E ARC provided by Netgalley

Obie's swim coach is a horrible man who refuses to let him stay on the team unless he can finish first in all of his races, just because he is a trans boy. Obie's supportive family help him find a team that is accepting of him, because he is an excellent swimmer. He also has some good friends, like Mikey and Pooch, who frequently defends him against like Clyde, who is constantly sniping at Obie and saying terrible things to him. Most people accept Obie for who he is, including his Korean grandparents and his teachers. There is also another trans swimmer, Tommy, who is older and whom he will occasionally text with questions or concerns. He also starts to date a girl new to his school, Charlie, and when he tells her about his identity, she is unbothered by it. His former best friend, Lucy, struggles with the change, however, and is not nice to Obie. When his language arts teacher asks Obie to write an essay for a NCTE competition, he puts together a moving account of his varied cultural and personal identities.
Strengths: While I understand why so many middle grade books about sexual identity are coming out stories, it's good to have one that is not. Obie has already made the transition, and is getting to the point where most people don't ask questions and just accept him for who he is, with those who don't understand, like Clyde and the coach, causing occasional problems. The romance with Charlie is sweet and a bit reminiscent of Stu Truly. There are plenty of swimming details for fans of Binns' Courage or Morrison's Up For Air, and it's hard to find books with swimming as a competitive sport.
Weaknesses: This is why middle schoolers aren't usually allowed to name themselves. Obadiah seems like a very strange choice! Also, from a coaching perspective, I would have liked to know more about rules that were in place for Obie competing, but that would have slowed down the story.
What I really think: A good title to have along with Gino's Melissa's Story (formerly George), Polonsky's Gracefully Grayson, and Bunker's Zenobia July.

Obie is a trans boy in the seventh grade and is having to get used to swimming on a new team after his old coach kicked him off because he didn’t accept him as a boy. He’s also dealing with some very intense bullying from a former friend at school. The story isn’t all grim, he has the support of friends and family, a new crush, and a goal to become one of the fastest boys on the swim team.

I think this might be one of the most intense Middle Grade books I’ve ever read. I knew going in that Obie was going to encounter transphobia, but I had no idea of how explicit it would be. Transphobic and homophobic slurs are used against him multiple times throughout the book. He is supported by his family, friends, and the administration at school but it was still tough to read at times.

It was really rewarding to watch Obie excel in swimming, stand up to his bullies and friends who haven’t been there for him, and start a relationship. Also, I enjoyed seeing how Obie’s Korean heritage played into the story and how he thought of the intersections of his identity. I do think that the writing felt a bit stilted at times or like these young kids were making references that didn’t totally seem relevant for modern kids. But overall this was a great, hard-hitting Middle Grade story.

CW: Deadnaming, transphobia, transphobic slurs, homophobic slurs, outing, bullying

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy.

This is a beautiful story about Obie, a trans athlete, learning how to be himself as he has to switch swim teams and confront those from his old team who do not accept him for who he is.
It is lovely to see how Obie continues to view the world with optimism, and works his way through training, family that seems accepting but might not be, and relationships (platonic and romantic). I genuinely loved Obie as a character and liked his perspective throughout the book.
Additionally—I love the author’s note and the guide for cis and trans readers. This is an important book, and overall I am glad it exists.
However, there were just a few items that kept me from fully enjoying this book.
First, there were the “mean girls”. Literally though—one character compares these girls to the ones from the movie. One of my biggest bookish pet peeves is authors borrowing Regina George and her cronies and popping them into a MG or YA book as the antagonist. While these mean girls are side characters (they bully Obie’s friend more than they bully him), they have absolutely no character development. Mean Girls is a satire. The characters are over exaggerated for a reason. We should not be seeing them in fiction books that seek to replicate reality.
Second, I did not like the writing. Yes--its supposed to be from the perspective of a middle schooler. However, I still live by the C. S. Lewis quote where he said “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”
Finally—I have very mixed feelings about the slurs used in this novel. I don’t think I’m well versed enough to know when they are okay to use in a piece of writing, so all I want to say is that it was mostly just jarring to me and made me uncomfortable thinking about how kids would be reading this.
Overall though—this is a book worth picking up.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS and this book brings it. Written by an author who not only transitioned, but was also on the swim team...this book is full of true emotion and accurate descriptions!

