The Pools - Couverture rigide

Lockhart, E.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0593904125 ISBN 13 : 9780593904121

Editeur : Delacorte Press, 2026

Synopsis

A modern literary tour de force from E. Lockhart, Printz and National Book Award honoree and bestselling author of the global sensation We Were Liars. Told through short, poetic chapters, this sweeping love story follows two teenagers whose lives—and the lives of everyone in their quiet New England town—are forever altered by a shocking transformation.

In a New England spa town, now long past its Victorian heyday, there still stand twelve pools, sourced by a single hot spring. The people of the town swim there every day.  After school, they swim. After dinner. For playdates. For dates.

Legend has it, one day long ago, people who bathed in the pools turned into birds. But that is just a tale.

Then one day, in the depths of winter, it is too cold to swim, even in the hottest pool.  That day, only five people go in the water:  two eight year-olds, at play; a teenage boy, trying to swim off a looming depression; and two old women, a couple, who never miss their exercise.

Next morning, the five of them wake up as birds.

The Pools is the story of Lexie. Her sister Orly has become a bird. And so has her first love, Chester.  When their families fail them, and when the doctors, apothecaries, religious leaders and healers fail them too, it may be up to Lexie to save their lives. 

The book is a quick read, an emotional gut-punch and a mediation on true love, and death and grief, sacrifice and identity.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

E. Lockhart is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the LIARS novels: We Were Liars, Family of Liars, and We Fell Apart. We Were Liars is also an original series on Prime Video. Her other books include Again Again, Genuine Fraud, and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. She has been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Award and an honoree for the Printz Award. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Extrait. © Reproduit sur autorisation. Tous droits réservés.

WHEN LEXIE FIRST SAW THE POOLS,

she was not afraid.

Steam drifted in friendly puffs from the surface of the water,

like an invitation.

The pools were lit from beneath, glowing in the dark of the cool June evening.

The townspeople floated, gently kicking their legs, talking low to one another.

Lexie wore a swimsuit and held a white towel.

She was not afraid.

She walked past pool after pool.

There were twelve in all.

She chose a small one that was mostly empty.

One hundred and ten degrees, said the sign.

She slid in.

A boy was swimming laps in the next pool over.

His arms moved in a powerful rhythm.

His eyes were invisible behind his goggles.

His wingspan was broad.

His body was at home in the water.

It was nine p.m.

Lexie was not afraid.


LEXIE WEISS-­GREENBERG ARRIVED IN COVINGTON JUST LAST WEEK.

She drove a battered car.

Lexie was at the wheel for the whole cross-­country drive.

Her sister Orly sat in the back with several stuffed animals, two Minecraft figurines and a word search activity book.

Their mother slept in the passenger seat.

Lexie’s mother is sick with a strange malady, layered with depression.

She’s sick, and maybe the reason is her grief over Lexie and Orly’s dad. He died six years ago.

Or maybe she’s grieving Lexie’s failures.

Maybe Lexie’s mother suffers a thousand allergies, and

maybe she suffers vitamin deficiencies.

Her back aches. Her head is sore.

She is always exhausted.

Her hands are swollen. And her feet.

Lexie is

fine,

fine,

fine.

She is silent, nowadays.

As she drove, Lexie ate powdery cheese crackers.

She listened to podcasts about true crime and pop culture.

She stopped for gas and washed her face in the stinky beige of the station restroom.

Her butt kinda hurt and she got bored of all her podcasts.

Mom, you okay to drive when we get to the next stop?

No, I won’t be, honey.

My pain is acting up.

You’re so good to do it.

I don’t think so, honey.

Orly got tired of her word search book.

Orly got tired of an audiobook about Judy Moody.

Orly got tired of searching for the alphabet on road signs.

They slept in motel rooms, all three together.

They washed their clothes in the bathroom sinks, and once in an Illinois laundromat.

Still, Lexie was glad they were going to Covington.

She had read about the cobblestone streets in the old part of town.

The town square with its ornate fountain.

The red-­gold fall and the wicked-­cold winter.

She had read about the pools, as well.

Hot spring water is rich in calcium and sodium bicarbonate. It helps to increase oxygen flow and improve circulation.

The sulfur in the water is antibacterial and antifungal, so it’s good for your skin.

Plus, local people tell stories about the water being magic. The travel websites don’t say what kind of magic, and they don’t say what kind of stories. But they do show photographs of the twelve pools, some enormous and some quite small, laid out in a garden surrounded by a high stone wall.

Lexie’s Aunt Ida lives in Covington—­and she has a two-­bedroom house.

Aunt Ida has a job and is willing to pick up extra shifts.

Aunt Ida has offered to let their family come live with her, since Lexie’s mother cannot work.

Sleep three to the guest room and you can stay as long as you like, Aunt Ida told them.

Lexie should be in school, Aunt Ida said. All three of you come here.

Lexie thought the pools would heal her mother’s aches,

and her mother’s sore head,

and her exhaustion,

and her swollen hands and feet.

Well, she hoped they would.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Delacorte Press
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0593904125
• ISBN 13: 9780593904121
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 384
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible