'The Polite Act of Drowning is a beautiful and captivating novel, lyrical and sensuous, a precise and faithful evocation of the tumult and trauma of family life, and of emergence into adulthood, and the confrontation of truths about ourselves and the people we love'
- Donal Ryan
'...loved every word of it. Such a beautifully written, evocative book ... Heartbreaking at times, this is ultimately a story of hope. The best book I've read this year so far. If you liked The Paper Palace, you'll love this'
- Michelle McDonagh, author of There's Something I have to Tell You
'Charleen Hurtubise is a gifted storyteller. The vivid world of Kettle Lake, its natural beauties, its characters and its secrets, comes alive in this lyrical, evocative novel. Hurtubise's writing is skilful, compelling, mesmeric'
- Lia Mills
'A luminous and gripping portrait of a teenage girl coming of age in a small lakeshore community. Filled with colourful, complicated characters and brimming with heartbreak, love, and redemption, it is an exquisite debut from a powerful storyteller'
- Michelle Gallen, author of Factory Girls
'Hauntingly atmospheric'
- Sue Leonard, Irish Examiner
'The Polite Act of Drowning is an accomplished debut franked with credible characters and imbued with the conviction that we determine our own destiny'
- Brendan Daly, Irish Examiner
'The humid haze of small-town America in high summer is brilliantly wrought here'
- Irish Independent
'Part coming of age drama, part exploration of inherited trauma, Hurtubise expertly places us in the middle of the action ... this is a tale that lingers'
- Sophie Grenham, The Sunday Times
'an impressive debut, establishing its author as someone with a keen eye for emotional detail and luscious scene-setting. Hurtubise's coming of age tale balances the tension of the trouble brewing in this community with the vulnerability, joy and pain of growing up'
- Emma Flynn, The Irish Times