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erincataldi's review against another edition
3.0
Bestselling contemporary young adult author, Miranda Kenneally, has written another sports romance that teens will devour. Maggie's entire life is swimming; she eat breathes, and drinks swimming. Since she was a young girl her life has revolved around her biggest passion, training hard enough to snag a spot on the Olympic team. Everything; school, friends, and a social life, have come second in order for her succeed. Now that she's gearing up for college however, she's having some second thought. She's never experienced what most typical teenagers live like. No boyfriend, no prom, and certainly no kissing. Scared that she will appear inexperienced she asks her best friend and swimming partner, Levi for some tips on "hooking up" so she won't be a fish out of water when she goes to college. Little does she realize the feelings that will emerge for her best friends when things start to get hot and heavy. Suddenly swimming isn't the only thing on her mind. Narrated by Carly Robins, who does an excellent job bringing Maggie and Levi alive with her youthful voice and mannerisms. For fans of Kenneally's Hundred Oak series, sports themed reads, and teen romance. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN
lisawreading's review against another edition
4.0
Miranda Kenneally excels at showing a straightforward view of the complicated lives of teens. Her lead characters tend to be strong, dedicated young women, almost always hard-driving athletes, who are not afraid to go for what they want, no matter the resistance they meet along the way. And while the athletic achievements of her characters might be super-special, their inner lives keep them grounded and relatable.
In Coming Up For Air, Maggie is a girl who has spent her whole life in a pool. She adores swimming, and devotes herself to it, almost to the exclusion of everything else, because she loves it so much. She pushes herself to be her best, takes her coach's rules about training and non-swimming behavior seriously, and drives herself forward toward her dream of getting an Olympic trial.
At the same time, Maggie depends on her three best friends for their Friday burger nights to keep her grounded -- but she starts to realize how much she's missed out on by giving so much of her life over to training. She's never hooked up, has only had one real kiss, and is starting to feel like she's the last high schooler left who's so inexperienced. She asks her best friend Levi to teach her how to hook up, but isn't prepared for how intensely they connect physically, and neither knows how to deal with the fall-out when their no-strings fling starts to feel like it could be a relationship.
As in all of this author's books, the characters deal with sex in a very down-to-earth way. It's not needlessly graphic, but it does get into details of what they do together and how it makes them feel. It's not prettied-up sex, and doesn't pretend that every encounter is full of fireworks. I appreciate the healthy attitude toward sexual exploration, protecting oneself, and owning one's own sexual desires and needs.
It's always refreshing to read Miranda Kenneally's stories about determined, talented young women, and I think teen readers will appreciate seeing how universal feelings of self-doubt and insecurity can be, even for people who seem to have it all. It's also refreshing to see the portrayal of the different home lives and coping mechanisms the various main and secondary characters have, and to get pretty good solid advice about life in general by paying attention to the words of the characters' coaches.
As with the author's earlier books, the storyline is set in Hundred Oaks, Tennessee, and familiar characters from other books pop up in cameo roles. While all of the Hundred Oaks books work perfectly well as stand-alones, it is pretty fun to read several (or all) and see the connections and shout-outs.
I heartily recommend Miranda Kenneally's books for teen readers and for adults who like realistic, optimistic, honest depictions of young adult life.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. This review also appears at Bookshelf Fantasies.
In Coming Up For Air, Maggie is a girl who has spent her whole life in a pool. She adores swimming, and devotes herself to it, almost to the exclusion of everything else, because she loves it so much. She pushes herself to be her best, takes her coach's rules about training and non-swimming behavior seriously, and drives herself forward toward her dream of getting an Olympic trial.
At the same time, Maggie depends on her three best friends for their Friday burger nights to keep her grounded -- but she starts to realize how much she's missed out on by giving so much of her life over to training. She's never hooked up, has only had one real kiss, and is starting to feel like she's the last high schooler left who's so inexperienced. She asks her best friend Levi to teach her how to hook up, but isn't prepared for how intensely they connect physically, and neither knows how to deal with the fall-out when their no-strings fling starts to feel like it could be a relationship.
As in all of this author's books, the characters deal with sex in a very down-to-earth way. It's not needlessly graphic, but it does get into details of what they do together and how it makes them feel. It's not prettied-up sex, and doesn't pretend that every encounter is full of fireworks. I appreciate the healthy attitude toward sexual exploration, protecting oneself, and owning one's own sexual desires and needs.
It's always refreshing to read Miranda Kenneally's stories about determined, talented young women, and I think teen readers will appreciate seeing how universal feelings of self-doubt and insecurity can be, even for people who seem to have it all. It's also refreshing to see the portrayal of the different home lives and coping mechanisms the various main and secondary characters have, and to get pretty good solid advice about life in general by paying attention to the words of the characters' coaches.
As with the author's earlier books, the storyline is set in Hundred Oaks, Tennessee, and familiar characters from other books pop up in cameo roles. While all of the Hundred Oaks books work perfectly well as stand-alones, it is pretty fun to read several (or all) and see the connections and shout-outs.
I heartily recommend Miranda Kenneally's books for teen readers and for adults who like realistic, optimistic, honest depictions of young adult life.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. This review also appears at Bookshelf Fantasies.
mfumarolo's review against another edition
4.0
*e-ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley - thank you! This in no way impacted my opinions of this book.*
It's been a while since I've returned to the Hundred Oaks universe, and this book was a great welcome back. Maggie is probably the protagonist in this series that I've identified with the most so far - not that I'm a world class athletes by any stretch of the imagination, but when I was a teen (and even today), I can't help but compare my experiences to others, to fear that I'm missing out on some important normal things even though I'm doing what I love, that I wonder how my path weighs on others - all things that Maggie goes through as well.
