The oldest child in a troubled Philadelphia family, Angel Ferente struggles to care for her three sisters while pursuing her goal of attending college on a swimming scholarship. She has a problematic relationship with her mother, Pic, who uses alcohol and drugs to self-medicate and at one point lost custody for a year, and an outright hostile relationship with her stepfather, the only father … figure in her life. Angel is the center of stability in the household—making sure the younger girls get to school, ensuring that holidays are observed, doing the family’s laundry at her part-time job at a Laundromat, and even taking care of Pic when she is sick or depressed. It’s 1993, the midst of the crack epidemic, and Angel and her sisters are witness to the everyday events of life in a community beset by poverty and drugs: dealers on the corner, shoot-outs that kill bystanders, prostitutes on the job, and more. Then Angel goes to a team party on New Year’s Eve—and doesn’t come home afterward. In the wake of her disappearance, her teammates, her coach’s church, and her family search the city for her. The result changes their lives forever.
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Kudos to Elise Schiller for writing about a demographic that is overlooked because the pain, suffering and poverty they live in doesn’t fit into the “All American” culture.
Watermark has inspiring moments that are overshadowed by horrible circumstances triggered by drugs, alcohol, poverty, sex and violence. Good character development and storytelling helps carry the reader through this very sad view of a life.
I’d recommend Watermark as a high school read to stimulate conversation about many coming of age topics.
Watermark offers an unsentimental look at family dysfunction through a teenage girl’s heroic efforts to escape her mother’s downward spiral of anger, self-abasement, and drug use. 18-year-old Angel Ferente is a star swimmer in a working-class Philadelphia neighborhood where swimming pools are hard to come by. She’s also a rebel, a surrogate mom to her three younger sisters, and the object of her mother’s vindictive rage. As the novel begins, Angel has gone missing, a development that could mean escape or tragedy—or something in between. From there, the author cycles back through Angel’s recent past, revealing a world on the edge of chaos and a character on the edge of brilliance—if only she can hang on long enough to get a coveted athletic scholarship.
The author does a great job of capturing this particular world in its nuance and complexity. The story is told by alternating first-person narrators: Angel’s sister Jeannine, and a teammate from a more stable family. These voices complement each other. Jeannine—imaginative but damaged—reveals the inner workings of the family, while the less talented (and less desperate) Alex clues us in to Angel’s life on the swim team. Angel’s disappearance is resolved in an unexpected way, at least for this reader.
I had a feeling I was going to like Watermark from the very beginning when the young narrator introduces us to her family, guts and all. Told in dual narration, we learn about Angel, a streets-smart teenager who is forced to grow up fast while trying to save herself and her younger sisters from a drug-addicted absentee mother and a stepfather who is equally dangerous.
The dialogue is real, and the reader gets to know Angel through the eyes of her younger sister and her best friend. Both narrative voices work, giving us an in-depth look into Angel’s world—both at home, and at the rec center where she excels as a swimmer. Watermark will appeal to young readers and adults in the same way Outsiders gave us a peek into the lives of kids living with little guidance under challenging circumstances.
Watermark is a bittersweet tale, and Elise Schiller delivers raw emotion and heart.
An emotional read, Watermark by Elise Schiller, captures the times in this evocative novel, following the disappearance of a young girl living in a troublesome neighborhood and a complicated home.
Watermark was certainly not something I would pick up on my own; I tend to go more toward fantasy when it comes to stories. However, I never turn down a recommendation. Furthermore, it was impressive.
Impressive
Watermark follows the disappearance of Angel following the perspectives of her younger sister Jeannine and friend Alex. At first, it is a bit jarring how it goes between these two perspectives because in a way, they are not that cohesive. These two perspectives come off as disjointed in the beginning, but as the story progresses, it is clear why Schiller chose these two perspectives.
The reader gets to know Angel through her sister and her friend, offering up a full person. Human beings are often different when they are in a private setting to a public one. So the reader gets to know Angel in both of these settings, seeing both sides of her to give insight into her relationships with her family and her friends.
It was a unique way to approach the story Schiller executed it well. Jeannine and Alex have distinct voices, and each perspective gives depth to the story, influencing how the reader sees Angel.
Getting to know Angel
Angel is a headstrong character; she is practically the mother of the household, often keeping the family together. Her mother had her at 15, so there is a lot of resentment there, and her mother is jealous of her as well. Pic, her mother, is jealous of the chances she has in life, of how thoughtful she is, how her children prefer Angel rather than their mother. Pic is a disaster of a person; she is a recovering addict with a husband who has a sketchy side business. It is an unsafe household, and Angel is the core, she is the safety net.
Schiller goes back and forth from the past to the present to show the reader who Angel is and what may have led to her disappearance. The revelation, both startling and horrific, impacts the reader, enticing a second read to see all the hints the author dropped.
Final Thoughts
Watermark is an emotional read; it captures the turbulent times of the early 1990s, highlighting some of the struggles many faced. By following Angel through the eyes of her sister and friend, the reader is drawn into the drama and tension, relating to Angel as she struggles to save herself and care for her sisters.