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Breathe Deep & Swim

by Jenna Marcus

Two brothers on the road through a family crisis

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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Kirkus praise

    Kirkus described the book as an often moving portrait of brotherly love and called it compelling and memorable, ...

AlbakiReads Editorial

Two brothers on the road through a family crisis

Set against the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, the novel follows 14-year-old Wolfgang and his older brother Van Gogh after their father dies. Determined to stay together and avoid foster care, they travel across the country in their father’s car to seek out the mother who left them years earlier. The journey brings questions about family history alongside the brothers’ immediate struggle to find stability. The source frames Wolfgang’s story around grief, fear, and the effort to hold on to family during a period of upheaval.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in coming-of-age fiction about family upheaval.
  • Readers drawn to stories about sibling bonds and the effects of the pandemic on family life.

Themes

BrotherhoodGrief and lossFamily separationRunawaysComing of age

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"An often moving portrait of brotherly love." -Kirkus

 

"...compelling...memorable... The story presents aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic with care and clarity. " -Kirkus

 

"...a timely and moving ode to the lengths we will go for our family." -BookLife

 

"A fast-paced and timely exploration of brotherly love in the midst of family and political turmoil." -BookLife

 

Perfect for fans of Gayle Forman's If I Stay and Jandy Nelson's The Sky is Everywhere, this witty and achingly beautiful coming of age story will tackle what it means to be alive, loved, and trusting in a world gone mad...

 

All 14-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Thomas wants is normalcy. But a global pandemic prevents him from having anything close to a typical teenager's life. When Wolfgang discovers his father dead in bed from the coronavirus, his world is thrust into even more turmoil and chaos. Wolfgang and his 16-year-old brother, Van Gogh, know that they must do everything they can to stay together and avoid foster care. In a cross-country road trip, they hit the road in their father's Pontiac to find their only hope: the mother who abandoned them a decade ago. As they journey for answers to their mother's whereabouts, they uncover devastating mysteries about her that they never could have imagined. Just as they near their destination, tragedy strikes once more. Wolfgang is drowning in fear and pain, but he must pull it together or lose his family for good. Can this broken adolescent find the strength and courage to Breathe Deep & Swim?

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