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Saturday, January 9, 2016

Underwater Blog Tour: Review, Dreamcast + Giveaway!



Underwater
by Marisa Reichardt
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Release Date: January 12th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Psychology, Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness
Morgan didn’t mean to do anything wrong that day. Actually, she meant to do something right. But her kind act inadvertently played a role in a deadly tragedy. In order to move on, Morgan must learn to forgive—first someone who did something that might be unforgivable, and then, herself.

But Morgan can’t move on. She can’t even move beyond the front door of the apartment she shares with her mother and little brother. Morgan feels like she’s underwater, unable to surface. Unable to see her friends. Unable to go to school.

When it seems Morgan can’t hold her breath any longer, a new boy moves in next door. Evan reminds her of the salty ocean air and the rush she used to get from swimming. He might be just what she needs to help her reconnect with the world outside.

Underwater is a powerful, hopeful debut novel about redemption, recovery, and finding the strength it takes to face your past and move on.





Underwater is a super sweet (and surprisingly uplifting) read. Reichardt's debut novel covers tough mental health issues such as PTSD and Depression in a way that makes you really understand the severity of these conditions. Despite how dark these aspects are, Underwater made me feel happy and hopeful throughout most of the book. I truly love all of the characters, and they feel amazingly real to me. The only downside I found in this novel was how quickly the romance happened. I'm in full support of the couple, but I just really wanted to witness them getting to know each other more before hitting official "item" status. Most importantly though, the writing is beautiful, engaging, and relatable. I especially loved the dialogue for how it seamlessly brought the characters and the story to life. 




1) Reichardt depicts PTSD and Depression very accurately and truly makes you understand how the characters feel. Also, more than one character has to deal with these conditions, so the reader gets a full view of how mental health issues affect all people differently. 



2) The characters are great! You feel like you know them—like it's your mom, next door neighbor, and friend that you're reading about. I have to say my favorite character is probably Ben; he's definitely the ideal baby brother.

3) The dialogue in this book was my absolute favorite part. You get a wonderful and well-rounded feel of the voice and sense of humor of each character. It's in the dialogue where you get the most information about each of the side characters as well. 


1) The romance happened a little too quickly for my taste. It seemed like the couple spoke to each other twice before hitting relationship status. 


Sorry guys, all of my favorite quotes are too spoilery, though I did have many of them! You'll just have to read the book and see for yourselves ;P


Anna Kendrick as Morgan



Alex Pettyfer as Evan



Kascee Murdock as Ben




Ashley Judd as Morgan & Ben's Mom


Zoe Kravitz as Brenda 


Jennifer Lawrence as Taylor



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Follow the Underwater by Marissa Reichardt Blog Tour and don't miss anything! 
Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.






I'm a SoCal native and high school writing instructor. I currently live in Los Angeles and can usually be found huddled over my laptop in coffeehouses or swimming in the ocean. 

My debut YA contemporary novel, UNDERWATER, will be out 1/12/16 from Macmillan/FSG and 4/7/16 Macmillan Children's UK.

I love all books and all genres. While I do keep track of all the books I've read here, I generally don't do ratings or reviews.




Rules and Conditions:

- Open to US ONLY.
- Must be 13 or older to enter.
- Giveaway starts Jan 9th until Jan 13th.
- All entries are double-checked and false entries will be disqualified.
- Winner will be notified via email and needs to answer in 48 hours to let us know if he/she accepts the finished copy of Underwater with your full name and address.
- Your personal information won't be used or be seen unless you're the winner of the giveaway. We won't sell it nor use it in a bad way. But please note that your full name and address will be sent to Fierce Reads in order for you to get your prize.
- Tour Hosts as well as the member of the FFBC Tours are not responsible for any lost or stolen items.
- One participant cannot win more than one prize in a same giveaway. See our Tour Guidelines in our website for more information.



16 comments:

  1. I know nothing about this book (other than what you've already mentioned) but wow that fancast would be amazing!! If a movie were made with that cast...it would be one of the best movies ever imo!
    Geraldine @ Corralling Books

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    1. I'm so glad you like the dream cast! I was really nervous about it but I tried really hard to match up the characters.

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  2. This dream cast alone made me desperately want this book! Someone should make this movie adaptation happen with this amazing cast.

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    1. Oh my god, really?! YES! I'm glad that it made you want to pick up the book. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

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  3. Yes, this definitely sounds interesting! Added it to my wishlist on Amazon right away!

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  4. Ashley Judd is the perfect mom! She's so fitting as a sweet and caring mother. :D I definitely agree about the romance, it was so quick, but it's the usual cliche thing with teens nowadays. You kiss once, and the next thing you're boyfriend and girlfriend, lmao! But yeah, it wasn't really the focus of the story, and I definitely think it could've done without the romance, just a real cool friendship would've been great. I still loved it though, lol :D Great review, Britt!

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    1. She was the first one that came to mind when I was reading the book for Morgan's mom!

      I thought that Evan and Morgan had the chemistry but I just wanted to see more of a development but it's definitely true that relationships can and do spring up out of nowhere all the time.

      I'm glad that you loved this one too! Thanks for stopping by =)

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  5. Omg how freaking adorable is the little boy that you casted as Ben?? I'm dying to read this book. I'm sad that it has insta-love, I've read several reviews that also had a problem with how fast the romance moved so that definitely bugs me a little! But the mental illness part makes me curious enough to read it anyway.

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    1. I think Ben was really adorable so I had to find someone who could play him haha. I don't think it's instalove BUT their relationship escalates really fast and I prefer a slower paced one in the beginning. They were still cute though so I was able to overlook it.

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  6. Great review, lady! I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as you (sadly) but there were parts I definitely liked. I actually would love to get Taylor's story! I also thought her relationships with her family were handled extremely well. Didn't care for the romance though. :/

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    1. Thank you! I'm sorry that you didn't like this one as much. Taylor's story would be pretty interesting, I'd read that book haha.

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  7. Aww, I love how uplifting this one sounds! Also the fact that it deals with depression and PTSD, which are pretty common. Morgan's character development seems like something I'd definitely want to read about (even if the romance is a bit hasty). I'm definitely chekcing this one out once it publishes.

    - Aila @ One Way Or An Author

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    1. It is really uplifting and I like the way that it deals with depression and PTSD..I feel like those are often not portrayed well. I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

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  8. I'm loving that I'm finding books about mental illnesses. I haven't read many at all and if I can be thoroughly entertained by fantastic writing while I learn, all the better.

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    1. It's great that there are so many out there now. I hope you enjoy Underwater, it's a great read!

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