Phantom Limbs

July 18, 2016
While 16-year-old Otis Mueller’s teammate and self-proclaimed swim coach, Dara, wants to see him qualify for the Olympics, Otis is more interested in reconnecting with his first love, Meg, whom he hasn’t seen in three years. Meg’s parents’ separation lands her back in Illinois, the scene of the accidental death of Otis’s younger brother, Mason, an incident Meg cannot overcome and Otis’s mother cannot forgive. Despite the mutual attraction between Otis and Meg, her PTSD and boyfriend keep the two in friend territory. When Dara—missing a partial limb after a shark attack, suffering from phantom limb pain, and uncertain about her sexuality—begins to act self-destructively, Otis has to decide who is most important to him, Meg or Dara. Garner’s debut sensitively portrays Meg and Otis’s bruised emotions, both recovering from deep loss. Though the description of Mason’s accident is a gut-punch in its realism, much of the plot unfolds predictably. The novel’s strongest moments go to Dara, whose no-holds-barred personality—“she was the human equivalent of a Venus flytrap”—livens and complicates the novel. Ages 14–up. Agent: Molly Jaffa, Folio Literary Management.

Starred review from July 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-This debut novel is a story of loss, love, and friendship, about a teenager coming to terms with the past and dealing with repressed memories that are resurfacing. Otis Mueller, 16, an introverted swimmer at Willow Grove High School, is thrown for a loop when Meg, his all but forgotten first love and former next-door neighbor, sends him a message telling him that she is returning to his life for three weeks over the summer. When she left suddenly three years before, he was brokenhearted and unable to cope with the recent death of his little brother. Spending his time swimming for fun, Otis comes under the wing of Dara, a troubled 18-year-old with an amputation who wants to help Otis make it to the Olympics. Otis must unite his past and present and rank his priorities: regaining Meg's love despite her longtime boyfriend, helping Dara through her phantom limb pains, staying committed to the sport he has grown to love, and fully understanding the death of his younger brother. Readers will find Otis relatable and endearing in his first-person perspective of first love and heartbreak, as well as his unwavering loyalty to his friends. Meg and Dara round out a cast of well-developed characters who have extensive troubles of their own. VERDICT Most teenagers will find a little bit of themselves in this well-executed work; a must-have for most YA collections.-Kristin Unruh, Novi High School, MI

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Past and present collide when an old friend comes to town in Garner's debut.When Meg Brandt sends Otis Mueller a message notifying him of her return, he can barely believe it. Three years ago, after Otis' little brother, Mason, died, the Brandt family left Chicago, and Otis lost his best friend. Otis is hollow after losing two of the most important people in his life. Without any communication or contact from Meg, Otis has reluctantly moved on, devoting his time to swimming with newfound friend and unofficial coach Dara Svetcova, who struggles with losses of her own. Awaiting Meg's return, Otis wishes to close the chasm between them. Unsure how to balance Dara's military-grade training schedule and his hopes for tentative reconciliation with Meg, Otis has a long summer ahead of him. Otis' fixation on Meg teeters between endearing and obsessive. His awareness of the infatuation tempers inner monologues of constant anguish over the fractured relationship. Motherless Dara, an amputee, is quite the foil, brusquely dismissing heavy emotions and trauma. Feeling threatened by Otis' bond with Meg, she struggles to support his healing process. The inability to let go of the past pushes all three white teens beyond their comfort zones into uncharted territory, Garner slowly and steadily guiding readers through these journeys. A heavy read weighted by intense emotions and grief, the novel sifts through tough memories, searching for the silver lining. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016
Grades 8-11 It's been three years since Otis' little brother died under mysterious circumstances, and Meg, Otis' best friend and first love, moved away. Otis, grieving and confused, threw himself into swimming, catching the eye of Dara, a former Olympic hopeful whose own swimming dreams were dashed when she lost an arm. Dara's determined to turn Otis into the Olympic swimmer she can no longer be, but for the most part, he's just going through the motions until Meg, who has been out of touch since she left, comes back to town, turning his world upside down and making him question what really happened three years ago. Otis' journeyas a competitive swimmer and as a grieving brotheris a poignant one, although beautiful, troubled, dream-girl Meg reads a little flat. It's tough-talking, reckless Dara who will intrigue readers. Her struggles with her father, her sexuality, and the dreams deferred because of her accident complement Otis' story, elevating this to a narrative as much about human connection as it is about sports.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)