, team moms and best friends Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein – known around the pool by the combined name ‘Krillian’ – enter the summer of 2012 expecting another idealistic season at their beloved River Run swim club. But as the season unfolds, the duo faces harsh truths about their individual and shared pasts. When confronted with the ghosts that follow them from summer to summer, Gillian and Kristy must determine if they will let these lingering traumas drown their relationship.
A Wisconsin native, Brafman now resides in Glen Echo, Maryland, and teaches fiction writing in the Johns Hopkins MA in Writing Program. Swimming with Ghosts is Brafman’s third book following the publication of Bertrand Court: Stories and the novel Washing the Dead. Her essays and short fiction have also appeared in Slate, LitHub, The Forward, Tablet, and elsewhere.
I met with Brafman to discuss the inspiration behind Swimming with Ghosts and how her teaching at Hopkins intersects with her own writing process. Read on to learn why this equally devastating and humorous novel deserves a spot in your pool bag this summer. (See the full article here: https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories...)
May 21, 2023
“The pool’s a drug to her: the aroma of chlorine and sunscreen, the thick awning of trees that shades the water when the sun starts to retire, the swimmers answering the call of the ice cream truck. The pool holds a charge even on a quiet day like today.”
A pool and swimming addict myself, I picked up this novel thinking it would be a very different book. Although the northern Virginia community pool of the story is the glue that binds the entire story together, I was intrigued when the entire tale (to my mind) took off in an entirely different direction, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
Most of the story takes place over one (optimistic) summer in 2012, as the Manta Rays community swim team gets ready to kick off another season.
The story moves quickly through the alternating perspectives of four narrators. Uber-organized Team Mom Gillian is a doyenne of the Red River swim club, a fixture of the local swimming community, following in the footsteps of her own larger-than-life father. Gillian’s husband, Charlie, recently unemployed, has never taken much interest in Gillian’s pool obsession, but something changes when the team is left without a coach. Charlie throws himself into coaching and obsessing about catapulting the fledgling team to regional champion status. Gillian and Charlie’s son, Justin, is home from college over the summer to lifeguard and coach, and grows wrapped up in the new competitive vibes. And wealthy, sexy Kristy, another Team Mom, is Gillian’s closest friend and relies on her guidance and mentorship. Their friendship is so close that they are affectionately known as “Krillian”.
It quickly becomes apparent the careless summer days at the pool simply mask the complicated ghosts of the past, with all narrators struggling with complicated, dysfunctional family histories, addictions and obsessions that are slowly revealed throughout the story and come to a head during a freak summer storm. A highly enjoyable novel about the complexities of family, relationships and of simply being being human. Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.
A pool and swimming addict myself, I picked up this novel thinking it would be a very different book. Although the northern Virginia community pool of the story is the glue that binds the entire story together, I was intrigued when the entire tale (to my mind) took off in an entirely different direction, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
Most of the story takes place over one (optimistic) summer in 2012, as the Manta Rays community swim team gets ready to kick off another season.
The story moves quickly through the alternating perspectives of four narrators. Uber-organized Team Mom Gillian is a doyenne of the Red River swim club, a fixture of the local swimming community, following in the footsteps of her own larger-than-life father. Gillian’s husband, Charlie, recently unemployed, has never taken much interest in Gillian’s pool obsession, but something changes when the team is left without a coach. Charlie throws himself into coaching and obsessing about catapulting the fledgling team to regional champion status. Gillian and Charlie’s son, Justin, is home from college over the summer to lifeguard and coach, and grows wrapped up in the new competitive vibes. And wealthy, sexy Kristy, another Team Mom, is Gillian’s closest friend and relies on her guidance and mentorship. Their friendship is so close that they are affectionately known as “Krillian”.
It quickly becomes apparent the careless summer days at the pool simply mask the complicated ghosts of the past, with all narrators struggling with complicated, dysfunctional family histories, addictions and obsessions that are slowly revealed throughout the story and come to a head during a freak summer storm. A highly enjoyable novel about the complexities of family, relationships and of simply being being human. Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.
June 28, 2023
A family's world unravels in a combination of storms. The main characters, who the story is told through, are:
Gillian: a "swim mom" and control freak who has inflated her self worth based on her dad's (false) reputation in the community.
