The premise of Girl Underwater was similar to The Three when a handful of people miraculously survived a plane crash. This story focused on college swimmer, Avery, and in alternating chapters, told about her quest to survive in the wilderness after the crash and then her attempt to return to a normal life once she was rescued.
The events of the plane crash where she and teammate Colin helped save three young boys was fascinating. They survived on small amounts of food and told stories to help soothe the young boys. Yet, knowing Avery was rescued eliminated most of the suspense of the crash story. At times this felt like a YA book, not just because Avery was a college student, but because her obstacles were boyfriends and crushes. The writing was simple with short sentences, but the writing pulled out the emotions from all the characters to make this more of an adult read. Avery stubbornly refused to admit she had PTSD even though she was not able to handle the stress and terror of surviving in her own. By the end of the novel, the entire story was suddenly all about Avery getting back into the water and being able to move on from the tragedy she survived. The change in direction coupled with the quick ending and equally fast way that Avery was rescued, left me unsatisfied. The build up just fizzled into a smooth resolution without much explanation.
This was an okay read, but maybe is more geared toward a younger audience.
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