The Drowning - Softcover

Valerie Mendes was born in Buckinghamshire. After taking a double honors degree in English and Philosophy at Reading University, she moved to Oxford, where she still lives. She is, proudly, the mother of the theater and film director, Sam Mendes CBE. Valerie started writing stories when she was six.

Grade 8 Up–Sixteen-year-old Jennas talent for ballet is matched only by her determination to become a star. But all is changed one fateful day when her younger brother drowns at the beach while under her supervision. Guilt-stricken and grieving, the teen quits dance and devotes all of her time to helping her father at the family restaurant. Her mother, who always favored Benjie, leaves Cornwall for London. Jennas emotional scars begin to heal, thanks to a budding romance and the discovery of her brothers diary, which reveals just how unhappy he was. Through articulate, expressive language, the competitive world of dance and the dynamics in this dysfunctional family are well portrayed. Dealing with grief and overcoming personal tragedy are not presented in a new way, and there is no real suspense as readers wait to find out the identity of the twins or why Jennas mother is so uncaring. The answers are too neat to be satisfying. Still, Jennas emotions and her parents rocky relationship are convincing. Carolyn Comans Many Stones (Front St, 2000) is more poignant.–Emily Rodriguez, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL
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