Good Reads Review: Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas

Reviewed by Shanna Bernier

                In the early 90s in Richmond, Quebec, swimming lessons were organized by colour. Yellow, orange, red: each colour represented a level of competence and a step towards being a strong swimmer. I was one of those kids who is afraid to put my head under water, so I got a bit stuck in the first colour, yellow, and needed to repeat it at least twice. Somehow, I figured out the missing link in my own bathtub and I was finally able to graduate beyond blowing bubbles in the shallow end. I’ll never win any races, but I can hold my own in the deep end and I am grateful that I learned to swim with I was a kid.

Swimming is a life-saving skill. My mom has never been a strong swimmer, so she wanted her children to be confident and safe in pools and lakes. She made a brave and selfless parental choice, to encourage me and my sister to be able to swim, even if the idea of deep water scared her. Her example influenced my parenting, and my kids are enthusiastic swimmers who have already surpassed the previous two generations in terms of athletic competence in the pool.

 I was not surprised when both of my children were drawn to the gorgeous swimming-pool-turquoise cover of Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas. This middle grade graphic novel chronicles the lives of Bree and her dad Ralph, as they move across the country and start a new chapter in Florida. Bree is a great student, who loves math and puzzles, and isn’t a fan of sports. Bree is an anxious kid, who doesn’t easily make friends or navigate the anxiety and stress she feels in situations where she has no control. Her unwanted and intrusive thoughts are displayed on the page in darker, ominous script that sometimes nearly covers the image. Registering for classes leads to disappointment when the only elective left for her to take is Swim 101. After feigning sickness, skipping class and getting in trouble with the hall monitor, Bree is forced to admit that she is terrified of the pool, and that she doesn’t know how to swim. After falling into the apartment building’s pool and nearly drowning, Bree asks for help. Her father signs her up for private lessons, but her shame and embarrassment continue when students from the rival private school mock her for not being able to swim.

                Bree and her dad have formed a friendship with their neighbour Etta, who was a champion swimmer in her youth. Etta agrees to help Bree, and together, one step at a time, they begin swimming. During their time spent together, Etta shares how generations of Black Americans have been denied access to swimming because of segregated communities, private pools denying Black people entry, and Black neighbourhoods having poorly funded smaller parks. Despite her lessons, Bree isn’t doing well in her Swim 101 class after missing so many classes. To earn extra credit, she reluctantly tries out for her school’s swim team, and is surprised to learn that she is good enough to compete!  Suddenly Bree is neck deep in team dynamics, competitive private schools, friendships and early morning practice. As in all inspirational sports stories, these characters are working towards an important state level swim meet, and the fate of their little public school’s pool rests on their success.  

This novel provides a context and historical lens for one of the most pervasive stereotypes in North American Black culture – that Black folks aren’t good at swimming.

 The author, in an interview with CBC books, said:

“When I was five years old, I almost drowned in a pool. And that stayed with me and it informed my relationship with the water since then. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I started taking swim classes…I wanted to have something for those readers to see themselves reflected and to possibly see that if they do have access to a pool, there’s a road for them.”

Swim Team is a compelling story of the scrappy underdogs working hard to overcome adversity, and learn important life lessons along the way. These are beloved clichés in sports narratives for a reason, because they pull at our heartstrings. Figuring out how to work as a team is hard work, and the children in the book get a great example from their coach, and from Etta, who reunites with her own former swim-sisters to overcome the challenges they faced fifty years earlier.

                So, jump right in, take that plunge. Enjoy a perfect read for the start of summer. Get your beach umbrella and your lounger ready then dive into this delightful book about swimming, building community, overcoming adversity and facing your fears.