Charlie: Gillian's husband, and a recently booted exec scrambling for a new identity post-employment
Justin: Gillian & Charlie's son, who struggles to make heads or tails of the rotating situation both at home and the swim club
Kristy: A love addict who suffers from her own feelings of inadequacy, although she grew up in what appears in all accounts to be a very loving and caring home.
Let's start with the good:
- The cover of this book is BEAUTIFUL
- The synopsis is intriguing
The meh:
- I was interested in how the story played out, even though I couldn't really tell anyone apart in the book
- While I like a book with multiple perspectives, it was difficult to tell the characters apart (even with there being multiple narrators - the female voices were too similar to me). The narrator for Charlie was grating, though it did seem to fit with his character.
- The Justin's perspective really only served one purpose to the plot, otherwise it was in there as a reminder that Charlie & Gillian are kind of awful parents
The bad:
- The cover makes it seem like there will be a 3rd female friend included, as the 'ghost' swimming appears to have a feminine form, but that's not how things play out. Perhaps it's the ghost of who they wish they were?
- It was extremely hard to keep track of the characters, since there was very little character development for anyone, and there were quite a few peripheral characters involved here that were essentially cardboard figures of people.
- Everyone in the book was unlikeable
All in, this one wasn't awful, but it wasn't my cup of tea either. I think I'd have liked it much more if I felt connected to anyone at all in the story, and we had a bit more reasoning for how things ended up as they were.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Gillian: a "swim mom" and control freak who has inflated her self worth based on her dad's (false) reputation in the community.
Charlie: Gillian's husband, and a recently booted exec scrambling for a new identity post-employment
Justin: Gillian & Charlie's son, who struggles to make heads or tails of the rotating situation both at home and the swim club
Kristy: A love addict who suffers from her own feelings of inadequacy, although she grew up in what appears in all accounts to be a very loving and caring home.
Let's start with the good:
- The cover of this book is BEAUTIFUL
- The synopsis is intriguing
The meh:
- I was interested in how the story played out, even though I couldn't really tell anyone apart in the book
- While I like a book with multiple perspectives, it was difficult to tell the characters apart (even with there being multiple narrators - the female voices were too similar to me). The narrator for Charlie was grating, though it did seem to fit with his character.
- The Justin's perspective really only served one purpose to the plot, otherwise it was in there as a reminder that Charlie & Gillian are kind of awful parents
The bad:
- The cover makes it seem like there will be a 3rd female friend included, as the 'ghost' swimming appears to have a feminine form, but that's not how things play out. Perhaps it's the ghost of who they wish they were?
- It was extremely hard to keep track of the characters, since there was very little character development for anyone, and there were quite a few peripheral characters involved here that were essentially cardboard figures of people.
- Everyone in the book was unlikeable
All in, this one wasn't awful, but it wasn't my cup of tea either. I think I'd have liked it much more if I felt connected to anyone at all in the story, and we had a bit more reasoning for how things ended up as they were.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
July 10, 2023
3.5--There is A LOT of drama and dysfunction in this book --as each POV presented has a "ghost" (and then some) in some way. The dysfunction may bother those looking for a cozy read but in reality, there are many people with issues and addictions that run deep--I just don't think the author needed to connect the women with the ultimate secret (avoiding spoiler)
It is the summer of 2012 and the story focuses around the River Run Swim Club and told form the perspectives of Gillian, Kristy, Charlie, and Justin.
Gillian grew up around this club and has now become the controlling swim mom. She has created a sanctuary here holding all her best memories of not just herself in her younger years (with her father who was a legend) but of her children. She is Facebook fanatic showcasing the best images, portraying not always the truth as she hashtags her life. Her BFF, Kristy, who has weathered much with her friend, so much that they are team "Krillian" ultimately becomes triggered, obsessed and jealous. She begins to act irrational, no longer wanting to be part of team Krillian and begins some self destructive behavior. She is a little over the top. Gillian's husband Charlie, with losing his job needs a confidence boost; he finds it by taking the open swim coach position. He now feels a new surge and begins to resent some of his wife's overbearingness as he eats up the new attention he is receiving from others. Finally, Justin decided to stay home this summer to be at the swim club for his mom--he did not go off with his now former girlfriend or even go to NY to work with his brother. As he tries to understand the changing dynamics, he reaches out to his brother and uncle to understand the true "legend" of his grandfather. As a storm hits the area, knocking out the power and acting as the catalyst for the dramatic explosion.
