A Little About The Girl Who Swam to Atlantis:

Fear can be the current that threatens to pull you under or simply a challenge to test us and be overcome…

Elle Thornton’s debut novel reintroduces us to an important time in America where the seeds of social transition were beginning to sprout.  It happens that our 12 year-old main character, Gabriella is also in the early stages of her own important transition.  Gabriella begins the story a child but with the help of caring mentors and her own inquisitive nature, she may learn to see beyond herself and her fears to truly know how to love and embrace compassion.  It’s this racially charged atmosphere of the 1950s and the tragic death of the young Emmett Till that test Gabriella’s courage.  She will either stand against this society’s nefarious elements, who threaten to tear her from those she cares for, or be swept away by the fear of their bigotry and hate. Read the rest of this entry »