Breathe and Count Back from Ten

A Pura Belpr Honor Book * A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book for Teens In this gorgeously written and authentic novel, Vernica, a Peruvian-American teen with hip dysplasia, auditions to become a mermaid at a Central Florida theme park in the summer before her senior year, all while figuring out her first real boyfriend and how to feel safe in her own body. Vernica has had many surgeries to manage her disability. The best form of rehabilitation is swimming, so she spends hours in the pool, but not just to strengthen her body. Her Florida town is home to Mermaid Cove, a kitschy underwater attraction where professional mermaids perform in giant tanks . . . and Vernica wants to audition. But her conservative Peruvian parents would never go for it. And they definitely would never let her be with Alex, her cute new neighbor. She decides its time to seize control of her life, but her plans come crashing down when she learns her parents have been hiding the truth from herthe truth about her own body.