Out of Synch

Thirteen-year-old Katie Phillips dreams of reaching the U.S.Synchronized Swimming National Championships. But her sports-obsessed father wants her to quit the team to focus on swimming races--real swimming, as he puts it--to earn a college scholarship like her narcissistic older brother Nick, a Florida state record holder. When Katie's duet partner is seriously injured in a freak accident during practice, her determination to overcome her family's lack of support is put to the test as her life unravels around her. She's on the verge of failing math class, and her tough-as-nails swim coach is pushing her hard to qualify for states in the 200 freestyle. Then there's the boy she can't stop thinking about. And through it all, she wonders just what her muscle-bound brother is trying to hide about his record-setting performance two years earlier.

Warren Firschein graduated from the University of Rochester in 1989 with a degree in political science, followed by a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. His most recent middle grade novel is The Pirate of Janaconda Island, released in December, 2017. He is co-author of A Brief History of Safety Harbor, Florida (History Press, 2013), and the co-founder and managing editor of Odet, a literary journal based near Tampa Bay. When not writing, he is an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission. He lives in Safety Harbor, Florida with his wife, Dawn, and their two daughters, Sophie and Elena.