This book has been such a positive surprise for me! The only reasons I picked it up was because I asked my partner to randomly throw a number at me and I would read that book on my E-Reader. He wanted me to read the 3rd book on the reader, which happened to be “Learning not to drown”. I am completely honest with you now – two chapters into the story, I thought that I would not like this novel. I thought both the main character Clare as well as her mother was pretty annoying but in hindsight, I am so, so glad I struggled through those chapters. Because as the story progressed, I grew to love Clare, I grew to love Peter, Skeleton, Drea, Omar and I even kind of liked Luke for some time. You see, Luke is the problem here. He has been in and out of prison for being “at the wrong place at the wrong time” for the last couple of years. And even though the entire town hates him, he’s still kind of Clare’s hero. Her big brother who gave her so many great memories. She just can’t stay mad at Luke, because Luke is just like a puppy that peed on your couch. You WANT to be mad at that puppy (the couch was expensive as frick) but oooh, look at those cute puppy eyes and its wagging tail. Well, Luke is said puppy and Clare (and her mum and dad) are the ones who just can’t resist those eyes. The story is told in alternating chapters. Some are from Clare’s childhood – age two, age 8, age 14 – and some deal with Clare’s current situation, aged 17. All her childhood memories involve Luke in one way or another; firstly they are happy memories, but as the story progresses, they are getting darker and less happy. Clare, however, continues to see the good in her brother – even though he is an addict and steals – because that is still better than him hurting people. Until one day, she digs out the one memory that changes everything. This novel got to me. As I said, I really enjoyed the characters – besides Clare’s parents, they are so weird! – and the setting, I thought of Clare as a very lovable and likeable main heroine and even though I thought I knew how this one would end, I was still kind of shocked. “Learning not to drown” deserves a full 5 stars.