• Age: 7 to 10
• Grade: 2 to 5

Temporarily sidelined from her swim team by an earache, Julia won't be kept down in this buoyant illustrated novel for ages 7 to 10 by acclaimed writer Angela Ahn.

As a member of the Vipers Swim Team, Julia Nam's always in the pool. Mountainview Community Center is like her second home, not only because swimming at the aquatic center is her favorite thing in the world, but also because her parents run the center's sushi café. Julia would much rather be in the pool than sitting behind the counter of Sushi on the Go! watching other people swim.
She's the youngest swimmer on the team, but definitely not the slowest. Julia can't wait for Personal Best Day — the most important day for all of the swimmers. If their times are good enough, they can enter a big regional swim meet.
But then the worst thing happens. A sharp pain in Julia's ear reveals an infection and she's forbidden to swim for ten days. How can she get timed during Personal Best Day when she's not allowed in the water?
Julia is desperate to get back in the pool, even if it means having to go behind her parents' backs in order to do so. But Julia's solution lands her in a sticky situation, and it's going to require the entire community center to come together to help her out of it!

Angela Ahn is a former high school English and Social Studies teacher. She also taught English as a Second Language for two years in Hong Kong. She went back to school to earn a Master's of Library and Information Studies from UBC. Angela worked in all types of libraries, but only discovered the joy of children’s literature when she had her own children. She has been at home with her family for the last 10 years in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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"Readers will cheer for Julia as she pursues her goals and learns how to be a team player. Julia’s passion for swimming is infectious and palpable, as are her frustrations surrounding her limitations and her perception that others do not understand her. . . . Via unadorned prose, Ahn deftly portrays the struggles Julia’s East Asian immigrant parents faced in establishing their business and how adversity led to the family connecting with their community, who offer a helping hand and loving support throughout." —Publishers Weekly

"As charming as its young hero." —Kirkus Reviews

“Julia’s Korean heritage is woven seamlessly throughout the book, and the short chapters are perfect for developing readers who want a full story alongside elementary-school antics, childlike dialogue, and good characters.” —BookList

"[D]elivers a meaningful message about resilience, the value of patience and flexibility, and the benefits of teamwork and community building." —The Horn Book

"Author and narrator complementarily celebrate tenacity with vivacity and charm." —School Library Journal

"[H]umour, great dialogue, and a passion for something that is loved are included . . . a good choice to read aloud in a classroom and would lead to great discussions. Highly recommended." —CM: Canadian Review of Materials