Capsized is a story about competition, ambition, and community. About the things we will sacrifice to get what we want. And the things we will sacrifice for the dreams of others. Keep reading this book review of Capsized for my full thoughts.
Summary
For high-achieving Margaret Douglas, rowing is everything—her friends, her family, and her way into college. As a senior and varsity captain, she’s sacrificed everything to get where she is. But after mysteriously disappearing over the summer, rumors Was Margaret at Olympic training? Rehab? House arrest? Whatever happened, it haunts her . . . and when she returns at the beginning of the season, Margaret discovers that the sisterhood she once knew has moved on without her.
Meanwhile, spunky freshman and new girl Jo Bryant is being forced to row by her a former Olympian, a Boston legend, and the person Jo blames for her parents’ divorce. Jo knows nothing about the sport, or why Margaret’s return has everyone at the boathouse whispering, but she does know Margaret is the only person who doesn’t treat her like a joke.
For both girls, the varsity team is a fierce, messy found family; a sisterhood earned in five a.m. wake-ups and blistered hands. But there are secrets and scandals waiting to surface—and with the biggest race of the year on the horizon, Margaret, Jo, and their teammates are about to find out just how deep they go.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Capsized is about second chances. About (re)invention, forgiveness, and friendship. The bonds a team can make that are set in stone – until they aren’t. Capsized reminds us of the images we have of people we think we know. The walls and illusions we put up out of fear, desire, and anger. Capsized has such a strong mystery through line as we try to figure out what happened with Margaret in the summer, why she was gone, and if she can bounce back. And with Jo, it’s a story about forgiveness and realizing she might be wrong about some people.
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The girls are under the pressure of what we are told to be. The weight of other’s dreams and the expectations we are held to. Capsized revolves around the idea of a sport which requires love and loyalty above all else, even – at times – ourselves. We witness the mystery unfolding and the train coming off its tracks. Capsized explores what we would do to get what we want. Would we throw our friends under the bus? And, a separate question, what would we do to make it right? Find Capsized on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.