COMING UP FOR AIR is an intense and heart-wrenching YA contemporary with some heavy themes. The book is told between two years, junior and senior, but primarily in the past to show the lead up to the present. Hadley has sworn off dating after her break-up with Noah and to avoid becoming like her sister, Remy, who seems to go through guys and break-ups frequently. She is happy to hang out with her BFFs, Becca, Tyler, and Becca's boyfriend, Greg.

When she is getting some community service hours by staffing the table at the boy's swim meet, taking Becca's shift when she has a conflict, she gets to see the new swim team member, Braden, a guy her sister warned her is bad news. And he's in his Speedo without a ride, as the other team members took his clothes and left him behind in a hazing ritual. He convinces Hadley to give him a ride, and the more they get to talking, the more they find to like.

While the beginning was quite a romance ride, things begin taking a turn later in the book, and Hadley has to decide who she wants to be and who she wants to date.

What I loved: While the first part of the book is heavily romance, the later half of the book is much more, with many difficult themes. Hadley is definitely coming-of-age as she tries to decide who she will be and what that will entail. The book felt very atmospheric, and the writing pulls the reader into Hadley's life seamlessly. The romance was every bit as intense as it felt for Hadley, and we also get swept away in the emotions of it all - and then in the emotions as everything changes. This book deals with some difficult themes of cancer, athlete injury, addiction, and unhealthy relationships. It felt raw, genuine, and compelling throughout.

What left me wanting more: As a small point, I would have liked to see more of the resources for teens who may find themselves in similar situations. Importantly, we do eventually get the tell parents part, but I think there are also other resources needed for both teens. I also wasn't sure about the way the book ended romantically, particularly after such a emotional read that I would have liked to see a more introspection and independent ending, but that may just have been me.

Final verdict: Raw, genuine, and compelling, COMING UP FOR AIR is a sweeping YA contemporary coming-of-age novel that I would highly recommend. Recommend for fans of A CONSTELLATION OF ROSES, BREATHLESS, and HEROINE.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

This was a good book. There were a few things that bothered me, mainly the character of Hadley. I just could not get behind her. I wasn’t connected to her and I wasn’t rooting for her. This of course, made the book not as enjoyable, but the writing and plot was still good. I was still intrigued the entire time and I wanted to keep reading!

Coming Up for Air
by Nicole B. Tyndall
Pub Date: 15 Dec 2020
Already bought this one for my library. My students will love it. This one is more about relationships than romance, but has enough drama to keep you interested.

COMING UP FOR AIR is one of the finest young adult novels I have read in some time. I'm always wary of contemporary novels that combine a romance with a timely, hard-hitting issue, but if there is any clever, respectful way to do it, Nicole B. Tyndall has found it.

First things first: the romance! I'm of an age where young adult romance can be a bit grating for me, either hopelessly unrealistic or painfully overwritten. But the romance in COMING UP FOR AIR was perfect. The characters felt wholly realized and their banter was witty, but age-appropriate and often pleasingly surprising. The description "swoon-worthy" feels overused, but it's the only way to describe the relationship in this book. Braden was every book boyfriend I ever dreamed of, and I found the protagonist's first brush with love to be as endearing as it was real.

The addiction component of COMING UP FOR AIR was equally well-written. Braden falls into his addiction slowly following a prescription for pain after a sports injury. He is a "good kid," and not at all the kind who believes (or whose parents would ever believe) that he could fall into an addiction so quickly. And yet, Tyndall explores it all: the withdrawals, the fear, the lies, and the all-consuming addiction. What I loved most was that she never shamed Braden; she makes it clear that addiction is an illness just like cancer, but that it is still important for users to seek treatment, much like a cancer victim would seek radiation and chemotherapy.

I found the mother's plotline a bit too convenient at first, but when the protagonist has her life-saving realization about her college project at the end, she had me hook, line, and sinker. I realized then that the protagonist's mother was there to act as a foil to Braden and to highlight the ways addiction IS indeed a sickness. Gorgeously written, compassionate, and clever, this one will stick with me for a very, very long time.

Coming Up for Air took me back to when I fell in love with for the first time. I think Nicole Tyndall did an incredible job bringing those intense feelings back to life. Hadley and Braden falling in love amidst all of the challenges high school has to offer, familial problems, and friend drama felt authentic in a way that took my breath away.

Jock Braden and photographer Hadley might seem at first to be unevenly matched, but their chemistry is electrifying and there are few other couples in YA contemporary lit who match them. We learn immediately that there has been an accident, Braden is in the hospital, and Hadley, though she appears to have broken things off with Braden, is so heartbroken and distressed. The narration then takes us back in time to the beginning of their relationship, and it is so lovely to watch them fall in love, but there is a darkness, as we know the way it seems to end. Braden's addiction takes its toll on Hadley, who is also dealing with the cancer diagnosis of her mom. Their story feels so real, and brings to light the pressures so many of today's teens are facing in terms of being perfect or reaching so high to get those college scholarships, no matter what they have to do to get there. I think many teens will be able to relate to this relationship, and even now, having mercifully survived high school a decade ago, this book brought back feelings and memories I had long forgotten. I think this book has got a place right alongside Eleanor and Park and All the Bright Places.

Content warnings: This book is for mature teens. There is sex, drug addiction, partying, and profanity. But it is also a beautifully written tribute to the high school experience and falling in real love for the first time.

In Nicole Tyndall's Coming Up for Air, the reader is introduced to main character Hadley, a girl who seems to have everything: a nuclear family complete with twin older siblings Remy and Judd, a group of besties , Becca, Tyler, and Becca's boyfriend Greg, a job at Becca's family restaurant, and a quest to pursue photography in college.

