Absorbed

By: Jaime Townzen

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky

A "Clueless meets Baywatch at a community pool" kind of novel.

Lifeguard Stacey Chapman is dreaming of love, and drowning in bad decisions.

It's 1996, the summer before senior year, and Stacey attempts MTV cool-girl confidence while flirting with Jessie, a sexy skateboarder she's ogled all year. When Jessie pressures her into sex, Stacey's unprepared and afraid to say no. Too ashamed to confide in her mom or her best friend, Gabe, she conspires with another lifeguard to destroy Jessie's reputation, and in the process they obliterate Stacey's good-girl image.

Finding refuge in her art teacher's watercolor workshop, Stacey finally begins to untangle who she has become from the art and music career she really wants. But before summer is over, a botched pool rescue snaps Jessie's spinal cord, and Stacey has to answer for her part in the tragedy.

For fans of Jenny Han’s Summer I Turned Pretty series, Jessica Anya Blau’s Mary Jane, Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall and Allison Larkin’s The People We Keep.

©2024 Jaime Townzen (P)2025 Jaime Townzen

Critic reviews

“Relationships memorably ebb and flow over hot summer days in a Southern California town. Stacey’s teenage angst is universal and will resonate with young readers of any era; altogether, this is an absorbing read.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Absorbed is a great reminder of how difficult it can be navigating the teenage years, but also how those experiences can shape who we become." –Jessica Snoke, Reedsy Discovery

“What at first seems like a teenage beach read turns into a tribute to art’s place in a young woman’s life. What she learns and applies in her life about perspective, expression, and letting go inspires the book’s audience, too.” —Mari Carlson, US Review of Books

Brings me back to high school.

Great story! Great Performance. I really enjoyed everything about this book. I highly recommend it.