Sink or Swim
by Lee Durfey-Lavoie; illus. by Veronica Agarwal
Intermediate, Middle School    RH Graphic/Random    320 pp.
6/24    9780593125519    $22.99
Library ed.  9781984897039    $25.99
Paper ed.  9781984897022    $14.99
e-book ed.  9781984897046    $8.99

At the start of this graphic novel, swimmer Tyler “Shark Fin” de Lugo has just gotten his cast off after a broken arm. It seems like perfect timing, with sleepaway camp about to begin. But Ty’s best friend, swim teammate, and camp bunkmate Max has been acting distant, angry, and strange, and Ty’s negative self-talk—in both the first-person (“I got fat. I’m not good enough anymore. I’m useless as a friend, useless to the team”) and dialogue (“Was he making fun of me? I must look like garbage right now.” “Of course he was making fun of you…idiot”)—is preventing him from getting back in the water. In fact, when Ty is feeling low, the graphic-panel art often shows him imagining being nearly drowned. Durfey-Lavoie and Agarwal (Just Roll with It, rev. 9/21) present another sympathetic and flawed protagonist whose experiences and interactions are understandable and affecting. A few helpful adults at the camp, including a former high school football star turned chill-dude counselor, give Ty some strategies and messaging for countering his insecurities and moving forward. Easy-to-follow panel art in subdued hues helps set the summer-camp scene, reflecting challenges that are cooperative both physically (e.g., building a boat) and emotionally (opening up to a friend—and maybe more) along with individual growth and acceptance.

From the July/August 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.