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A review by pucksandpaperbacks
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an e-copy through Net Galley via the publisher. All thoughts are my own.
Content warnings: Anxiety, Intrusive Thoughts, Medical Content (Trip to the Dentist), Bullying
This was a great debut middle grade graphic novel about a girl, Bree who moves to Florida from New York for her father's new job. We see a single Black father raising a Black girl and we learn about the history of Black people and swimming plus, how segregation affected who went to public swimming pools. Since Bree loves math and puzzles, there are many puzzle references, especially in the illustrations. When the Math Puzzles class is full, she is forced to take Swim 101 but she can't swim. Bree's anxiety and fear drive her to skip class until Ms. Etta, their neighbor and a swimming champion teaches her to swim. As a former swimmer, (I was not good lol) this brought back memories of my swimming days and I thought the way swimming was written and illustrated was very realistic, especially hitting on the note of how community-oriented the sport is.
I loved how the anxiety and intrusive thoughts were written into the story as Bree learns to knock the thoughts down. This is an important book about friendship and teamwork. Really enjoyed it!
However, please read reviews from Black reviewers when the book is released.
Content warnings: Anxiety, Intrusive Thoughts, Medical Content (Trip to the Dentist), Bullying
This was a great debut middle grade graphic novel about a girl, Bree who moves to Florida from New York for her father's new job. We see a single Black father raising a Black girl and we learn about the history of Black people and swimming plus, how segregation affected who went to public swimming pools. Since Bree loves math and puzzles, there are many puzzle references, especially in the illustrations. When the Math Puzzles class is full, she is forced to take Swim 101 but she can't swim. Bree's anxiety and fear drive her to skip class until Ms. Etta, their neighbor and a swimming champion teaches her to swim. As a former swimmer, (I was not good lol) this brought back memories of my swimming days and I thought the way swimming was written and illustrated was very realistic, especially hitting on the note of how community-oriented the sport is.
I loved how the anxiety and intrusive thoughts were written into the story as Bree learns to knock the thoughts down. This is an important book about friendship and teamwork. Really enjoyed it!
However, please read reviews from Black reviewers when the book is released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Medical content
Anxiety, Intrusive Thoughts, Medical Content (Trip to the Dentist)