Review, Dream Cast & Giveaway: The Year I Almost Drowned

The Year I Almost Drowned by Shannon McCrimmon

Amazon | Goodreads 

In this continuation of The Summer I Learned to Dive, nineteen-year old Finley “Finn” Hemmings is living in Graceville, South Carolina with her grandparents. She's getting to know the family that she was separated from for the last sixteen years. Finn and Jesse's relationship seems to be going strong until they're forced to deal with obstacles that throw them off-track. As Finn prepares to leave for college, she has to say goodbye to the town, her friends and family, and the way of life that she has grown to love. At college, Finn tries to acclimate to a new setting, but quickly falls into an old pattern. Just as things start to become normal and Finn begins to fit in, something unexpected happens that takes her back to Graceville where she is forced to deal with one challenge after another. Her world nearly collapses, and she finds herself struggling to keep from drowning. Through it all, Finn discovers the power of love and friendship. She learns what it means to follow her heart and to stay true to what she wants, even if what she wants isn't what she originally planned.

Dream Cast

Finley Hemmings (played by Haley Ramm)

"I saw the resemblance; his reddish hair, his green eyes."

He looked into my eyes. "Your eyes are really green," he said. My reflexes caused me to instantly close them. I opened them, but he was still looking at me.

Jesse Quinn (played by Jeremy Sumpter)

"With his dark wavy hair, sea blue eyes and olive complexion, Jesse was absolutely beautiful. I know it's strange to describe a boy as being pretty, but that's what Jesse was."

Everett Bennett (played by Xavier Samuel)

"The other police officer lowered his head to the window, his caramel-colored eyes met mine. A subtle five o'clock shadow showed on his youthful face. He was a little older than I thought, maybe in his mid twenties. Golden streaks blended in his short light brown hair."

Meg Bennett (played by Emma Watson)

Hannah Bennett (played by Troian Bellisario) 

Sidney Cipolla (played by Alia Shawkat)

Matt Dunne (played by Colton Haynes)

Review
The Year I Almost Drowned is Finn's story about who she is trying to stay above water while life throws crap her way
It's about what happens after the Happily Ever After ending The Summer I Learned to Dive left us with.  In book 1, Finn's life goes from disaster to fixed in a short amount of time.  She has a family that she didn't know about, a wonderful boyfriend, loyal friends, a future and a place in life.  The Year I Almost Drowned picks up where that left off and things start going wrong.
I got to say I wasn't the happiest with Jessie in this one.  I mean I understand why he did what he did and it was the right thing in the long run but I still didn't like it at the time.
Finn grows as a character so much during this book.  She figures out what she wants to do because it's what she wants to do, and not because it's what others think.  She stays strong even when things are going wrong around her.
One of my favorite things about Shannon's writing is the way she describes scenery.  It's in a way that I feel like Im in SC with Finn.  The way she describes Tennessee and Graceland are my favorite.
Overall The Year I Almost Drowned was beautifully written and a great conclusion to Finn's story.

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