WE DON'T SWIM HERE

Cousins become immersed in their rural town’s tragic folklore, uncovering surprising familial connections.

Before the start of her junior year, Bronwyn Sawyer’s dreams of becoming an Olympic swimmer are put on pause when Lala, her beloved paternal grandmother, has a stroke and lands in hospice and Bronwyn’s father temporarily uproots the family from Illinois to his overwhelmingly White Arkansas hometown and into Lala’s house. Although the move is only for a year and Anais, Bronwyn’s cousin, is also a junior at Hillwoods High School, Bronwyn is disoriented: Although they were once close, the girls haven’t seen each other in years; Lala’s not getting better; and Bronwyn feels like an outsider. Bronwyn’s anxiety increases after learning that the students of Hillwoods, including Anais, follow secretive rituals and uphold superstitions that border on paranoid—all leading back to a curse and the chilling legend of a murdered woman who exacts her revenge through drownings, including in a local lake and pools. Bronwyn’s curiosity threatens the town’s status quo, and as Anais tries to protect her cousin from both real and paranormal dangers, Bronwyn realizes the ghost story, which involves her family, points to horrifying truths about Hillwoods’ bigoted past. Tirado builds palpable suspense, and Bronwyn’s and Anais’ alternating first-person perspectives highlight their inner resolve. Both teenagers identify as Black; Anais’ mom is White, and Lala is from the Dominican Republic.

A gripping investigation of injustice and small-town sins that unveils humanity’s monstrous potential.