Before doesn’t exist—not for Luke Stevenson—not anymore.
He once dreamt of winning Olympic gold and escaping his crappy little New Mexico town, but that dream shattered the night a drunk driver took his twin sister and confined him to a wheelchair. Mourning Bethany and struggling to cope with his new paraplegic life, Luke is blind with rage at everyone and everything.
Adriana Toomey, the only other survivor of the crash, can barely crawl out of bed after burying her fiancé, Luke’s best friend. But what haunts her most, she has no memory of that fatal night.
An old friend who manages a camp for special needs kids, strong-arms the broken pair to act as counselors for three weeks. Seeing each other again is painful. Luke reminds Adriana too much of the man she was going to marry. Luke, who secretly loves his best friend’s girl, has no idea how to be the kind of man any woman would want. Disabled and destroyed, what could he possibly have to offer now?
Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.
He once dreamt of winning Olympic gold and escaping his crappy little New Mexico town, but that dream shattered the night a drunk driver took his twin sister and confined him to a wheelchair. Mourning Bethany and struggling to cope with his new paraplegic life, Luke is blind with rage at everyone and everything.
Adriana Toomey, the only other survivor of the crash, can barely crawl out of bed after burying her fiancé, Luke’s best friend. But what haunts her most, she has no memory of that fatal night.
An old friend who manages a camp for special needs kids, strong-arms the broken pair to act as counselors for three weeks. Seeing each other again is painful. Luke reminds Adriana too much of the man she was going to marry. Luke, who secretly loves his best friend’s girl, has no idea how to be the kind of man any woman would want. Disabled and destroyed, what could he possibly have to offer now?
Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.
Into
the Deep End has got to be one
of the saddest yet most hopeful heart wrenching books I have read in a while.
Even knowing what it's like to lose my best friend and soul mate, I still
cannot fathom the loss that Luke experienced, especially at such a young age.
He lost the best friend he had in his twin sister, his best friend Rob, the use
of his legs, his college scholarship, and his future in competitive swimming,
including an almost guaranteed spot at the Olympics. The level of depression
and anger that Luke exhibits at the beginning of the book is completely
understandable. Which is what makes the change he undergoes throughout the
course of the book so beautiful.
The book opens with Luke basically being
forced by his father to go with Adriana to work as a counselor at a camp for
persons with Spina Bifida and spinal cord injuries (SCIs). As the only other
survivor of the accident, Adriana’s presence is a painful reminder of all that
Luke lost that night. The idea of being stuck with her at a camp for other
people in wheelchairs in the middle of nowhere for three weeks is maddening to
Luke. That Luke is jealous of Adriana’s inability to remember the accident
while Adriana is resentful that he can remember but won’t tell her does not
help their situation at all. As much as he didn’t want to be there and despite
his attempts to leave, being at the camp was exactly what Luke needed so that
he could gain a new perspective on the life ahead of him. Because each week of
camp was for a different age group (children, tweens/teens, and older teens
& adults), Luke learned different lessons. He also benefited from the
physical therapist who seemed to channel her inner drill sergeant when working
with Luke. But Luke was not the only one who benefited from the camp – Adriana
also showed signs of healing and the two were able to reconnect and begin
planning for life after camp.
Despite only being three weeks in length,
the time at camp spanned just over half of the novel as it was imperative that
Luke, and Adriana, have the chance to begin the healing process. It also gave
the reader time to become acquainted with Will and Gina, who play a big part in
Luke’s life after camp is finished as he moves into an apartment in their
complex at Will’s urging. That Gina grew up with a father who also had an SCI
gave her a perspective that was vital to Luke’s continued improvement
post-camp. I will admit that I was angry and sad on Luke’s behalf when Adriana
began dating. Yet Ms. Freeman provided a resolution to Luke’s love life that
was perfect. I was impressed with the way the author addressed Luke’s concerns
about his sexuality – or lack thereof in his mind – and the importance of
finding that person who accepts you as you are. I absolutely loved this book
and stayed up until 2 am to finish it because I had to know how it ended and it
was sooooo worth it. But be forewarned, don’t start this book without a serious
supply of tissues because I found myself crying both tears of sadness and joy
while reading Into the Deep End.
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