The ending of the story made sense. I was pleased with the closure that was provided. The story is fine but not a light rom-com that the cover may lead some to believe
It is the summer of 2012 and the story focuses around the River Run Swim Club and told form the perspectives of Gillian, Kristy, Charlie, and Justin.
Gillian grew up around this club and has now become the controlling swim mom. She has created a sanctuary here holding all her best memories of not just herself in her younger years (with her father who was a legend) but of her children. She is Facebook fanatic showcasing the best images, portraying not always the truth as she hashtags her life. Her BFF, Kristy, who has weathered much with her friend, so much that they are team "Krillian" ultimately becomes triggered, obsessed and jealous. She begins to act irrational, no longer wanting to be part of team Krillian and begins some self destructive behavior. She is a little over the top. Gillian's husband Charlie, with losing his job needs a confidence boost; he finds it by taking the open swim coach position. He now feels a new surge and begins to resent some of his wife's overbearingness as he eats up the new attention he is receiving from others. Finally, Justin decided to stay home this summer to be at the swim club for his mom--he did not go off with his now former girlfriend or even go to NY to work with his brother. As he tries to understand the changing dynamics, he reaches out to his brother and uncle to understand the true "legend" of his grandfather. As a storm hits the area, knocking out the power and acting as the catalyst for the dramatic explosion.
The ending of the story made sense. I was pleased with the closure that was provided. The story is fine but not a light rom-com that the cover may lead some to believe
July 14, 2023
This book is set in one hot sweltering summer, with just the epilogue set the next summer. It is a perfect seasonal read with a very authentic setting at a local suburban community pool (in the greater DC area). The swim team schedules, meets, fundraisers and antics brought back fun memories of all the time I spent around the pool in my teens teaching, swimming, and playing waterpolo.
But this summery setting is just the backdrop for adults coming to terms with all the messiness life has in store. This story is told from four POVs: Charlie Cloud (first unemployed and downcast, than up and coming beloved swim team coach), Gillian (Charlie’s wife and professional organizer extraordinaire but also extremely well at keeping up a perfect appearance), Christie (Gillian’s best friend #goKrillian but also so convinced she’s never enough to be loved by anyone/ Mom to one of the older swim team members), and Justin(the Cloud’s younger son and lifeguard at the pool). I enjoyed this format, focusing on a different character in each short chapter, ramping up the story and intensity bit by bit by taking on events from different angles.
Swimming with Ghosts emphasizes how childhood trauma affects life even decades out. All three adults Gillian, Kristy and Charlie (to a lesser but still recognizable degree) have suffered childhood trauma. They are also fully formed characters, relatable with traits that accurately reflect the potential adult outcome of the childhoods they endured. Generational alcoholism has it’s claws in Gillian’s family from father to brother to son . Kristy’s longing for love and adoration has her an addict as well she is excellent at self-sabotage, full of manic and dangerous passions. The book takes an unflinching assessment of generational transmission of addictions and mental illness – … lingering trauma. I loved that in the end this messy family ultimately sees, accepts and loves all its members. This book has not gotten enough love on Insta - I highly recommend it !
But this summery setting is just the backdrop for adults coming to terms with all the messiness life has in store. This story is told from four POVs: Charlie Cloud (first unemployed and downcast, than up and coming beloved swim team coach), Gillian (Charlie’s wife and professional organizer extraordinaire but also extremely well at keeping up a perfect appearance), Christie (Gillian’s best friend #goKrillian but also so convinced she’s never enough to be loved by anyone/ Mom to one of the older swim team members), and Justin(the Cloud’s younger son and lifeguard at the pool). I enjoyed this format, focusing on a different character in each short chapter, ramping up the story and intensity bit by bit by taking on events from different angles.
Swimming with Ghosts emphasizes how childhood trauma affects life even decades out. All three adults Gillian, Kristy and Charlie (to a lesser but still recognizable degree) have suffered childhood trauma. They are also fully formed characters, relatable with traits that accurately reflect the potential adult outcome of the childhoods they endured. Generational alcoholism has it’s claws in Gillian’s family from father to brother to son . Kristy’s longing for love and adoration has her an addict as well she is excellent at self-sabotage, full of manic and dangerous passions. The book takes an unflinching assessment of generational transmission of addictions and mental illness – … lingering trauma. I loved that in the end this messy family ultimately sees, accepts and loves all its members. This book has not gotten enough love on Insta - I highly recommend it !
