Book Review: "The Girl Who Stopped Swimming"

"The Girl Who Stopped Swimming" by Joshilyn Jackson


I won't lie, I found this book to be a total snoozefest. I chose it to try to branch out and read something different, but I just couldn't get myself interested in reading it.

I found it very hard to follow. The jumping from past to present every other paragraph proved to be a bit overwhelming, not to mention the terribly long chapters. I picked this book based on the snippet featured in the front of the book, which led me to believe it was more of a "solving a mystery" type book. Not the case at all. The only parts of the book that I found remotely entertaining were the Ouija Board and the husbands potential affair.

I'll leave you with the description from the authors website so you can make your own decision. This book just wasn't my style.

From Publishers Weekly:
Jackson matches effortless Southern storytelling with a keen eye for character and heart-stopping circumstances. Laurel, a high-end quilt maker, sees the ghost of a little girl in her bedroom one night. When it leads her to the backyard and a dead girl in the swimming pool, the life Laurel had hoped to build in her gated Florida neighborhood with her video-game designer husband, David, and their tween daughter, Shelby, starts to fall apart. Though the police clear the drowning as accidental, it soon appears that Shelby and her friend Bet may have been involved. Bet, who lives in DeLop, Laurel's impoverished hometown, was staying over the night of the drowning and plays an increasingly important role as the truth behind the drowning comes to light. Meanwhile, Laurel's sister, Thalia, whose unconventional ways are anathema to Laurel's staid existence, comes to stay with the family and helps sort things out. Subplots abound: Laurel thinks David is having an affair, and Thalia reveals some ugly family secrets involving the death of their uncle. What makes this novel shine are its revelations about the dark side of Southern society and Thalia and Laurel's finely honed relationship, which shows just how much thicker blood is than water.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely Not.

I am however VERY excited for what's up next, I want to get at least through the 3rd book by the end of June: