This was a fun look into the sport of artistic swimming. The family dynamics and having to keep things secret escalated the tension in the book and made me hopeful for a happy ending, but at the same time nervous when things would be discovered. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to sharing it with my students.

Nat loves all things fashion and sparkly and beautiful. Unfortunately, her activist parents are big on showing who you are on the inside and disapprove of making yourself up. When Nat sees a synchronized swimming group perform at her local school one summer, she HAS to join. After talking her cousin Sheila into taking her to tryouts, Nat is in! She loves it. Now she just has to figure out how to pay, go to tryouts and competitions without her parents finding out. For a little while, everything is going smoothly. But when practice and competitions start to interfere with her relationships with her friends & family, the whole plan starts to fall apart. This is a great story about working for what you want, loving yourself, and figuring out what is important in life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

A fabulous #MG #book about following your passion, standing up for yourself and for what’s right.
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Natalie de la Cruz Rivera y Santiago aka Nat is a twelve year old fat swimmer who can beat anyone in a race at the local pool. When she sees the local LA Mermaids synchronized swimming team perform, it becomes her new obsession, but her parents won’t let her try out for the team. Nat decides to try out and compete without them knowing, but it’s hard competing in a sport that focuses a lot on image and has been mostly white women in its history.
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This was the type of #novel our kids need. @lilliamrivera slayed this story. I loved Nat’s character and her imperfections, which were so relatable. I loved Nat’s parents and how they talked to her like an adult. I wish they had listened to her about her passion. The representation was amazing and this title needs to be in every elementary and middle school #library. This book releases August 29.
CW in comments.
CW: homophobia, fatphobia

A lovely middle grade novel about embracing yourself and finding your place. Protagonist Nat will be deeply relatable to young readers--rage and all.

A great middle grade book emphasizing the importance of balancing responsibilities and interpreting activism in your own voice. As the protagonist struggles with being reactionary, she also has to balance school, friends, and her chosen sport of synchronized swimming. She shows that balancing different aspects of your life can be difficult and don't always go as planned. She also shows the importance of working on self-improvement as she tries to restrain her instinctive reaction of getting physical. Lastly, you have a great deal of activism in the protagonist's life as her mother is always fighting for something. Feminism is explored as more than just equality as the protagonist fights to have her voice heard.

Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera was a joy to read. The voice of the hero, a fierce 12-year-old Latina named Nat, was so compelling, and it was so rewarding to see how the way she thinks changes over the course of the book.

Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera was a joy to read. The voice of the hero, a fierce 12-year-old Latina named Nat, was so compelling, and it was so rewarding to see how the way she thinks changes over the course of the book. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Nat, the daughter of a professor and a social reform activist, hides her secret love of sequins and make-up from her parents, so when the opportunity to join the local synchronized swimming team presents itself, she lies to her parents to join the team. As Nat's body grows stronger, her friendship with her best friend grows weaker, and the guilt about involving her cousin in her scheming grows. Will Nat's lies blow up in her face, or will she be able to prove to her parents that she has finally found where she belongs?