Starred Review ALA Booklist (Fri May 27 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Starred Review Middle-schooler Bree and her hard-working dad make the move from Brooklyn to Palmetto Shores, FL, where she discovers that swim-team culture is huge. The problem: Bree can't swim. At first, she avoids swim class, her anxiety pulling her down every moment, until finally she gets a helpful paddling hand from her new neighbor Ms. Etta, a woman with her own troubled swim-team history. As Bree heads toward the state championships, her circle of teammates and competitors widens; the plot twists; and enemies, friends, and even those closest to her turn out to have surprisingly complicated motivations. This is an exciting and suspenseful sports story, something American comics has a long-standing dearth of. It's also a powerful, knowledgeable, and pressing exploration of the intersection where swimming meets Black identity, from the racist history of public pools to the necessity of maintaining a water-friendly hairstyle. Empowerment through swimming and swim team is well-embodied in Bree, a smart, perseverant, anxious kid who readers will embrace instantly. The friendly and familiar style of Christmas' linework pours out into some true artistry: the disorientation and wonder as Bree discovers the underwater world and the dread-inducing design of her inner-anxiety's speech balloons, which sink away to oblivion as Bree outswims them and leaves her fears behind. This will make a splash with fans of Raina Telgemeier's memoir comics.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Leaving Brooklyn behind, Black math-whiz and puzzle lover Bree starts a new life in Florida, where she'll be tossed into the deep end in more ways than one. Keeping her head above water may be the trickiest puzzle yet.While her dad is busy working and training in IT, Bree struggles at first to settle into Enith Brigitha Middle School, largely due to the school's preoccupation with swimming-from the accomplishments of its namesake, a Black Olympian from Curaçao, to its near victory at the state swimming championships. But Bree can't swim. To illustrate her anxiety around this fact, the graphic novel's bright colors give way to gray thought bubbles with thick, darkened outlines expressing Bree's deepest fears and doubts. This poignant visual crowds some panels just as anxious feelings can crowd the thoughts of otherwise star students like Bree. Ultimately, learning to swim turns out to be easy enough with the help of a kind older neighbor-a Black woman with a competitive swimming past of her own as well as a rich and bittersweet understanding of Black Americans' relationship with swimming-who explains to Bree how racist obstacles of the past can become collective anxiety in the present. To her surprise, Bree, with her newfound water skills, eventually finds herself on the school's swim team, navigating competition, her anxiety, and new, meaningful relationships.Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Gr 36 When Bree's father takes a coding job in Florida, the two move cross-country and Bree's world is turned upside-down. Away from her friends, in a town obsessed with the local swim teams, Bree struggles to find her safe space among the mathematics classes and clubs. The lack of space in her desired elective classes lands her in the worst possible situation: swimming class. Unable to swim and grasping for excuses to avoid class, Bree begins drowning in anxiety and self-doubt. However, when her older neighbor Etta takes an interest in teaching her how to swim, things begin to turn around for Bree. Filled with vibrant illustrations and charming characters, this title tackles themes ranging from overcoming fear and forging friendships to grappling with classism and racism as the public school swim team competes with the private school team equipped with more resources to prepare for the season. The work presents an opportunity for readers to reflect on both typical childhood issues as well as the systemic issues the United States has faced for centuries such as the lack of access to pools and resources for Black athletes. Rich with images and references to Black culture, this text will serve as a mirror and window for readers. Bree, her father, and Etta are Black. VERDICT A fresh companion to Jerry Craft's New Kid , this graphic novel belongs on shelves in school and libraries everywhere. Angie Jameson

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

In Christmas's debut graphic novel, Bree and her dad are moving to Florida from Brooklyn for his new job. Bree is excited for the first day of school until she finds out swim class is the only available elective. Bree doesn't know how to swim but is too embarrassed to tell the teacher. When her neighbor, Ms. Etta, finds out Bree's secret, she offers to give her private lessons. The lessons pay off, and Bree joins the swim team to improve her grade. When arguments among team members threaten to break them up, Ms. Etta and her friends step in to help them pull together, and when Bree finds out her dad can't swim, she teaches him. Like Johnson's Twins (rev. 11/20) and Craft's New Kid (rev. 1/19), this enjoyable graphic novel deals with familiar and middle-grade-appropriate themes of friendship, perseverance, and overcoming fears. The accessible illustrations add to the humorous (and sometimes serious) moments within the text. The book also introduces readers to the history of Black people being denied access to public pools, which limited their ability to learn to swim. Nicholl Denice Montgomery

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Leaving Brooklyn behind, Black math-whiz and puzzle lover Bree starts a new life in Florida, where she'll be tossed into the deep end in more ways than one. Keeping her head above water may be the trickiest puzzle yet.While her dad is busy working and training in IT, Bree struggles at first to settle into Enith Brigitha Middle School, largely due to the school's preoccupation with swimming-from the accomplishments of its namesake, a Black Olympian from Curaçao, to its near victory at the state swimming championships. But Bree can't swim. To illustrate her anxiety around this fact, the graphic novel's bright colors give way to gray thought bubbles with thick, darkened outlines expressing Bree's deepest fears and doubts. This poignant visual crowds some panels just as anxious feelings can crowd the thoughts of otherwise star students like Bree. Ultimately, learning to swim turns out to be easy enough with the help of a kind older neighbor-a Black woman with a competitive swimming past of her own as well as a rich and bittersweet understanding of Black Americans' relationship with swimming-who explains to Bree how racist obstacles of the past can become collective anxiety in the present. To her surprise, Bree, with her newfound water skills, eventually finds herself on the school's swim team, navigating competition, her anxiety, and new, meaningful relationships.Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

When Bree and her single father move from Brooklyn to Florida, Bree’s dad encourages her to keep an open mind, emphasizing the way small changes can result in “big unpredictable effects.” The middle schooler enjoys learning math, solving puzzles, and spending time with her father, but experiences worry and self-doubt around making new friends and playing sports—especially swimming, which she’s never learned to do. But she soon befriends neighbor Clara, an enthusiastic swimmer on the future classmates’ underfunded school team, which is on the verge of losing its pool. Bree does everything she can to steer clear of water activities, but swimming seems to be a way of life in Florida, and a full-up elective math course lands her in the only course still open: Swim 101. When elder Ms. Etta, a neighbor at the family’s apartment complex, saves Bree from a near drowning, the two build a close bond that propels Bree into confidence in the water, and into a local swim legend’s legacy. Challenging the idea that “Black people aren’t good at swimming,” this middle grade debut from Christmas (the Angel Catbird series, for adults) details segregation’s generational impact through a warmhearted story of community, Black diasporic identity, and learning, all portrayed in kinetic contemporary art. Ages 8–12. Agent: Judith Hansen, Hansen Literary. (May)