Deep Water

Six hours. One marathon swim.

That’s all Tully Birch needs to get her life straightened out. With the help of her best friend, Arch, Tully braves the waters of Lake Tahoe to break the record for the youngest person ever to complete the famous “Godfather swim.” She wants to achieve something no one in the world has done, because if she does, maybe, just maybe, her mom will come back.

The swim starts off well—heart steady, body loose, Arch in charge of snacks as needed. But for Tully, all that time alone with her thoughts allows memories to surface. And in the silence of deep waters, sadness can sink you. When the swim turns dangerous, Tully fights for her survival. Does she keep going and risk her own safety and Arch’s? Or does she quit to save them both, even if it means giving up hope that her mother will return? 

Tully is a likable protagonist who struggles with her mom’s disappearance. She decides to make the swim to prove to her mom that “I am HERE, and I am ALIVE, and I’m worth showing up for.” Tully thinks her mother abandoned her because she didn’t love her. Since the story is written from Tully’s perspective, the reader gets an in-depth view of Tully’s emotions and thought process, which allows readers to empathize with Tully’s situation.  

Tully’s friend, Arch, reluctantly agrees to help Tully secretly swim the “Godfather swim.” He helps Tully navigate, tells her stories, and tries to keep Tully from overthinking. However, his presence also increases the story’s tension by highlighting the dangers that Tully faces in the water. In addition, Arch is left to intercept text messages from both of their parents. While Arch doesn’t reveal Tully’s whereabouts, his parents use his phone’s GPS to locate them. Tully’s dad and the Coast Guard use this information to find the two teens. When they arrive, Arch’s relief is understandable.  

Deep Water compassionately explores the difficulties of living with a parent with a mental illness. Knowing that her mother has a mental illness doesn’t lessen Tully’s hurt and confusion when her mother disappears, especially because her family “has things we are not supposed to talk about that sit in the corner of the room like a pile of dirty clothes which has been there so long you stop seeing it.” The story’s conclusion doesn’t give a solution to Tully’s inner turmoil; however, the ending hints that Tully will learn how to navigate her emotions with the help of her father, her friend, and a counselor.  

Tully’s story comes to life in verse, which keeps the story moving at a fast pace and enhances Tully’s emotions. Occasionally, the text is placed to create a visual element that enhances the story’s emotion. For example, when a lightning storm threatens Tully, the text is written to look like a lightning bolt. Deep Water uses a unique premise to explore family dynamics and mental illness. In the end, Tully realizes that, “Maybe perfection isn’t possible without sacrifice. But I don’t want to be perfect if it means ending up alone.”  

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• When Brent is mean to Tully’s friend, she “gave Brent a gentle shove, which just so happened to cause him to trip, because Brent’s ego is so big it makes him lose his balance.” Tully was suspended for two days. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• Tully’s mother took medication for a mental illness. However, the mental illness and medication aren’t named. 

Language  

• Tully thinks that if her mother died, people would say things like: “She’s at peace now.” Tully thinks words like this are “a load of crap.”

Supernatural 

• None

Spiritual Content  

• When Tully picks a date to swim her marathon, she “prayed to the weather gods to bless our journey.”