The Sea of Light

Without hesitation, I would call this the best sports novel I have ever read. Levin truly understands the meaning of sport being a reflection of life. Her portrayal of human emotion in this book is simply amazingly raw and realistic. Through the eyes of Ellie Marks and Babe Delgado, Levin takes us through the world of competitive swimming from two entirely different points of view: that of the struggling athlete whose work ethic outweighs her natural ability, and that of the natural born star who was bred to swim. Their friendship evolves over the course of the season, and through each other, they manage to discover themselves. Watching her swimmers grow, Brenna Allen deals with her own demons, trying to pick up the pieces of her own life. This is a story about sports, identity and life. It is about healing, regrowth and sexuality. The characters are incredibly well fleshed out and very believable. Levin convincingly makes you believe that she knows what she's talking about. She writes from the heart, as if she's experienced their struggles, and it shows. An amazing book to be read over and over again.

I finished this book last night, and though I read an average of 120 books per year, this one is up there with my top five! It was incredible! I found it in a used book store and it looked interesting - I am not gay or an athelete for that matter, and yet I found everything about this book, the characters, their relationships, their insights...to be incredibly relevant to my own life...I especially loved the following passage: "Whatever we do that is hardest for us, is the thing we put our most into. Whatever we put our most into, like our time, and sweat and blood, well that is the thing we make our own. Because after a while it smells like us. It tastes like us. After a while it calls out our name." Don't you love it? Can't wait to read more of Ms. Levin's books. Thank you Jenifer!

I have never, ever read a book that left me trembling when I was finished. Until I read Sea of Light. This book is the most incredible piece of writing that I have ever read in my entire life. I found the characters to be believable, and I found the analogies of swimming with love to be unshakeable. All I can say is wow. I feel madly in love with every character in this book. I can honestly say that I have just about memorized, the whole thing, from having read it so much. The tender sex scenes left me with a flickering in my gut, and the emotions that ellie goes through are so much like mine, that I feel as if I have been transposed, piece by shattering piece, into the book's core. I ache for a sequel, Miss Levin! Please, Please, Please, share more about Ellie and Babe! This is a must-read for anyone!

I first picked up The Sea of Light several years ago after being lucky enough to take a writing class with Ms Levin. To this day, the book is one of few on my shelf to which I return again and again. The characters leapt off the page, their story moved me to tears on several occasions. As they usually are, Kirkus is off target; the construction of the novel is nothing less than perfect, the characters round and complete, the story at once filled with joy and devastation---as life always is. If you have not read this book, take the phone off the hook and don't plan on going anywhere until it's finished. You won't be able to put it down.

This book, in short, was the most memorable read for me in 1998. And I read quite a bit. I've heard before that a sign of a really good book is how it affects you once you put it down. Well, with this book, I never wanted to put it down. An amazing story of hope, in the end. Hope to heal old wounds, hope to find new love, and the hope to rebuild and reinforce the nature of our inconquerable souls -- all of us. The venue is the sport of competitive swimming, which paints and shades a lot of what happens throughout the novel.. I am enamored of this story so much, I just hope the author can answer me one question: why has your work not been adapted to film? It should be...I even have a handle on who should take the leading role, for example: Allison Folland would make a touching, and quite believable, Babe. If you'd let me, Ms. Levin, I'd like to make your book into one helluva of a film! Thank you and bless you for such a transforming piece of writing!