NIGHT SWIMMING

Summer adventures lead a group of teens to a liminal space in the woods.

It’s 1994, and Trevor and Sarah have just finished their last high school classes. One muggy June evening, Sarah drags Trevor away from a party and cajoles him into sneaking a swim in a neighbor’s pool. Over the course of the summer, they become determined to swim in every pool in their small hometown of Sutton. Their friends find out and join them, but before long, they’re caught by a homeowner, a purple-haired woman in her 50s. Instead of admonishing them, she suggests they complete their list by swimming in a natural pool in the woods that none of them has heard of. At first, the swimming hole seems magical, but the friends realize that something is amiss—it feels like they’ve either been there for ages, or no time has passed at all. Will they ever be able to leave the forest, and do they even want to? Starmer’s writing is beautifully lyrical, creating an atmospheric tone and weaving a nontraditional coming-of-age story about self, friendship, and first love. The dual narrative structure proves utterly absorbing: The main narrative is punctuated by single-page interludes from an unidentified narrator who tells an urgent tale of escape, printed in white type on a black background. While the bulk of the novel flows languidly, the last few chapters feel hurried, and the story concludes abruptly. Central characters present white.

An evocative and otherworldly tale.