Review: Coming Up for Air (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally

Coming Up for Air (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally

Blurb from Goodreads:

Swim. Eat. Shower. School. Snack. Swim. Swim. Swim. Dinner. Homework. Bed. Repeat.

All of Maggie’s focus and free time is spent swimming. She’s not only striving to earn scholarships—she’s training to qualify for the Olympics. It helps that her best friend, Levi, is also on the team and cheers her on. But Levi’s already earned an Olympic try out, so she feels even more pressure to succeed. And it’s not until Maggie’s away on a college visit that she realizes how much of the “typical” high school experience she’s missed by being in the pool.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Maggie decides to squeeze the most out of her senior year. First up? Making out with a guy. And Levi could be the perfect candidate. After all, they already spend a lot of time together. But as Maggie slowly starts to uncover new feelings for Levi, how much is she willing to lose to win?

My Review:
No one writes more realistic, sex positive contemporary YA than Miranda Kenneally.  And her abilities in this area are a huge reason why I not only love her Hundred Oaks series but why I think this series is a must read, especially for teenage and adult women.  She always manages to capture what it was like to be in high school, at least what I felt like in high school, and her latest book, Coming Up for Air, is no exception.  I immediately connected with Maggie - she's driven and dedicated to swimming but she also has normal feelings and curiosities like every teenager.  The friendships she had were such a highlight in this book, both with Levi but also with her core group who meets every Friday.  I found these weekly meetings so endearing and reminiscent of being in high school. I also loved the descriptions of swimming -- the practices, the competitions, the traveling. This book was just so well developed in its plot and characters that I couldn't put it down.  I am sad to see this series end (this is the last book) but this book contains an amazing epilogue and I can't wait to see what Miranda writes next!  I can't recommend this series enough and I know I will re-read all of these books often.
Coming Up For Air comes out tomorrow on July 4, 2017, you can purchase HERE.  I cannot stress enough how amazing and important this series is - it is a must read for teens and adults alike.

What if fooling around with Levi is fueling stronger emotion that may or may not be real? Once it happened, feelings started blooming, as if I threw a bunch of seeds over my shoulder, and a month later, wildflowers were all over my yard. They are beautiful, but not what I had planned. Is that okay? Or will it all grow out of control and mess up our friendship?