Can't Wait Wednesday!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am combining CWW with Books From the Backlog hosted by Carole at Carole's Random Life in Books. This will allow me to feature some newly "rediscovered" books, which I plan on reading, alongside a new release.

This week I can't wait for

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Learning to Swim by Shayla Dugan
Published by PUBLISHER on DATE
Age/Genres: GENRE
Goodreads

A humorous and heartfelt book about the complicated relationship between a mother, a daughter, and a grandmother.

Gabrielle Malone shows up on her mother’s Arizona doorstep with nothing more than a few belongings, her teenage daughter, and a car with no air conditioning (don’t ask). The rest she left behind—her house, everything she owned, and her ex-husband. Her estranged mother Ida, a former Olympic swimmer and current chain smoker, needs her help after a significant health scare. Gabrielle hopes this is their relationship’s opportunity for a fresh start, and a new beginning for her too.

Thirteen-year-old Juniper feels stranded at an old lady’s house she barely knows. She’s frustrated that her mom uprooted their entire life for a strange place and misses her dad. Forced to attend the pointless last week of school, she embarrasses herself on the first day and is certain she’ll never make friends again. As if that weren’t bad enough, her mother’s nightly binge-eating and cry sessions are concerning to say the least.

Ida is her own woman, resenting being tethered to the oxygen hoses winding through her house. She looks darn good in the old, framed cigarette ads on her wall, holding her gold swimming medal. Heck, she still looks good. Her neighbor Morton certainly thinks so. She had one little health scare. What’s the big deal? Heart surgery. It’s coming for her. She knows it but likes to pretend she doesn’t.

Ida is shocked to learn her own granddaughter can’t swim. The one legacy she had hoped would carry on for generations is at stake. While her health certainly limits her activities, she knows she must teach the skill that brought her a lifetime of pride. Gabrielle may have laughed at the idea of her frail mother getting back into the pool, but that’s exactly what Ida would do. Teach her to swim.

Learning to Swim is a coming of age novel about three women in different stages of life mending relationships. Shayla Dugan’s debut family drama book is a delightful read full of insight, wisdom, and wit.

No backlog book again because those library holds just won't stop coming in, but I did want to share this book with you all. Tons of things that drew me in. I have a thing for multigenerational stories. I was lucky enough to grow up with my large family around me, and it's always interesting to read about those family dynamics. The setup is intriguing, too. The grandmother, a former Olympic swimmer, is now tethered to oxygen. The daughter left her life and ex-husband behind to help care for her mother, but hopes this will be a way to start her next chapter, as well as start anew with her mother. And the grandchild at thirteen is just trying to find her place in this new town. I look forward to them bonding and growing together. 

What are you waiting on?
Let us know in the comments!