Hadley's sworn off boys for junior year, having just come off a disappointing first relationship. But then she subs for Becca to sell tickets at the school swim meet, and meets Braden Roberts. Hadley's sister had already warned her new boy Braden was bad news, but the way he makes her feel pushes Hadley in the direction of the bad boy. Except he's not as bad as she's been told, and they fall into a relationship.

Things get complicated when Hadley's mother has a resurgence of breast cancer, and this time it's bad, and Braden tears a muscle at a swim meet. Hadley is torn between her family and her boyfriend's spiraling out of control. She soon realizes that his dependence on opioids is the problem, as he refuses to risk his potential Stanford admission to have surgery to fix his shoulder.

The story is told in sections, taking the reader into the past and then back to the present. The reader learns Hadley's backstory as well as gets sucked in to the present storyline. It's a great read and the ending is a bit of a surprise, but in a good way.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book. I read it with the same intensity that I read Everything, Everything and Five Feet Apart . The relationship was amazing (shout-out to Tyndall for creating a lovely first-time scene that allowed for both partners to express their fears, their desires, and to continuously check in on each other throughout) and the whole time you are reading, you know that the story is heading to something tragic (thanks dual timelines!) but you keep thinking that MAYBE, just MAYBE, it won't happen. This is a wonderful addition to realistic fiction shelves in all YA collections. Highly recommend. First purchase type of stuff here.

Hadley just broke up with her boyfriend and is sure she is ready to take a break from dating. She's seen what it does to her older sister Remy, who has a revolving door of loser dates, but all of that goes dangerously off the rails when she meets Braden. All-star athlete, rumored "bad-boy", and one of the most charming guys she's ever met. When they're together, she decides to take the risk. And it seems worth it. Until her family receives some tragic news. And Braden starts hiding a dark secret. And then it doesn't feel like love anymore, but something scarier. And Hadley has to wonder if, in the end, her choices were the right ones or if she made a huge mistake.

Coming Up for Air is a powerful novel by Nicole B. Tyndall. The author manages to capture the feeling of all-consuming first love between Hadley and Braden. Hadley is torn between the worlds of her boyfriend, family, and longtime best friends. It takes all her strength to choose.

I found this novel to be beautifully structured as it flashes back to tell Hadley and Braden's story. Ultimately, I thought it was a beautiful book about finding strength deep within yourself and setting boundaries for healthy relationships, no matter how devastating it feels at the time.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning: cancer and cancer treatment, opioid addiction, toxic relationships, teen pressures (sports, college, etc.)

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was very well done with just the right amount of momentum. I wanted to know what was coming next the whole time. It is a bit angsty but it is for teens so that is part of the package. Although I will probably not be purchasing this for the library because it was not original. It was well done but nothing mind blowing.

A sweet coming of age story of first love and romance that you will not want to stop reading. The characters grow up through grief, addiction and many relevant issues youth face today.

Coming up for Air grabs you from the first page and you are hooked. Hadley wants to start her Junior Year focused and she's determined to get into her dream Art School. She definitely didn't plan on Braden, star of the swim team to stir things up and ruin her plans. As Hadley and Braden grow closer their relationship suffers an unexpected detour. With great characters and real issues, this one had me flying through it in two days. I can not wait to read another book by Nicole B. Tyndall.

This is a beautiful coming of age story about family, first love, and figuring out next life steps.
Hadley's mom has cancer and that really drew me into the story because my mother has had cancer twice, once while I was also in high school. I think Hadley really is shown through her character and how she deals with everything going on or falling apart around her.

This story alternates before and after an accident, which isn't fully described until quite a bit later in the book. This is for sure a way to get me to keep reading, but I felt that Hadley and Braden's relationship didn't get enough time to shine.

Even though that aspect left me wanting a bit more I felt that the story wrapped up well. I felt that many teens can relate to this story and will be recommending it.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Hadley wants to keep her distance from boys after seeing her sister get burned repeatedly and her family's cancer scare, but bad boy Braden figures out a way in to her heart. Their romance is sweet and captures that first love feeling, which will attract many readers. Braden isn't all he seems though, and this becomes a story of addiction and deception and broken trust.

The narrative jumps in time between "before" and "after," which helps to build suspense and give depth to Hadley,

This will appeal to many YA readers who love stories of love and love gone bad.

<i> Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This was a really sweet story of family and first love.

One of my favorite tropes in books is the hate-to-love. While it isn't quite as strong in this novel as it is in others, there is still that build up. Hadley meets Braden after hearing from her sister that he is a womanizing scumbag and to steer clear. He is immediately charming, which only serves to raise her hackles even more, despite her grudgingly acknowledging the attraction.

As their romance blooms, her family's worst fear about her mother's cancer remission is realized. Suddenly, Hadley is juggling her family responsibilities and the stress of a sick parent with a boyfriend who seems to be spiraling out after an injury that could potentially set back his swimming dreams.

The story alternates before and after an accident, which isn't fully described until quite a bit later in the book. While this was good for building a degree of suspense and for keeping me turning the pages, I also feel like it did a bit of disservice to the story of Hadley and Braden's romance. For this being the story of her first great love, there were only a few real scenes between the two of them, and I was left wanting just a bit more.

Regardless, I thought this was a lovely story of love and family and heartbreak and recovery and seeing what was right in front of you the whole time. It ended on a really great note, and I felt pleased with how it all wrapped up.

Definitely a good read, and I would happily read more by this author!