Aniana del Mar Jumps In

In Galveston, Tex., 12-year-old Aniana del Mar loves to swim: “All I want/ is to/ slip/ slide/ drift/ glide.” During daddy-daughter dates, she and Papi head to the YMCA for swim practice and meets, but the two keep these events secret from Mami, who still grieves losing “her brother/ her house and/ her village” as a child during Hurricane Georges, and regularly fears the worst for her family. But everything comes crashing down when Ani’s occasional post-exercise aches and swelling intensify into chronic pain, “statue-stiff/ mornings and clumsy/ collapses,” and a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Religious Mami believes that God is punishing Ani for keeping secrets and lies with her father, and, in spite of the physical therapist’s recommendation otherwise, bans all swimming. Ani meanwhile feels abandoned by Papi, who’s frequently away working for the Coast Guard. Via myriad poetic forms and sensorial verse, Mendez viscerally details the emotional family tumult of grief, mistrust, and resentment alongside Ani’s heartfelt quest to reunite with water. Back matter details poetic forms used and notes that Mendez, like Aniana, is Dominican American and lives with chronic illness and disability. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Mar.)