A very interesting book and a great audiobook. I found the book to be very engaging and interesting. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Written in the extremely expressive composition “All the Water I’ve Seen Is Running” is an unobstructed and eventually moving presentation novel with regards to companionship, sorrow, and compromise. While this book won’t engage the individuals who are searching for a story-driven read, if the readers want to read a calm yet glimmering character, then this book is for them.

In the wake of moving on from secondary school, Daniel, our main character, is generally very anxious to abandon Florida. Daniel’s childhood was highlighted by a feeling of otherness. A long time later, Daniel lives and functions as an instructor in New York, scarcely staying in contact with his mom (who went back to Jamaica) and his old companions. At the point when he discovers that Aubrey, his secondary school closest companion, passed away, Daniel wants to go back to Palm Coast. There he puts in a couple of days with his previous group however he’s uncertain whether he needs them to know about his sexuality. As he reconnects with them, he ends up thinking back on his experiences with Aubrey. Aubrey was unfeeling and rash. She was additionally very equipped for saying hostile, bigot as well as rude things to others. Those flashbacks tell the readers about Daniel’s troublesome adolescence, specifically of his experience with his dad.

The story doesn’t drop any gigantic bombs. Once back in Palm Coast, Daniel questions his companionship with Audrey. As he moved away from her before secondary school and since she’s dead, he’s loaded up with responsibility and pity. The majority of the scenes inside this novel inferred long following shots. While the discussions and contentions that happen inside this book struck me as true, however, the personality of these characters is not given much concentration. I loved the author’s exposition, the practical mood of his discoursed, and his sharp eye for depiction. I accept that this is a promising presentation and I recommend this book to readers who like character-driven books.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* i wasn't too sure how much i would like this book after i started listening but was quickly happy to hear i was wrong, i ended up loving this book and wouldn't mind rereading it in the future

This book stirred up a feeling of general uneasiness in me. I don’t know if it’s because the coastal Florida beaches of its setting are places I’ve vacationed, my own complex feelings about high school, or the novel’s challenging subject matter. The story is centered on the return of Daniel, the main character, to his hometown to visit his high school friends in the aftermath of his first love’s unexpected death. In between accounts of his visits, Rodriques also covers Daniel’s families complex interracial history, slavery, racism, and religion.The story itself is layered and compelling but perhaps a little too ambitious and left me wishing it would have had a little less breadth and more depth.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC.

Recommended for: those interested in stories that are focused on intersectional identities

Categories: Fiction, Multiple Narrators, Coming of Age

Content Warnings: Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Death, Alcohol/Drug Use

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for granting me access to the audiobook.

This is the first time i'm reading this type of book so do excuse my low quality review.

This book is more of a character driven story because we follow our main character deal with the death of girl he loved and we get to see some snipets of his past with her and also his school time. We're also join the MC as he explore again his ethnicity so we get to see our MC past where his mom told him all things about their people and also from his own perspective.

Eventhough i can't really get into the book that well but i really love the friendship relationship in this book and i enjoyed my time reading it.

Reviewing a book like this is very difficult because it is so much more than the typical modern work of fiction. It's poetic, cinematic, dreamlike.... it just carries you along through Daniel's journey to reconcile a past long behind him, yet still firmly gripping him tight. Elias Rodriques has given birth to a stunning debut novel, full of passion and longing. If you appreciate a wonderfully told story that floats along slowly and deliberately-- that become a part of you- this is for you.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange fro an honest review.

3.5 stars
Different than expected and I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of characters and it is an emotion driven story. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

Such an interesting story!

Daniel is flooded with memories, anger, frustration and regrets. His trip to his old town is emotional and liberating. He's so deep in the past that he forgets to live, nothing but numb routine.

I specially enjoyed learning about Jamaica and his ancestors. The slavery, the racism, the violence and losses all his family suffered. He's doing his best to free himself from that "destiny".

It's a quiet, thoughtful read, easy to dive into. Kind of a slice-of-life story. I recommend this to anyone!

TW: death, car accidents, violence, guns, alcohol.

3 ¼ stars

Written in an exceedingly lyrical prose All the Water I've Seen Is Running is a subtle and ultimately moving debut novel about friendship, grief, and reconciliation. While All the Water I've Seen Is Running will not necessarily appeal to those who are looking for a story-driven read, if you are looking for a quiet yet scintillating character study, you should consider picking this one up. Elias Rodriques' stirring meditations on loss and identity, as well as his ability to capture in startling detail the landscapes his characters inhabit, make for an evocative read. The narrative has this almost-cinematic quality to it that gave me some serious A24 coming-of-age film vibes. Rodriques' elegiac style brought to mind authors such as Ocean Vuong, Tomasz Jedrowski, Philippe Besson, and Dantiel W. Moniz, so if you enjoy any of their work chances are you will enjoy All the Water I've Seen Is Running. Whereas I loved Rodriques' language, his ability to capture with crystal clarity the scenes or moments he writes of, I did feel that his novel was missing a certain je ne se quoi, and I think that it had to do with the relationship that is meant to be at the very heart of its narrative.

