Review Detail

“Night Swimming” by Aaron Starmer is spooky in a mysterious way. When Trevor and Sarah decide to spend their final summer before college begins going pool hopping in their town, they can’t possibly foresee what it will turn into for them and their friends. As they sneak into pool after pool, they find it exciting, yet Trevor is often on edge, worried they might get caught. When this happens one day, the owner of the house tells them about a natural pool hidden in the woods that they can’t help but be curious about, so they make a plan to visit it.

Trevor sees spending the summer with Sarah as an opportunity to get to be with her more, to make her want to be with him instead of her current boyfriend. When he finds a way to make his time with her last, he doesn’t know if the way it comes about is really what he wants. He and his friends are all trying to realize something or escape something or they yearn for something more that isn’t coming to fruition. As they spend this final summer before college together pool hopping, they find their chance to potentially grow into who they want to be and to get what they want out of life. They just have to discover it for themselves. The problem is that this hidden pool is weirdly intoxicating, and leaving it behind might be harder than they expected.

Aaron Starmer has written an engaging, haunting story that encompasses themes of searching for oneself, finding one’s truth, friendship, and growing up. It will grab readers and pull them in as they seek to find out just how the characters will come out on the other end.