Night Swimming

Gr 9 Up–It’s the summer of 1994, and recent high school graduates Trevor and Sarah are already feeling nostalgic for all that they’ll be leaving behind come August. As a final summer send-off, they make a secret pact to sneak in to and swim in every pool in their small town of Sutton, NY. Trevor hopes this will provide an opportunity to explore his growing feelings for Sarah. Their friends start to speculate about all the time the two are spending together when Trevor lets their secret slip and soon the whole group is pool-hopping, changing the vibe. At the last pool on their list, they’re caught by a nonchalant owner who shares with them a secret pool, fed by a spring, on the edge of town. They decide they need to go that night. At the pool, they find themselves continually drawn back to the water and begin to notice strange things happening. Starmer has crafted an eerie and ethereal setting of a perfect, humid summer night with friends. It’s a speculative and quiet slow burn of a novel that’s focused more on thoughts and feelings than any sort of action; Trevor is not much more than his yearning for Sarah. While a quiet romance at its core, the characters also explore their fear of change, the upcoming unknown, and how time impacts their relationships.