Learning Not to Drown. (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781416993933)

Family secrets cut to the bone in this mesmerizing debut novel about a teen whose drug-addicted brother is the prodigal son one time too many.

There is a pecking order to every family. Seventeen-year old Clare is the overprotected baby; Peter is the typical, rebellious middle child; and Luke is the oldest, the can't-do-wrong favorite. To their mother, they are a normal, happy family.

To Clare, they are a family on the verge of disaster. Clare: the ambitious striver; Peter: the angry ticking time bomb; and Luke: a drug-addicted convicted felon who has been in and out of jail for as long as Clare can remember--and who has always been bailed out by their parents.

Clare loves Luke, but life as his sister hasn't been easy. And when he comes home (again), she wants to believe this time will be different (again). Yet when the truths behind his arrests begin to surface, everything Clare knows is shaken to its core. And then Luke is arrested. Again.

Except this time is different, because Clare's mom does the unthinkable on Luke's behalf, and Clare has to decide whether turning her back on family is a selfish act...or the only way to keep from drowning along with them.

Author: Anna Shinoda
ISBN-10: 1416993932
ISBN-13: 9781416993933
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 04/01/2014
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.60w x 1.40d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2014
Booklist 04/15/2014 pg. 49
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2014 pg. 541
School Library Journal 06/01/2014 pg. 129
Publishers Weekly 06/23/2014
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2014 pg. 129 - Recommended, Satisfactory