Amazon Summary: "Sarah Byrnes and Eric have been friends for years. When they were children, his fat and her terrible scars made them both outcasts. Later, although swimming slimmed Eric, she stayed his closest friend. Now Sarah Byrnes -- the smartest, toughest person Eric has ever known -- sits silent in a hospital. Eric must uncover the terrible secret she's hiding, before its dark currents pull them both under."
Okay, so the second bit of the summary is a little overdramatic, but they have to get their readers somehow. I'm going to have to add a bit to that summary though, I don't think it's quite complete. While all of the summary information is true, the story isn't as much focused on Sarah's "terrible secret" as it leads you to believe. A lot more of the book is dedicated to Eric and Sarah's past together and their friendship in general.
In the beginning I was a little thrown off by the switching from past to present and the swimming terminology, but I got used to it pretty quickly so it didn't end up being a big deal. The thing to note about this book though is how much it makes you think. It's narrated by Eric who is in a class where people discuss their beliefs. This leads to a fair amount of discussion about religion and abortion that in turn makes Eric think about his beliefs, thereby causing the reader to think about their own as well. I've categorized this book as one of those strangely addictive books that are more of a narration of the character's life than a story with a solid plot (though this plot is definitely more solid than most of the ones in this category). Luckily, this one is actually interesting and didn't leave me feeling irritated at the characters (unlike The Catcher in the Rye). The book just left me thinking. I can't really come up with any criticism for it at the moment. I just want to be sure to emphasize how almost philosophical this book is. I ended up really enjoying it.
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