Interesting enough premise, teens getting caught in a timeslip, but the ending is just not my cup of tea. Excellent sense of place and decent character development, but the resolution doesn't hold my suspension of disbelief.

Night Swimming captures that quintessential feeling of ending high school and entering adulthood, through a 90’s time lens. In other words, it took me right back to that very hazy, spectacularly exciting and terrifying, time in my own life; the summer before I started college. We all desperately wanted to get on to the next thing but also wanted to freeze time for the last bit of freedom with our friends before responsibility and life took the reins. This was atmospheric, poetic, creative, magical, sentimental, and heartfelt. Where it lost me was the middle and the lack of complexity in our characters. It meanders and repeats, and our characters were all one note. I wanted more of Trevor’s insecurity and fear of the future. I wanted more of Sarah’s uncertainty and complexity. They were all mentioned, but we never got into the reeds. Overall, I enjoyed it for its originality and creativity. But I wanted more.
3 stars
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This nostalgic dive into 90s young aduldhood takes all the hopes and fears of a high school graduate to their bitter conclusions. Will anyone remember me? Can't this summer last forever? Am I enjoying my youth? Why does everything have to change? What should I do before our time runs out?

Our narrator, Trevor, lingers the longest in a moment he never wants to end. The temptation to grasp the sand with a tight fist as its grains flow through your fingers. He knows they're going to different colleges, that ultimately they aren't right for each other, that their paths don't cross again. That this summer is a glitch, yet made no less beautiful by cruel reality.

Everyone has, at some point, clung harder than they should've to a stage of life, a relationship, a feeling of security. Night Swimming just dares to ask, "What if you could stay? It doesn't make a strong argument one way or another, and seems content to float on the dreamy edge. Hazy and wistful, it's light on the palate and heavy on the atmosphere.

Thank you to Penguin Group for the e-ARC.

90s nostalgia is on full display. I thought the premise was really interesting but the idea that her friend is secretly trying to interfere in her relationship because he wants to be with her felt icky in general. I did like the magic realism but the book just felt like wanting to give vibes and not really knowing how to get the plot on board.

I know I shouldn’t go into books with my own expectations, but unfortunately I did with this one, and it didn’t meet them at all. I did enjoy the 90s nostalgia, as I seem to always be chasing that feeling. But the magical element didn’t quite work, in my opinion. I had an ok time reading this.

Perhaps this is just one gigantic extended metaphor for that weird time of uncertainty between high school and college . . . but I don't really see this as a fit for a YA audience. There's a magical realism that might work its way into a nostalgic new adult novel, but there's not enough separation for a YA audience.

Night Swimming is the kind of book that makes you nostalgic for a summer you never actually had. Aaron Starmer nails that in-between feeling of being on the edge of adulthood, where every moment feels significant, even if you don’t know why.

Trevor’s yearning for Sarah is so raw and realistic—it’s messy, unbalanced, and full of unspoken expectations. The way Starmer writes their dynamic feels painfully familiar, like watching someone chase a feeling rather than a person. Sarah, meanwhile, is fascinating in her unpredictability, which makes her both magnetic and frustrating.

The whole “swimming in every pool” concept is fun and chaotic, but it’s when they find the hidden pool that the story really grips you. There’s an eerie shift in tone, almost dreamlike, and that’s where the book separates itself from a typical summer romance.

What stood out the most to me was the atmosphere. Starmer brings the ‘90s to life without over-explaining—just the right amount of mixtapes, late-night drives, and quiet moments that hit harder than the big ones. It’s a book that makes you feel something, even if you can’t quite put your finger on what. If you love stories about longing, nostalgia, and a little bit of the strange, this one is worth picking up.

The setting and story had so much potential. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it through the whole book.

This book totally took me back—mixtapes, staying out until dark, that mix of excitement and fear about the future. It perfectly captures what it feels like to be young, reckless, and completely unsure of what’s next.

Trevor and his longtime crush, Sarah, decide to spend their summer sneaking into every pool in town. It starts off fun and wild, but when their friends join in, things take a turn. One night, they find a hidden pool in the woods, and suddenly everything feels… off. Time stops making sense, reality blurs, and they all have to face some uncomfortable truths about growing up.

This book felt like a fever dream—nostalgic, weird, and kind of haunting. The writing is beautiful, the atmosphere is amazing, and even when I wasn’t sure what was happening, I couldn’t stop reading. If you want something different, a little eerie, and full of ’90s vibes, this one’s worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group

Well…this was not what I was expecting! I have no idea how I missed the magical realism when reading the synopsis!

This is a super unique coming of age YA.