After graduating from high school, Daniel, our narrator and protagonist, is all-too-eager to leave Florida behind. As the mixed-race queer son of Jamaican immigrants, Daniel's childhood and teenage years were underscored by a sense of otherness. Years later, Daniel lives and works as a teacher in New York, barely keeping in touch with his mother, who has returned to Jamaica, or any of his old friends. When he learns that Aubrey, his high-school best friend, died in a car crash, Daniel feels the urge to return to Palm Coast. There he spends a few days with his former crowd but he's unsure whether he wants them to learn about his sexuality. As he reconnects with them he finds himself looking back to his time with Aubrey. We learn that Aubrey, who was white and often described herself as a ‘redneck' or a ‘cracker', could be cruel and impulsive. She was also quite capable of saying offensive, racist, and/or generally insensitive things. Others provide their own recollections of Aubrey and of their salad days, giving us some insight into the dynamics that were at play at their high school. While the flashbacks don't reveal anything truly significant or earth-shattering they do provide us with snapshots of an important period of Daniel's life. Rodriques conveys the loneliness and longing that come about when you feel or are made to feel different from those around you. During these flashbacks, we also learn of Daniel's difficult childhood, in particular of his time with his father.

The story doesn't drop any huge bombs. Once back in Palm Coast Daniel questions some of his friends about Aubrey, as he lost touch with her soon after high school and now that she is dead he's filled with guilt (for not including her in his ‘new’ life) and sadness (he doesn't know what she's experienced over the last few years, whether she'd changed, and if so, how).
Most of the scenes within this novel brought to mind long tracking shots. For instance, we have this scene in which Daniel is in the car with Desmond, who used to be one of his track-team buddies, that probably takes up over 10% of the overall narrative. Daniel observes the passing landscapes and talks off-and-on to Desmond. Interspersed throughout this extended car drive are also some flashbacks in which we read about some of their shared history.
While Daniel's uneasy relationship with his family is alluded to, the narrative never truly delves that deeply into it. He tells us that his mother has only just recounted to him some of her family history...but we don't really learn much about it. This felt like a wasted opportunity as I think it would have made Daniel and his family more believable and multi-dimensional.
While the conversations and arguments that occur within this novel always struck me as authentic, the personalities of these characters never come into real focus. We are given brief glimpses into their high school experiences that simply paint them as being rather generic teens (boyhood 101). In the ‘present' they mainly discuss Aubrey, revealing little about themselves. Funnily enough, Aubrey, who is meant to be this charismatic sort of figure, felt more like an idea of a certain type of high school girl than an actual person. I did not care for her and I had a hard time understanding what drew her and Daniel together other than the fact that they both have ‘troubled' families (which is not all that rare sadly...). Although Daniel claims that he loves her, I just didn't ‘feel' that love (again we are being ‘told’ things). Aubrey seems to function as a plot device through which Daniel can embark on this long retrospective that makes him reassess what he wants and who he was/is.
The last chapter in this novel felt really unnecessary (mild-spoilers ahead i guess): after a whole novel being narrated by Daniel himself we suddenly switch to a different perspective, that of a character that had up to that point played up to that point a minor, one could say even inconsequential, role in Daniel’s story.

While I may not have felt particularly invested in the characters, and I did find Daniel's characterisation to be vague, I liked Rodriques' prose, the realistic rhythm of his dialogues, and his sharp eye for description (one could really picture the places/environments he writes of). I believe that this is a promising debut and I look forward to read whatever Rodriques writes next.

Daniel is living as an openly queer adult in NY when he hears that his high school crush died. He returns home to reconnect to his past through memories of his time with her.

This book handled issues of grief, race, sexuality, and violence in a way that felt natural. Elias Rodriques took a meditative approach, using flashbacks and inner monologues to immerse readers in the friend group and all its relationships.

I will say this wasn’t a plot-driven novel by any means. The question that pulls readers along is basically, “what happened between them in high school?” At times, it doesn’t feel like enough.

The narrator Landon Woodson did an great job. The voices and accents were distinct and brought each character to life.

I am grateful to both the publisher and NetGalley for providing an Audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.