Learning to Swim

By: Sara J. Henry

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

"If I'd blinked, I would have missed it. But I didn't, and I saw something fall from the rear deck of the opposite ferry: a small, wide-eyed human face, in one tiny frozen moment, as it plummeted toward the water."

When she witnesses a small child tumbling from a ferry into Lake Champlain, Troy Chance dives in without thinking. Harrowing moments later, she bobs to the surface, pulling a terrified little boy with her. As the ferry disappears into the distance, she begins a bone-chilling swim nearly a mile to shore towing a tiny passenger. Surprisingly, he speaks only French. He'll acknowledge that his name is Paul; otherwise, he's resolutely mute.

Troy assumes that Paul's frantic parents will be in touch with the police or the press. But what follows is a shocking and deafening silence. And Troy, a freelance writer, finds herself as fiercely determined to protect Paul as she is to find out what happened to him. She'll need skill and courage to survive and protect her charge and herself.

Sara J. Henry's powerful and compelling Learning to Swim will move and disturb listeners right up to its shattering conclusion.

©2011 Sara J. Henry (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Sara J. Henry opens her first novel like a pro.... the throbbing heart of the story is right out of Jane Eyre." ( The New York Times Book Review)

"In her debut, the first in a projected series, Henry proves herself to be a smooth and compelling storyteller. And her lead is highly appealing: An athletic, fiercely independent young woman who, like crime-fiction author Gillian Flynn’s feisty females, is capable of making delightfully acerbic observations." ( Booklist)

"A compelling plot, a pervading sense of foreboding, well-constructed characters." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Difficult Truth

What did you love best about Learning to Swim?

Learning to Swim was a well thought out novel. Thinking about the novel, one of the best things about it was that there was no foul language. Incredible as is sounds, it made for a good reading experience. The novel didn't use sex as one of its focal points either. Learning to Swim was an all around enjoyable mystery.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed all of the characters. Yes, even the not-so-nice one's, too. Sara Henry created well developed character's. The character's were all given essential parts, making it possible to know what made each character a real person. Ottawa, Lake Placid as well as Burlington, seemed to be somewhere that I would like to visit. The author inserted a believable essence to the people as well as the environs. I became involved with a story that I may easily have been a part of.

What about Suzanne Toren’s performance did you like?

Suzanne Toren's performance was excellent. She created voices that belonged to the character's. The inflection's needed to create a mood or feeling were well done. I was able to distinguish which character was speaking. Her narrating skills were great.

If you could take any character from Learning to Swim out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would invite Troy out to dinner. First, her choices would be eateries that had reasonable prices but good food. Second, Troy would be an easy person to share a conversation with and she would also be a good listener. She would be honest and if asked to keep the conversation between the two of us, I know that she would not tell another person. Our time shared together would be enjoyable and when I headed for home I would have had a good time with a friend,.

Any additional comments?

I think that it would be nice if this book would be able to be a series. The ending was different than other novel's but the ending did go along with the author's writing style. The novel was a pleasant read. I would listen to another book written by her and I would also listen to another book narrated by Suzanne Toren.

Probably the best book club book.

You join a book club to read and socialize. Sometimes the books don't appeal to you but you try to read them anyway. This is NOT that kind of book. Right from the beginning I wanted to know what would happen and how Troy would react. To say I'm impressed would be an understatement. This was a great book and it is worth reading and or listening to. Good mystery. Good thriller. Maybe the accents done by the reader weren't always believable? I got over it, just to know what happened next. I would like to try another book from this author.

Unlikely but entertaining!

While I thought the story was quite unlikely I still enjoyed how it was told. It was surprisingly gripping for such a far-fetched tale. I will be getting more books by this author.

Entertaining

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I agree with other reviewers that the story started out strong and then went downhill, but it still kept me engaged. I expect the series will get stronger as it goes along. I did not like Suzanne Toren as the narrator - her voice for Troy was tolerable, but for the other female characters is was downright jarring. I'm glad she's not reading the next one.

A Little Predictable, But Still...

This is a story that leads you to the end with all the subtlety of an anvil. That being said I enjoyed it. There are some glimmers that are very well written and evoke a feeling and a mind picture. The narrator is a little tiresome, particularly when trying to make male voices, they end up sounding a little like a cartoon character (I want to say Foghorn Leghorn but I know that's not right).

It's an average story. One that I enjoyed, but have almost forgotten already.

Surprising twist

Liked the main character and how credible she was. The story had good twists and turns. The ending wasn't what I had expected.

Good Voice, lots of filler

SPOILERS: This was a decent story, I liked the idea, but the execution was off. They found the boy's family much too fast & then dragged out the obvious twist at the end. could have been an effective short story.

Excellent Narration--Great Story!

I was not familiar with the author, nor narrator, but I'm certainly glad I took a chance on them.

Suzanne Toren gave a wonderful performance with the ability to change her voice for the different characters.

You will not get bored with the story, with it's likable characters and intrigue. With one heroic act, many lives are changed. I don't want to be a spoiler, but will say the ending is quite unexpected.

I highly recommend it!

Very Good Book

I really enjoyed this book. I did not realize when I bought the book, that this was a mystery. Which IMO made the book even better.
The story was well written, and the main characters interesting.
I must get up to Canada, and try some of the fries, with goat cheese and gravy; and washed down with a Pepsi ;-)

Only caveat, is that there were some annoying skips in the recording. Adudible should fix this.

Good Read

Interesting book kept me guessing... never read this author before. will be reading more. from this author.