Avery Delacorte's primary concern is college swimming until she takes a plane home for Thanksgiving. When the plane crashes, she is left to survive with four other people: Colin, whom she knows from her swim team, and three young boys that can't fend for themselves. Together, Avery and Colin have to work together to survive the frigid mountains where they landed.

GIRL UNDERWATER, told during both the time of survival on the mountain and the time of after the rescue, is one of the best books I've read this year. Claire Kells absolutely suffocates the reader's heart with the emotionally charged energy. Avery's narration is painful, as unpredictable as the water, and entirely engrossing. This is the kind of story you can't put down without it consuming your thoughts until you can read more.

The blend of action and character development is perfection. Avery and Colin's time on the mountain is terrifying and dangerous while the fear of death, the reality of loss, and the desperate desire to save the young children and somehow survive surround the atmosphere. The few integrated scenes of life prior to the crash especially bring Colin and Avery's complex relationship to a new light in their situation.

Balancing the action from the mountain is the heartbreaking present for Avery, starting with her at the hospital after the rescue and continuing on for several months afterward. Her pain is nearly palpable, and the state of her emotions and mentality is depicted realistically. Her pain is the kind that is nearly crushing to read but impossible to stop put down, forever hoping for some sort of small peace.

Readers who have been eager for a story with a new adult-aged protagonist without the intensive romance should grab GIRL UNDERWATER immediately. I also highly recommend it to anyone looking for an emotional, deep, and beautiful story. I am beyond impatient to see what Claire Kells writes next, and if it is anything like this one, tissues will be needed.