Due to the biggest personal issue Maggie is facing, I'd recommend that this book is better suited for older teens and up. It toes into new adult territory in terms of some of the content, readers themselves are the only ones who can truly judge if they are ready for or not. All in all, I inhaled this book!
It's been a while since I've returned to the Hundred Oaks universe, and this book was a great welcome back. Maggie is probably the protagonist in this series that I've identified with the most so far - not that I'm a world class athletes by any stretch of the imagination, but when I was a teen (and even today), I can't help but compare my experiences to others, to fear that I'm missing out on some important normal things even though I'm doing what I love, that I wonder how my path weighs on others - all things that Maggie goes through as well.
Due to the biggest personal issue Maggie is facing, I'd recommend that this book is better suited for older teens and up. It toes into new adult territory in terms of some of the content, readers themselves are the only ones who can truly judge if they are ready for or not. All in all, I inhaled this book!
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This was one of the first netgalley copies I ever received and it introduced me to this AMAZING series. Its an amazing book with amazing characters and talks about first love and sports and its so good.
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
3.0
Whew! Coming Up for Air = Forever by Judy Blume + the Summer Olympics.
I enjoyed reading it and the love story was cute, but the romantic parts were pretty descriptive. Also, I liked the ending and was definitely rooting for Maggie in both her swim and love life. I do wish that I had reread the other Hundred Oaks books first, so I could enjoy the cameo appearances more. Someday, I’ll sit down and reread them all!
I enjoyed reading it and the love story was cute, but the romantic parts were pretty descriptive. Also, I liked the ending and was definitely rooting for Maggie in both her swim and love life. I do wish that I had reread the other Hundred Oaks books first, so I could enjoy the cameo appearances more. Someday, I’ll sit down and reread them all!
maddieg's review against another edition
5.0
This was such an amazing book that I didn't want it to end! It had so many similarities to Catching Jordan with the best friends-to-lovers trope and really had the entire series come full circle. Maggie and Levi were such well-developed characters and I could tell they were perfect for each other from the start. The Olympic aspect was so unique and I loved the approach of training, competitiveness, and balance that was brought to the plot because it made the storyline so much deeper. When Maggie and Levi first pushed the boundaries of their friendship, I immediately fell in love but also was scared because I knew one of them would get hurt as a result. And it hurt so bad to see both Maggie and Levi hurt afterward, but it only made them confessing their feelings so much more rewarding and romantic. I also enjoyed the update at the end with Sam and Jordan because they were my favorite couple from this series and having it even relate to Maggie and Levi was a perfect ending to one of my favorite series!
Favorite Quote: “You taught me how to love.”
Favorite Quote: “You taught me how to love.”
krbeers4's review against another edition
5.0
Unsurprisingly, I really loved this one. Main characters were very strong, like all of Kenneallys, and so were the secondary. I always enjoy the books in this series, because the characters are so true. Loved it.
fleurdujour's review against another edition
5.0
I almost only gave Coming Up for Air 4 stars before I paused and thought about how this would of been an amazing book had I read it as a teenager, the intended audience, versus me now, a 30 year old woman. This book marches head on into talking about sex in a frankness that is often rare in YA books. On top of that, it's just plain adorable with a great cast of characters, and Jordan and Sam having a larger role than they'd had since Catching Jordan which was great, because they're some of my all-time favorite YA book characters.
bookaholic_kim's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about Maggie, a high school student training for scholarship and Olympics which means she spent most of her time training and practicing. She is now a senior and she started to worry about the things she missed in high school. She eventually asked her best friend, Levi who is also in the swimming team to teach her how to hook up. Maggie and Levi are best friends and would this set up ruin their friendship or bloom to another kind of relationship?
To someone who has taken sports like their life depends on it when they were in high school, they would definitely relate to this book like I did. I myself dedicated most of my time to extracurricular activities that I had no time for relationships so really did enjoy reading it.
This is a contemporary book, and we expect to have the plot focus more on love or romance but it is not like that in this book. I really like that the story centers to their daily schedule of training and the pressure and stress of winning.
A lot of instances was portrayed in this novel. For instance, while there are supportive parents, there are also parents who only wants their child to be the best and does not appreciate him or her when he ends up in a second place. Another thing is some do sports for fun while others take it seriously. And there are other relatable scenes in the book.
The love story between the characters are predictable but still fun to read.
Overall, this book deserves a high rating and if you have been reading Hundred Oaks Series then you must read this book because the epilogue is about Sam Henry and Jordan Woods.
To someone who has taken sports like their life depends on it when they were in high school, they would definitely relate to this book like I did. I myself dedicated most of my time to extracurricular activities that I had no time for relationships so really did enjoy reading it.
This is a contemporary book, and we expect to have the plot focus more on love or romance but it is not like that in this book. I really like that the story centers to their daily schedule of training and the pressure and stress of winning.
A lot of instances was portrayed in this novel. For instance, while there are supportive parents, there are also parents who only wants their child to be the best and does not appreciate him or her when he ends up in a second place. Another thing is some do sports for fun while others take it seriously. And there are other relatable scenes in the book.
The love story between the characters are predictable but still fun to read.
Overall, this book deserves a high rating and if you have been reading Hundred Oaks Series then you must read this book because the epilogue is about Sam Henry and Jordan Woods.