August 3, 2023
Swimming With Ghosts, Michelle Brafman
The writing here was uninspired and the story somewhat convoluted to get the point across about hereditary illnesses, shame, jealousy, and the damage that can be done to children by screwed up parents, but it wasn’t terrible.
Everything you can think of is wrong with the Cloud family. The father Charlie has lost his job. The ever smiling, hyper clean and organized mom, Gillian, is in summer organize the pool swim team mode, which she’s done since her kids were little. It’s the same pool where she swam when she was growing up. Her younger son’s girlfriend broke up with him and all he wants to do is drink slushies, and her older son is hiding from her in New York, not telling her that he himself is in recovery, and instead speaking to her estranged brother.
Then there is the best friend, Kristy. Married to a doctor, Kristy has a body to die for, a lovely home and no worries, so it seems. But Kristy and Gillian both have dark secrets from their past that link them more profoundly than they realize. And before July is over, everything Gillian ever relied on to keep her neat and perfect world in order, including her sanctuary at the pool where her father is remembered as a superstar and wonderful man, comes crashing down around her.
There is addiction here, a worthy focus. But the addiction that propels the plot along the most is sex addiction, and that is a peculiar sickness to use to guide a family focused plot along.
Of course, the sex addiction puts so much into jeopardy for the two main characters, and the precious space of the pool itself.
It’s a local summer pool, where kids are involved in swim teams all summer and parents sit around, watching and arranging family gatherings and events. This in itself is an unusual setting for a novel, but adventurous of the author to try something new.
The writing here was uninspired and the story somewhat convoluted to get the point across about hereditary illnesses, shame, jealousy, and the damage that can be done to children by screwed up parents, but it wasn’t terrible.
Everything you can think of is wrong with the Cloud family. The father Charlie has lost his job. The ever smiling, hyper clean and organized mom, Gillian, is in summer organize the pool swim team mode, which she’s done since her kids were little. It’s the same pool where she swam when she was growing up. Her younger son’s girlfriend broke up with him and all he wants to do is drink slushies, and her older son is hiding from her in New York, not telling her that he himself is in recovery, and instead speaking to her estranged brother.
Then there is the best friend, Kristy. Married to a doctor, Kristy has a body to die for, a lovely home and no worries, so it seems. But Kristy and Gillian both have dark secrets from their past that link them more profoundly than they realize. And before July is over, everything Gillian ever relied on to keep her neat and perfect world in order, including her sanctuary at the pool where her father is remembered as a superstar and wonderful man, comes crashing down around her.
There is addiction here, a worthy focus. But the addiction that propels the plot along the most is sex addiction, and that is a peculiar sickness to use to guide a family focused plot along.
Of course, the sex addiction puts so much into jeopardy for the two main characters, and the precious space of the pool itself.
It’s a local summer pool, where kids are involved in swim teams all summer and parents sit around, watching and arranging family gatherings and events. This in itself is an unusual setting for a novel, but adventurous of the author to try something new.
April 10, 2023
A neighborhood swim club is ripped apart by jealousy and betrayal in the heartbreaking Swimming with Ghosts. Swim team organizer Gillian Cloud has been a part of the River Run club since childhood. Her unemployed husband Charlie has now volunteered himself to be team coach, replacing Gillian as the most important Cloud at River Run. His transformation from a chubby, unhappy real estate agent to a fit, muscular coach with a gleaming shaved head has not gone unnoticed. Kristy Weinstein, Gillian’s best friend, becomes obsessed with him. Nothing good can come of this. On the night of the final party of the swim season, a storm of emotions and events will forever change lives.
Swimming with Ghosts emphasizes the way early traumas have affected both Gillian and Kristy. Generational alcoholism has ravaged Gillian’s family and caused her to live behind a carefully constructed façade, surpressing emotion. Kristy’s longing for love and attention has made her a different kind of addict, full of manic and dangerous passions. While the conclusion is unexpected and satisfying, the themes of Swimming with Ghosts stay with you long after the final page. 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Turner Publishing Company and Michelle Bradman for this ARC.
