By Schuyler Bailar
A trans boy who lives for swimming leaves the coach who wounded him, joins a new team, and works to prove, mostly to himself, that he belongs in the water.
Obie Chang is thirteen, Korean and White, transgender, and happiest in a swim lane. But his old coach treated him cruelly for being trans, so Obie has to walk away from that team, that pool, and friends he's known forever, and start fresh somewhere new. The new team is strange at first, the old coach's voice still rattles around his head, and there are bullies waiting by the locker room. What carries him is a family that has his back, a new coach who sees him, and a first crush named Charlie, as he trains toward qualifying for the Junior Olympics.
Schuyler Bailar was the first transgender athlete to compete on an NCAA Division I men's team, and he pours that lived knowledge straight into Obie, both the sport and the self-doubt. It's a genuine sports story with real races to win, wrapped around a boy learning that being a man isn't about beating everyone in the next lane. For a child who loves competition and a hero to root for, this delivers both, and the affirming adults around Obie make it a safe, hopeful read even when it's hard.