Swimming Lessons (STP - Mira) [Hardcover]

Mary Alice Monroe (Author)

Book Description

Series: STP - Mira | Publication Date: April 1, 2007

It's been five years since the original turtle lady, old Miss Lovie Rutledge, passed away, but her legacy lives on with some special women, especially Toy and her daughter, young Little Lovie. Toy Sooner kept her graveside vow to her beloved mentor. She left behind an abusive, dysfunctional lifestyle to become a strong single mother and aquarist at the South Carolina Aquarium. But success has taken its toll, leaving Toy fearful of change and risks. Caretta Rutledge, Florence Prescott and Emmaline Baker have all experienced loss. This summer, with each other's friendship and support, they will try to make their dreams a reality. The turtle season begins the day Toy rescues a sick sea turtle on the beach. When Toy brings the loggerhead to the aquarium, she begins a turtle hospital with the help of her boss, Ethan. As the summer progresses and the sea turtles take their measured steps toward healing and freedom Toy, Cara, Flo and Emmi must find their own strength to face their fears and move courageously toward their futures. Mary Alice Monroe delivers another deeply satisfying novel written with an eye to nature and keen insights into the connections between women.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sick sea turtles and a sharply drawn cast mark Monroe's hardcover debut, an inspirational tale of redemption and, naturally, the power of love. Single mom Toy Sooner has two loves: her daughter, Lovie, and sea turtles, so when sick sea turtles wash up near Charleston, S.C ., one summer and overwhelm the area's resources for turtle aid, Toy is tapped by the president of the aquarium where she works to land a grant for setting up a turtle hospital. This means long nights of work alongside fetching aquarium director Ethan Legare. Their evenings at Toy's home (where Ethan gets on splendidly with Lovie) stir Toy's dormant emotions. Meanwhile, Toy's friends wrestle with their own issues—aging, infertility, money problems, postdivorce blues. After Toy's grant is approved, she is put in charge of the turtle hospital and things are pretty swell—until Lovie's father, Darryl, suddenly reappears, intent on playing a role in Lovie's life. Toy is torn, and trouble is in the offing. A crisis hits very late in the book, giving the narrative a lopsided feel. Though billed as the sequel to Beach House (2002), the novel stands on its own and will likely widen Monroe's readership. (Apr.)
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About the Author

Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author whose novels include Swimming Lessons, Sweetgrass, Skyward, and The Beach House, as well as the award-winning children's book Turtle Summer. An active conservationist, she lives in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Visit www.maryalicemonroe.com.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Mira (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778324621
• ISBN-13: 978-0778324621
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Alice Monroe is known for her intimate portrayals of women's lives and for drawing parallels with nature and human nature. An active environmentalist, she draws on her own experiences to bring to life the seductive southern coastline and her home--the sea, marshes, and maritime forests of the South Carolina low country.

Mary Alice wrote non-fiction and was teaching English when she was sent to bed for months during a pregnancy. Recognizing it was a gift of time, she wrote and wrote. "I gave birth to a baby and a book." She is currently writing her thirteenth novel.

Mary Alice has served on the faculty of numerous writer's conferences and retreats and is a frequent speaker. Her books have achieved several best seller lists, including SIBA, USA Today, and the NY Times. Her first children's book received several awards, including the ASPCA Henry Bergh award. In 2008 Monroe was awarded the SC Center for the Book Award for Fiction.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Followup to The Beach House, May 12, 2007

By 

P. Suchy (Belcamp, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swimming Lessons (STP - Mira) (Hardcover)

For several years, I've enjoyed the work of Mary Alice Monroe. And when I noted that Swimming Lessons was coming out, I knew I needed to catch up on my reading and start with the Beach House (the book that introduced us to the Swimming Lessons characters). As usual, the author didn't disappoint me and created a lovely book about mother/daughter relationships that I could easily relate to. But more than that, I became equally intrigued with Loggerhead Turtles. So the follow up book - Swimming Lessons, was an added bonus to keep involved with the characters. Again, wonderfully written, you form a deep attachment to the characters and get caught up with the lives of the turtles -- this time from a different perspective. I highly recommend Swimming Lessons, but also recommend you start with The Beach House.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, Satisfying Sequel, May 30, 2007

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swimming Lessons (STP - Mira) (Hardcover)

This absolutely wonderful sequel to "The Beach House" brings together all the "turtle ladies" whose mission it is to rescue endangered sea turtles who lumber up onto South Carolina's beaches once a year to lay their eggs in a timeless ritual. Civilization being what it is, the nests would be destroyed, purposely or not, if this dedicated band of women (and men) were not there each year to tirelessly make sure that doesn't happen.

Like "The Beach House," this book is based on fact; Monroe herself is a self-proclaimed turtle lady. The plot revolves around the characters we met in the first book: Single mother Toy now has her degree and a job at the aquarium, which is about to get much more prestigious. Her darling little girl Lovie, named after the matriarch who passed away in the last book, is a precocious, wonderful 6-year-old, a self-proclaimed "LITTLE turtle lady." Cara and Brett, who fell in love in the last book and married, are trying hard to have a baby. Irrascible Flo is getting older and too proud to ask for help. And in this book, the menacing father of Toy's child, Darryl, suddently reappears, wanting to connect with the daughter he abandoned before her birth.

All of this makes for a quick and interesting page-turner, but the backbone of the book is the conservation of the giant turtles, and for me, that's the grabber.

"Swmming Lessons" is the perfect summertime book, whether you're at the beach (how more perfect could it get?), around a pool, or just lazing on your front porch. I urge you to grab it and gobble it up!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Novel From the Heart, April 4, 2007

By 

Wantz Upon A Time Reviews (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swimming Lessons (STP - Mira) (Hardcover)

When Toy Sooner moved to the Isle of Palms in South Carolina, she made a promise to better her life. She had to: she was a new, single mother with few prospects. Thanks to kindnesses from people she now calls family, Toy has blossomed into a successful woman and mother.

After years of effort, Toy now works at a highly respected aquarium and volunteers with a sea turtle watch and rescue group. She finds the balance between work, helping sea turtles, and raising Little Lovie, her five-year-old daughter, a rewarding challenge. But when she is placed in charge of the Aquarium's new sea turtle hospital, the massive responsibility eats at her hard-won confidence. One of the Aquarium's top guns could be an obstacle to her success--or a much-needed ally.

The people in Toy's life are also going through major life transitions. Cara and Brett want a baby, Emmie is home after a rough divorce, and Flo is starting to feel her age. Family by choice, this tight-knit group will have its foundations turned to the very sand trod by their beloved loggerhead turtles. Will love and trust win out over life-altering challenges?

Toy is strikingly real as a young, single mother doing her best not to repeat her own mother's mistakes. When Little Lovie's father tries to reenter the picture, Toy--and her beloved friends--has very human reactions. In trying not to mess up, she does make mistakes, and this is only one aspect that will draw women to her character.

Once again, Mary Alice Monroe delivers a novel in the laid-back but emotional style befitting the South Carolina Lowcountry. She captures the ebb-and-flow rhythm of island life through the eyes of characters as real as your next-door neighbor. Monroe's moderate pacing is entirely appropriate to the novel's setting, gently placing readers into each scene.

Readers looking for a novel hopped up with fast-paced action and plots will not find that here. On the other hand, readers WILL discover a lovely novel written from the heart.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
04/04/2007

4.5-Books on WUAT = 5-Stars on Amazon

SWIMMING LESSONS is the sequel to The Beach House