Art & Coll Books in Order

The Art & Coll series follows Colette, known as Coll, and Art Johnson through the thrills, pressure, mistakes, and breakups of a first serious relationship. It begins with Diving In, when Coll sees Art at her local swimming pool and turns him into the center of her daydreams. When he finally asks her out, the fantasy becomes real, and much more complicated.

Coll wants romance, but she also wants to be heard. Art is attractive, confident, and more sexually experienced than she is. Their connection is powerful, yet Cann does not pretend that strong feelings automatically make a relationship equal. Coll has to work out what she wants, how fast she wants things to move, and whether Art is listening.

That question runs through the whole series.

The books are frank about teenage sex without losing sight of the everyday parts of young life, including school, exams, family, friends, parties, and awkward conversations. Coll’s mother is outspoken and unconventional, while Art’s home life and social world bring their own pressures. These details give the relationship a wider context than a simple will-they-won’t-they story.

In In the Deep End, Coll and Art try again after problems between them, with Art promising to take things more slowly. But old patterns do not disappear just because someone makes a promise. The book keeps asking whether change is real, and how a couple can talk honestly when both people are scared of losing the other.

Sink or Swim deals with the aftermath of their split. Coll is expected to move on, but Art is still very much part of her emotional life. The push and pull between anger, attraction, affection, and self-protection gives the story its tension. It is less about a perfect answer than about Coll deciding what she can live with.

The companion ending, Art History, returns to the question that has followed the pair from the start: can Coll and Art make their relationship work, or is it time to let it go? Read the books in order, starting with Diving In. The series is best for readers who want a thoughtful, candid romance about boundaries, self-respect, and the long learning curve of first love.