Swimming with Ghosts emphasizes the way early traumas have affected both Gillian and Kristy. Generational alcoholism has ravaged Gillian’s family and caused her to live behind a carefully constructed façade, surpressing emotion. Kristy’s longing for love and attention has made her a different kind of addict, full of manic and dangerous passions. While the conclusion is unexpected and satisfying, the themes of Swimming with Ghosts stay with you long after the final page. 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Turner Publishing Company and Michelle Bradman for this ARC.
May 22, 2023
Northern Virginia is my home, and this area is so prevalent throughout the plot that at times it felt like it’s own character. So many novels I read are set in Anytown, USA and it was so refreshing to see an author so unashamedly embrace and weave in their home. I honestly don’t know if neighborhood or community based pools and swim teams are a uniquely NoVa phenomenon, but this book absolutely captures the fervor of what we have here well.
Reading this book felt like watching an impending car crash play out in front of me in slow motion, and knowing what was going to happen yet feeling powerless to stop it. Also, the car crash represents C-PTSD and the rot of generational trauma mushrooming through family trees, until hopefully at least one person can recognize it growing on their own branch and either cut it out or cut themselves off and stop the spread.
The adult characters are unlikeable while making you desperately want to root for them, hug them, and recommend a great therapist, while still being a story light enough to enjoy by the pool or beach this summer.
Thank you NetGalley! This book was received in exchange for a review, but did not impact my review or rating.
June 30, 2023
Swimming with Ghosts by Michelle Brafman is a book filled with familial trauma, drama, and secrets, which I usually love. I enjoyed listening to the journey of each character. I didn't realize how much would be taking place at the swimming pool, which did get to be a tad much, but I guess it's to be expected given the cover.
I did find a few interactions illogical, like Gillian's final reaction in the bra scene at the store. I disliked the way Charlie's story reads as incomplete. At first it seems like he is going to manipulate parents to somehow get their money or something equally deceitful, but nothing happens. Then, he keeps opening credit cards and piling up debt, but again, nothing happens or is resolved. I didn't see the point of Kristy being married as there are so few interactions with David.
Hillary Huber as Gillian is great as usual. Scott Brick as Charlie has a deep, soothing voice that I enjoy listening to. Sophie Amoss as Kristy is good but comes across as overly dramatic at times. Pete Cross as Justin sounds just as I imagine him to be.
Overall, I rate Swimming with Ghosts 3 stars.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC.
I did find a few interactions illogical, like Gillian's final reaction in the bra scene at the store. I disliked the way Charlie's story reads as incomplete. At first it seems like he is going to manipulate parents to somehow get their money or something equally deceitful, but nothing happens. Then, he keeps opening credit cards and piling up debt, but again, nothing happens or is resolved. I didn't see the point of Kristy being married as there are so few interactions with David.
Hillary Huber as Gillian is great as usual. Scott Brick as Charlie has a deep, soothing voice that I enjoy listening to. Sophie Amoss as Kristy is good but comes across as overly dramatic at times. Pete Cross as Justin sounds just as I imagine him to be.
Overall, I rate Swimming with Ghosts 3 stars.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC.
October 4, 2023
this was not my type of book but a friend recommended it and so i read it. That said the story marched a long at a good pace, and no matter how many times I set it aside to read other things, I always returned to it, so there must have been some draw. I am sure there is something anymother who ever had a child in a summer swim program will recognize and maybe cringe at the realistically drawn portrait of the summer swim exhistence. Still, I just am not drawn to books where the characters just can't help destroying their own lives. I know this happens, but I guess if I am going to be forecd to read such a tale, I would prefer it be non fiction so I would not be constantly second guessing how realistic or not a scenario was--I won't go in to detail so as not to spoil the book for anyone.
I was perplexed that the author. switched the location of the pool to Northern Virginia when she clearly knew Montgomery County so much better. I was also interested that she changed the time that the Derecho occurred when as one of characters noted, everyone knew where they were and how they were impacted by this storm.
I was perplexed that the author. switched the location of the pool to Northern Virginia when she clearly knew Montgomery County so much better. I was also interested that she changed the time that the Derecho occurred when as one of characters noted, everyone knew where they were and how they were impacted by this storm.
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