The First Rule of Swimming has great themes. One I appreciated the most was the theme of belonging. It took me a bit to get into the story (moved a little slow), but once I did, it was worth it. Also a shout out for the gorgeous cover. Big thanks to the publisher for the Netgalley approval!

"The First Rule of Swimming" by Courtney Angela Brkic is a poignant novel that explores themes of family, identity, and belonging. The story follows the lives of a Croatian-American family living on an island in the Adriatic Sea, where secrets and past traumas threaten to tear them apart.

The author skillfully weaves together multiple storylines and perspectives, creating a rich and complex narrative that keeps the reader engaged. The characters are well-drawn and multidimensional, and their struggles feel authentic and relatable.

One area where the novel could have been stronger is in its pacing. At times, the story moves too slowly, and some sections feel repetitive or unnecessary. Additionally, some of the dialogue can feel stilted or forced, which can detract from the emotional impact of certain scenes.

Overall, "The First Rule of Swimming" is a moving and thought-provoking novel that explores important themes with sensitivity and depth. While it has some flaws, it is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in family dramas and stories of cultural identity.

Moving and magnificent. Beautifully written.
Many thanks to Little Brown and Company and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Such a gorgeous cover! An interesting story, hard to get into at first, but ultimately worth sticking with.

Dear Publisher - I was unable to finish this book before the digital ARC expired. I appreciate the opportunity to review this title before it was published and hope you will continue to approve access to your titles! I am continually hand selling titles I have read to my customers and recommending them on Goodreads, Litsy and my personal blog.

There is really fantastic writing here, but over the past years I've come back to it again and again. For some reason I'm just not drawn into the story. Just not for me.

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

I enjoyed reading about the ethnic groups and in reading this book I realized a location can be a character. The location was so important in the development. I had a little confusion at times where the story was taking place, but slowing down my reading helped.

Content Warning: rape, child abuse, torture, fascist state, revolution.

Every time I wanted to quit, something finally happened & made me want to find out what happened next.

Eventually tried to DNF it and read the ending but it didn't make any damn sense so I went back to reading it.

Now that it's over and some time has past I can appreciate the overall story and themes. But damn was it a yo-yo slog to get there.

Might actually be better as a movie. I don't think I've ever said that before.

Liked Magdalena as a kid protecting her sister. Their cousin coming clean as an adult. Even their mom in the end came through. Their aunt was the best side character. Love the side by side Cuban & Croatian experiences.

I guess all well that ends well.

This cover is gorgeous!!! I had high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed. This book explores the complicated relationships between sisters and other family members.

Excellent debut.

Book was just not what I was expecting. It was more contemplative than I wanted at the time I read it, which colors my view of the story. The scenery descriptions are heavenly--makes me want to visit Croatia and see it for myself. I didn't warm to any of the characters, but they are incredibly well-described and I got a good picture of who they are and their motivations.

I like the concept of the book (Balkans) and the writing is actually very beautiful. That said, I was not captured by the story and did not feel the switch between the characters was done in a manner that kept me angaged.

It's hard to believe this is a debut title from this author, she truly has the grasp on what it takes to write a good mystery novel . This has so many twists and turns it was hard to figure out how it was all going to fall in place at the end, but it did and very nicely.

Great book!

Unfortunately I did not finish this one.
I read 20% (that's about 60 pages) and, honestly, I was bored out of my mind.

I can't really say what it was, but the narrative simply didn't draw me in.

I liked this title so much I ended up using it in my book club. It developed characters very well and the mystery was unlike any I had ever read.

Although I was provided an advance reader's copy of this book, I actually did not read it and therefore cannot provide feedback. Thank you.

Magdalena and her younger sister Jadranka live on the island of Rosmarina with their grandparents. Their mother Ana is alive but she lives on the mainland of Croatia. The rest of the family, including a cousin their age has left for America to escape the specter of Communism with its web of informers and spies. It is the sisters’ lives and relationships that is the focus of Courtney Brkic’s debut novel, The First Rule of Swimming. Magdalena is the ballast to the balloon of Jadranka’s artistic and dramatic temperament. As she grows older, the island begins to feel more like a prison she must escape to flourish but for Magdalena it is the root of her existence. She teaches school and still sleeps in her childhood bedroom while helping her grandmother look after her beloved grandfather who has suffered a stroke. When their cousin, Katarina, offers Jadranka the chance to move to America and live with her family in exchange for helping with her children, she accepts. It is the first time in their lives that the sisters are separated and when Jadranka disappears, Magdalena feels she has no choice but to retrace her steps, go to New York City and find her sister. She has no idea that the physical journey will be miniscule compared to the emotional enormity of what she discovers about their family.

The events of the past in The First Rule of Swimming act like the tide, bringing up new bits of detritus and things better left buried while sweeping out preconceived notions or beliefs about the past. Magdalena is so certain of her reality that as the layers peel back she is buffeted by what is true and what she believed. Brkic enhances this feeling of being adrift by writing the novel from various points of view, including Luka, the girls’ grandfather who has had a stroke but is very much aware of the world around him and contributes to the story when his mind churns back to the past. The changing viewpoints allow the reader to more fully experience the truth as it unfolds.

Brikic’s family is from Croatia and her memories of the coast and its beauty come through in her prose as does the stoic acceptance of life as it is rather than as one would hope. Each of the characters has lost some important part of themselves but Jadranka is the only one who defies the secretive norms of her family in her search for answers. Her determination to get to the truth of the family’s past sweeps everyone along, even those for whom the past is something they want only to forget. As her mother says, “Some things belong only to the people who lived them.”