Publishers Weekly
04/03/2023
A Black high school junior moves to a town haunted by its tragic history in this ambitious paranormal horror novel from Tirado (Burn Down Rise Up). When her paternal grandfather, Lala, falls ill, star swimmer Bronwyn Sawyer moves from Illinois to Hillwoods, a tightly knit town in rural Arkansas. She quickly learns that Hillwoods is ruled by ritual steeped in superstition, and that swimming is forbidden due to a legend involving a murdered woman drowning people at a nearby lake. Bronwyn attempts to rekindle her relationship with her estranged townie cousin Anais, who is Black and queer, but the girls clash over Anais’s increasingly cagey behavior surrounding the supernatural roots of Hillwoods’ history. Anais asserts that her secretiveness is for Bronwyn’s own good and encourages Bronwyn to stop looking into the town’s past. While the mythos behind Hillwoods’ rituals is unique and eerie, the effect is somewhat deflated by a lack of horror-related happenings; grounded sequences depicting a violent hate crime, gun violence, and physical assault make up the bulk of the conflict. Nevertheless, Tirado doles out a chilling ghost story via Bronwyn and Anais’s courageous and urgent dual perspectives. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kristina Pérez, Zeno Agency. (May)
From the Publisher
"Righteous revenge and horrors of the past collide with chlorine and small-town secrets in this riveting thriller. The perfect book for anyone beginning to question what gets called monstrous–and why. Unsettling and heartrending." — Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us
"Breathtaking and uncanny, like drowning on dry land. We Don’t Swim Here swept me down into its murky depths and held me there as Vincent Tirado illuminated all the horrors that lurk beneath the surface. I’m never going swimming again." — Ryan La Sala, bestselling author of The Honeys
"A gripping investigation of injustice and small-town sins that unveils humanity’s monstrous potential." — Kirkus Reviews
"Captivating and raw" — School Library Journal
"Unique and eerie... a chilling ghost story." — Publishers Weekly
"Tirado builds the suspense gradually until Bronwyn learns the truth; after that, the tension skyrockets." — Booklist
"Tirado spins a creepy yarn, building layers of tension... [a] compelling supernatural mystery" — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
School Library Journal
04/01/2023
Gr 9 Up—Told in dual points-of-view, this novel features cousins Bronwyn and Anais, both second generation Black Dominicans, who are at odds as soon as Bronwyn and her family move to Arkansas to help with their abuela's end of life care. Anais is a lifelong resident of Hillwood and deeply entrenched in the dark secrets of the town, the rituals of avoiding the ghost that haunts their waking hours and navigating her increasingly complicated relationship with her ex-girlfriend, Hanna. Bronwyn is struggling after leaving her home in Illinois, where she was a competitive swimmer with Olympic dreams, now living in a town where no one is allowed to swim, the pools are drained, and the lake is haunted by a murderous ghost. Rooted in systemic racism and small-town living, Tirado's novel is captivating and raw. The mythology of the story is not always clear, but Tirado's dark style is compelling. VERDICT Recommended for fans of dark YA such as that by Kayla Cottingham.—Sarah Voels
Kirkus Reviews
2023-02-25
Cousins become immersed in their rural town’s tragic folklore, uncovering surprising familial connections.
Before the start of her junior year, Bronwyn Sawyer’s dreams of becoming an Olympic swimmer are put on pause when Lala, her beloved paternal grandfather, has a stroke and lands in hospice and Bronwyn’s father temporarily uproots the family from Illinois to his overwhelmingly White Arkansas hometown and into Lala’s house. Although the move is only for a year and Anais, Bronwyn’s cousin, is also a junior at Hillwoods High School, Bronwyn is disoriented: Although they were once close, the girls haven’t seen each other in years; Lala’s not getting better; and Bronwyn feels like an outsider. Bronwyn’s anxiety increases after learning that the students of Hillwoods, including Anais, follow secretive rituals and uphold superstitions that border on paranoid—all leading back to a curse and the chilling legend of a murdered woman who exacts her revenge through drownings, including in a local lake and pools. Bronwyn’s curiosity threatens the town’s status quo, and as Anais tries to protect her cousin from both real and paranormal dangers, Bronwyn realizes the ghost story, which involves her family, points to horrifying truths about Hillwoods’ bigoted past. Tirado builds palpable suspense, and Bronwyn’s and Anais’ alternating first-person perspectives highlight their inner resolve. Both teenagers identify as Black; Anais’ mom is White, and Lala is from the Dominican Republic.
A gripping investigation of injustice and small-town sins that unveils humanity’s monstrous potential. (Horror. 14-18)