Two teenagers make it a goal to swim in every pool in town before the summer is over. Their adventure leads to including more friends and an odd natural spring pool where the magical realism comes into play. I don’t want to say too much and spoil it! I loved the ending! Thought provoking for sure.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

I was so happy to get this arc that when I got approved I immediately flew through it. It starts off like many other books but takes a strange turn after a while. It took some time for me to figure out what was happening but by the end it had me thinking pretty deeply about life and the world around us. It was an interesting take on being a teen and the choices we make. This book has stayed with me since I read it and I think it will for some time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This book was definitely wild and different. I really enjoyed all the 90's nostalgia. However, I didn't care to much for the characters or the ending of the book. I think it just wasn't my jam so to say. I do think there are people out there who will really enjoy it. It just wasn't for me but that's okay. Everyone is different when it comes to reading books. So, I am still glad I broadened my horizons and read this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review. If this is your cup of tea then I hope you will read it as well! Happy reading y'all!

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This was beautiful!! Oh my gosh absolutely amazing, made me cry. Don’t talk to me for a couple weeks while I continue to process this book!!

Night Swimming features Trevor and Sarah, two high school seniors in the limbo between high school and college who decide to swim in every pool in their hometown. The book is filled with 90s references, but you don’t have to be a 90s kid to understand them and invites readers in regardless of their age.

I wasn’t sure about the short and snappy writing style, but I started to love it over time. Reminds me a lot of the snappy writing in The Inheritance Games. The only reason this isn’t a 5 stars is because I would have liked to learn more about our characters, especially the side characters who we only got a glimpse into.

Overall, a 4.5 ⭐️ I’d recommend this to coming-of-age story lovers, and those who like speculative elements/magical realism to their contemporary stories.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC of this book!

#yafiction #bookstagram #booklover #aaronstarmer #nightswimming #90sbooks #netgalley #ebook #bookreview #newbookrelease #arcreview #arcreviewer

Although this storyline wasn't for me, I can see why it might appeal to certain readers. My biggest issue with it was that the writing style felt a little unpolished and juvenile. I do think the publisher's description was a little misleading, as I was expecting something like a nostalgic cross between Can't Hardly Wait and Stranger Things. I'd recommend it to teen readers looking for a short coming of age story.

thank you so much netgalley for allowing to be able to read this arc! the first thing that drew me to this book was the beautiful cover and the blurb really drew me. Once i started reading, it was very difficult to follow along. the story telling felt very monotone, and pretty confusing. I really didn’t know what was going on. unfortunately this book wasn’t for me but it definitely can be for someone else.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you Netgalley, Aaron Starmer and Penguin Workshop for this eARC!!

I was really looking for a cute lil maybe horror novella to throw into my early 2025 reads, and I was super interested in the blurb- a mysterious pool? what would be in it? ELDRITCH BEING MAYBE???

Nope none of that- just some kids trying to figure out their lives while pool jumping, and with a weird phenomenon happening to them in the last half of the book.

I feel like now knowing that I wasn’t really the target demographic for this book, I maybe would have skipped over it but I’m also kinda glad I read it, because it was genuinely written in a very lovely way. The teens are super relatable and realistic, the anxieties that our MMC Trever are working through are extremely similar to the ones I had when I first graduated high school (10 years ago this June), so I could in a way relate to that.

I feel like this book is the perfect graduation gift to any senior that loves reading, because it deals a lot with the uncertainty of the future past high school, and it showcases people that maybe aren’t 100% sure what they’re gonna do with their lives. The only reason I am giving my it 3⭐️ is because it felt like it didn’t really pick up in terms of storyline and character development until 3/4 of the way through- I was continuously confusing characters and I wasn’t sure who was dating who, so in those aspects I felt like it could have had a bit more development.

This book is really perfect for any young adult who maybe isn’t sure what they’re gonna go with their lives, or if they’re feeling pressure from one area of their lives or another- it gives them a reminder to just.. dive in.

I really enjoy the 90s vibes and feel, but the story itself never really captivated me and I finished simply to know what the interludes were referencing. The ending wasn’t really satisfying and I felt like the characters just didn’t do much. Onto the next!

I really loved this one. I wasn't sure what to expect as I went in only knowing that it was a coming of age, 90's nostalgia book. I really liked the creepy vibe of not knowing what was actually going on during these night swims and in between the chapters. It reminded me a little of a Twilight Zone episode, especially since their seemed to be nod to The Bewitchin' Pool.
Although written about teens, I think that any age would enjoy this as there has a been a point in all of our lives where we're afraid to move forward and figure out what's next.

Thank you to Aaron Starmer, the publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC.