Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Swimming Lessons

Name: Swimming Lessons
Author: Mary Alice Monroe
ISBN: 9781460307601

by Mary Alice Monroe

Write a review

Overview

Toy Sooner has dealt with enough rough waves in her troubled past. It's only been through the enduring love of a close-knit group of women on this tiny island that she's finally started to find her footing. But as new challenges in her career arise for this young single mother, the choices and demons of her past will catch up to her. Soon Toy will learn that, like the steadfast sea turtles she cares for, a mother must find the strength within herself to make it safely to shore.

About the Author, Mary Alice Monroe

Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels, including The Butterfly’s Daughter, The Beach House, Time is a River, and Last Light over Carolina.

She found her true calling in environmental fiction when she moved to coastal South Carolina. Already a successful author, she was captivated by the beauty and fragility of her new home. Her experiences living in the midst of a habitat that was quickly changing gave her a strong and important focus for her books. Her latest novel, The Butterfly’s Daughter (May 2011), is set against the phenomenal migration of the endangered monarch butterfly. She has also explored the problems of endangered sea turtles (The Beach House, Swimming Lessons, and her first children’s book, Turtle Summer), raptors (Skyward), the indigenous grass and endangered coastal ecosystem of South Carolina (Sweetgrass), the rivers and mountains of North Carolina (Time is a River), and the disappearing world of the coastal shrimping industry (Last Light over Carolina).

Mary Alice is an active conservationist who is a board member of the South Carolina Aquarium and is a member of the Isle of Palms/Sullivan’s Island Turtle Team. For more information, visit her website www.maryalicemonroe.com.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Sick sea turtles and a sharply drawn cast mark Monroe's hardcover debut, an inspirational tale of redemption and, naturally, the power of love. Single mom Toy Sooner has two loves: her daughter, Lovie, and sea turtles, so when sick sea turtles wash up near Charleston, S.C ., one summer and overwhelm the area's resources for turtle aid, Toy is tapped by the president of the aquarium where she works to land a grant for setting up a turtle hospital. This means long nights of work alongside fetching aquarium director Ethan Legare. Their evenings at Toy's home (where Ethan gets on splendidly with Lovie) stir Toy's dormant emotions. Meanwhile, Toy's friends wrestle with their own issues-aging, infertility, money problems, postdivorce blues. After Toy's grant is approved, she is put in charge of the turtle hospital and things are pretty swell-until Lovie's father, Darryl, suddenly reappears, intent on playing a role in Lovie's life. Toy is torn, and trouble is in the offing. A crisis hits very late in the book, giving the narrative a lopsided feel. Though billed as the sequel to Beach House (2002), the novel stands on its own and will likely widen Monroe's readership. (Apr.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.