{"product_id":"the-lifeguard","title":"The Lifeguard","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAUTHOR OF BESTSELLER, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eIN A PERFECT WORLD\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAUTHOR OF THREE BOOKS ADAPTED TO FILM: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eSUSPICIOUS RIVER\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTHE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e, AND \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eWHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER IN POETRY FOR \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eSPACE, IN CHAINS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLaura Kasischke dives back into novels with this thrilling small town mystery, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTHE LIFEGUARD\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is a novel about grief and ambition, innocence and blame--a tale that spools out of and around a Midwestern swimming pool one summer afternoon, 1969, and into the future of an America yet to be imagined.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the town of Mission Hills, Michigan, an elementary school child drowns in the Olympic-sized pool at a summer swim club. By most, but not all, the lifeguard on duty that afternoon--a teenage girl who becomes the town's scapegoat, bearing the weight of their grief and fears--is seen as responsible for the tragedy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eKasischke weaves together overlapping narratives and shifting perspectives, gradually peeling back the layers of what really happened that day. Through poetic, sensory-rich prose, she explores the liminal spaces between memory and reality, innocence and culpability, childhood and adulthood. The story probes the arbitrary, inexorable nature of fate--how a single moment can alter lives forever, and how the search for answers can reveal unsettling truths about ourselves and those around us.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1636282873\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781636282879\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Kasischke, Laura\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Red Hen Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Red Hen Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (May 2026)","offer_id":46291872284869,"sku":"9781636282879","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781636282879.jpg?v=1780113228","url":"https:\/\/www.inveni.store\/products\/the-lifeguard","provider":"Inveni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}