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intertidalkendy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: War
Moderate: Animal death, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Death, and Pregnancy
ariqua's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was great! If you like queer historical fiction, mythology, fantasy, and romance, this is the one for you! However, the fantasy elements are barely there, so it's mostly a historical fiction queer romance. Bonus, it takes place, mostly, in Canada!
TLDR: Two queer kids fall in love in the late 1930's on a farm in Ontario and stuff happens. The story follows them over a span of about 20 years and how being queer during the war in Canada may have looked like. Also, one of them might be a changeling or a descendant of a selkie. Expect some death (I mean it's set during WWII) some mild homophobia, and oppressive gender roles.
Our MC is Kit, Kathleen, who is the epitome of a tom boy living on a farm in rural Canada. She hates dresses and loves horses. She also might be a changeling due to the fact that she almost drowned in a river when she was young and her mother did some dark magic ritual stuff to bring her back. Plus she also hears the voices of water spirits, which is how she almost drowned in the first place. Throughout the story, we see her become more herself and less of who everyone expects her to be. Kit is the middle child, with one older and one younger brother. The older one is also pursuing Rebekah, which poses some family conflict as you would expect.
Our second MC is Rebekah: A big town girl with a German born father who had to move to the country when things in the city were becoming a struggle due to Germany's part in WWII. She meets Kit as a boy, but is not put off when she realizes Kit is a girl. They develop a friendship and so much more.
Neither of our characters are given an explicit orientation in the story, however Kit is very much trans and probably non-binary. They use all sorts of pronouns and are romantically and sexually interested in multiple genders. Rebekah is a cis-female, but has romantic/sexual attraction to male, female, and enby presenting characters.
If you are wondering, all sex scenes (of which there are very few) are fade to black. Just a few details so you know what's going to happen, and then it leaves it up to your own imagination.
It's a beautifully written, sometimes heartbreaking story about love, family, and figuring out oneself.
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Misogyny, Body horror, Pregnancy, Deadnaming, Homophobia, War, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness
autumnrevel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Antisemitism, and Dysphoria
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
elliott_roi's review against another edition
5.0
🗓 Publish date: Jan 30, 2024
Short review:
Very gender. All the feels. Loved it!
Long review:
I decided to pick up The Cure for Drowning when I saw it was a queer historical fiction set in Canada and I’m so glad I did! This quickly became a new favourite for me. I was laughing and crying throughout, and couldn't put it down!
The start of the book was very chilling and set the mood for the story. I loved the way magic was interwoven throughout the book in different ways, adding a mystical quality to everything.
I immediately loved Kit and related so much to their feelings about gender (and horses!) Rebekah was also a relatable character, nursing feelings she shouldn't have towards a friend and preferring to be inside reading. The story follows these characters from teens shirking chores to play in the river to teens fighting in WWII and against prejudice to adults unsure of their lives and feelings for each other.
I don't think I can properly describe the beautiful ways this book makes space for queerness during a time period where it was not accepted. My favourite example being the way Rebekah easily switches to they/them pronouns for Kit. There are certainly moments of heartbreak and hatred in this book, but what will stay with me is the hope.
A big thank you to Random House Canada and NetGalley for providing an early copy of this title. All thoughts are my own.
Graphic: War, Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
Moderate: Infidelity, Deadnaming, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
hmatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
If I were to nitpick: I didn't get the sense of a long period of time passing in the first part of the book. I mostly only noticed this in contrast to the middle/war sections of the book and because, later on in the book, this time is referred to as if it were several formative years (and I think it was actually just a few months). The very end of the book
There are definitely other queer WWII history novels out there, but I enjoyed the uniqueness of this Canadian take with its magical elements.
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, War, Violence, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Death, and Cursing
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexism
Minor: Classism and Sexual content
fictionandfarming's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Cure for Drowning is a dual-POV story that is, at its heart, a love story with queer and non-binary characters taking centre stage. Kit McNair, born Kathleen, is considered a rebellious changeling by parents that expect them to behave as a proper farmgirl. Rebekah is daughter to a German-Canadian doctor and French-Canadian mother in a pre-WWII world where her last name makes her family a target of prejudice. The pair, as well as Kit’s brother Landon, are drawn into a love triangle when Rebekah’s family move to rural Ontario and become the McNair’s neighbours. The three are pulled onto separate paths by WWII, only to be brought together again in the aftermath of the war.
This story pulled me along, I wanted to know what would happen next, and I ended up reading it in every spare moment I could find once I started. The pacing and dual-POV narrative were very well done and made this an easy read. Paylor’s settings were lush and their descriptions brought the time period to life.
To say I enjoyed our two main characters is an understatement. Rebekah and Kit, the relationship between them and with the other characters presented in the story, were compelling. The writing keeps them at arm’s-length from the reader, and I felt we did not truly get inside their heads, which may not suit some reader’s tastes, but still works for the story being told. We see these characters experience love, heartbreak, and loss, and face challenges as they try to find their way through this WWII era world.
The way the story is split up, and the way the time skips were used, worked wonderfully for me. The innocence and youth of the first part combined with the buildup to and inevitability of WWII. The different realities of WWII in Canada and for Canadians overlaid by the loss of that innocence and finding a way to survive during wartime. And, finally, coming to terms with the loss post-WWII and finding a way forward and building a new life. All of which is deftly tied together by the romantic plotline between Kit, Rebekah, and Landon.
I do have mixed feelings about the mythology and fantastical elements. They were not a major part of the story, and I’m not sure the story would change at all if they were removed. On the other hand, these elements added to the mood of the story, and it’s interesting to consider whether these explanations were the characters’ way of coming to terms with their own stories and world rather than being literal happenings.
As for the ending, again, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, it feels very fitting. On the other hand, I feel like it left loose strings that I’m not entirely satisfied with. Those strings being Kit’s relationship with their mother and the farm, and both Kit and Rebekah’s relationships with Landon, particularly Kit’s and the conflict there. And yet a resolution to these things may also have felt unrealistic.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for making the DRC available to me. All opinions are my own.
Content Notes:
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexism
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual harassment
jennp28's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Homophobia
Minor: Pregnancy and Injury/Injury detail