Coming Up for Aiir by Miranda Kenneally

Summary from Goodreads:

Swim. Eat. Shower. School. Snack. Swim. Swim. Swim. Dinner. Homework. Bed. Repeat.

All of Maggie’s focus and free time is spent swimming. She’s not only striving to earn scholarships—she’s training to qualify for the Olympics. It helps that her best friend, Levi, is also on the team and cheers her on. But Levi’s already earned an Olympic tryout, so Maggie feels even more pressure to succeed. And it’s not until Maggie’s away on a college visit that she realizes how much of the “typical” high school experience she’s missed by being in the pool.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Maggie decides to squeeze the most out of her senior year. First up? Making out with a guy. And Levi could be the perfect candidate. After all, they already spend a lot of time together. But as Maggie slowly starts to uncover new feelings for Levi, how much is she willing to sacrifice in the water to win at love?

Review:

I love this author. I love how relatable all her main characters are. I love her focus on girl athletes. And I love that the sport or point of focus for these girls isn’t all that defines them.

If there were one main character whose sport defined them the most though, it would be Maggie. She lives and breathes swimming. And finally, I read about a girl who played the same sport as me. I was on a swim team for four years. I’ve done the super early practices. And I’ve done the weekend long meets. I knew all about the strokes, the times, the pools, and everything. And it felt so nice to read about a girl who did the same thing as me…except, who took it a lot more seriously.

I love that Maggie works so hard for it. She isn’t a naturally good athlete. She spends hours every day working to be better. I love that her flaws involve watching other swimmers and speeding up too early. What teen girl can’t fall behind, wasting time thinking about where others are and what others are doing? I love that she discovers a talent for a different stroke. I love her parents and their support.

I liked that this was about Maggie growing up and becoming a woman as much as it was about her working to become an Olympic athlete. I loved her rivalry with another swimmer. I loved her close group of friends who all related to the focus and drive needed to play a sport competitively. Though, there was a little bit of a cheese factor with them. Like they were almost too convenient and always said just the right thing.

Maggie took some getting used to. It took me a little longer to fully love her as a main character. I think this is because of how good she is. But as I read this, the more I loved her because she wanted more. I also super loved the romance. I love romance that starts as friendship. I love how awkward things are between the friends in the beginning. And I love that they both have to figure out what exactly it is that they want from each other. And I also love that swimming is first for Maggie. Always.

All in all, this was another fun installment for Miranda Keanneally. I read it super fast and it was the exact, light hearted romance I needed to read this summer. It’s not my favorite of the author’s works, but I really enjoyed it. I give it an 8/10.