Geese Are Never Swans

Gus's life is about one thing-- swimming. He is determined tomake it to the Olympics and he knows that the only coach in townwho can get him there is Coach Marks. So it seems like a simpleplan: convince Coach Marks to train him. Everything from there onin is just hard work and Gus has never been afraid of hardwork.But there are a few complications. For one thing, Coach Markswas Danny's coach. Danny, Gus's older brother, committed suicideafter failing to make the national swimming team, a big step on theway to the Olympics. And for another thing, Gus and Danny didn'texactly get along when Danny was alive. Gus never liked living inDanny's shadow, and that shadow has grown even longer since Danny'sdeath.In this powerful novel about the punishing and the healingnature of sports, Gus's rage threatens to swallow him at everyturn. He's angry at his brother, his mother, his coach . . . evenhimself. But as he works through his feelings and toward his goal,Gus does everything he can to channel his anger into excelling atthe sport that he and Danny both loved, finding solace in the sameplace he must face his demons: the water.