75/100 or 3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was better than I was expecting! I enjoyed the representation in the book, and it felt well done.

While the following critique isn't all on this book, it is in so many books and it grinds my gears.
Can we stop putting in dialogue that goes along the line of "oh this dessert is going to give me diabetes?" Like why in 2023 are books still putting in lines like this? I don't have diabetes and I don't know a lot about it, but I do know that is not how diabetes works. The books has this dialogue twice, and both times it annoyed me.

The romance was cute and the ending was not as cheesy as I was expecting. Decent Middle Grade story!

Tess is hoping to be offered a full scholarship for swimming until she has a seizure one day while swimming. The doctor says further testing is needed because she could have another seizure and that no one is considered epileptic until they have two seizures. When Tess meets Charlie, a lifeguard, they start seeing each other. Tess begins losing her focus on swimming, and Tess worries the college won’t offer her a scholarship if she can’t swim. When running one day, Tess has another seizure. Tess wants to quit the swim team, but Charlie says focus on the positive. Words are said and Tess and Charlie break up. Does Tess end up quitting the team? Do Tess and Charlie get back together? Would love to see a second book showing us Tess’’ future.

Thank you Holiday House for the digital ARC!

Holiday House is putting out some really great books about disability lately, and I'm excited for this latest addition to their line-up. BREATHING UNDERWATER is gorgeously written, poignant, and fresh with important themes of coping with a sudden diagnosis, chasing your ambitions, and navigating feelings.

First off, this cover is super pretty and that's what drew me into this book. I don’t feel like I typically read slice of life novels so I was curious on how I’d enjoy this. Our main character Tess loves swimming and it's practically her entire life. She hopes to get a scholarship from this and make everyone around her happy since it's what they expect to happen. Unfortunately for Tess she has a seizure which throws everything she's dreamed and hoped for off track.
I enjoyed this book and how Tess handled her epilepsy. The author herself lives with epilepsy I’ve learned after going through her instagram and you can tell she really wanted to make people aware that although it roughly impacts your life, you don’t have to let it stop you from achieving your dreams. I learned a lot from this book. There was romance also and that was semi enjoyable for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

first of all, this cover is absolutely gorgeous!

i never read a book like this, it was so interesting! honestly, i wish this book was longer. i would've liked to see more of relationship tess has with her parents, especially her dad.
overall, this book was really good. cant believe it's a debut!