Obie is a FtoM transgender student athlete who glides through the water just as well as anyone else, because why shouldn't he? I will suggest providing trigger warnings to teens about bullying and more specifically trans-focused bullying, but this book is powerful and well done. MORE OF THIS, more representation written by folks who truly understand.

Obie Is Man Enough introduces us to Obadiah "Obie", a seventh grader and a competitive swimmer, he has a supportive family that loves him no matter what; That's a good thing, because Obie happens to be Transgendered, a topic that isn't always easily talked about, or readily accepted but his family has been wonderful since he told them and so has some of the faculty at his middle school. The only problem; The students and his e swim coach are anything but supportive.

We follow Obie as he tries to survive school, swim practice/meets, and being a pre-teen who happens to be a bit different than his classmates. Obie Is Man Enough is a wonderful story of strength, courage, survival and love, while also being informative to everyone by showing what life is like for many and also educating Cis gendered people. There's a great balance between positive and negative and Schuyler Bailar writes with clarity and conviction.

This book does have a warning at the beginning but it is important to highlight it now as well there IS a trigger warning on this story. Please make sure you are safe and in a solid mental place with people to reach out to in case the story hits home a little too closely. This is a book that I highly recommend to everyone, but please take care of yourself and your health while reading.

Thank you to netgalley, Schuyler Bailar and publisher for providing an advance e-copy to me in exchange for my honest review. I loved this story and am grateful that these books exist for the first time in history, its about time! Schuyler Bailar makes a wonderful must read contribution to the community.

Obie is Korean-American, in seventh grade, and a competitive swimmer working hard to qualify for the Junior Olympics. He’s also transgender. A perfect classroom read, Obie Is Man Enough follows Obie as he faces transphobia at school and from his old swim team and learns to stand up for himself with the support of his community.

The transphobia in this book is very present and violent - deadnaming happens, the t and f slurs are used, and it gets kinda dark, although Obie is very well supported by most of the adults in his life and the violence is handled promptly and fully when called to adult attention. I'm not sure I would give this book to a young trans kid, but I do think it's an important book for cis kids (and adults) to read, and may be an important book for trans kids to read but with adult guidance. It may be triggering and upsetting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC of Obie is Man Enough. This book provides amazing insight into the life of a transgender Korean boy athlete for any cisgender wishing to understand and be an ally. At the start of the book, Obie is being kicked off his swim team, because his coach doesn't believe he will be able to compete and win against the boys. The book follows Obie's struggles with starting a new swim team, navigating old and new friendships, being bullied by a former best friend, meeting a girl, and basically the complexities of being transgender. It was a great read, but very emotional and raw in parts so be prepared.

This was a fairly hard book to read as a trans person and I would urge you to look up the trigger warnings and make sure you're in the right mindset before you go in. But because the book is so full of support - Obie deals with transphobic bullying, but he's surrounded from all sides by supportive family and teachers - I found it a really well-balanced book regardless.

I feel like this book achieves a commendably good balance between being empowering for trans readers and being educational for cis readers. Cis kids reading this will learn a lot from Obie's experiences and his feelings about them, but the book never prioritizes that over the well being and empowerment of trans readers (like books with trans main characters from cis authors tend to do).

CWs: transphobia, bullying, outing (bully outs the MC to someone), transphobic and homophobic slurs, deadnaming, misgendering, death of a grandparent, discussions of traumatic war experiences from a Korean grandparent, slutshaming.

The beautiful cover first drew me to this book and the description intrigued me. While I can think of a handful of middle grade books that deal with transgender, I'm hard-pressed to think of another fiction book for tweens that specifically features a transgender man. This is a fictional account of a middle school student, Obie, adjusting to a new school and swim team living as a transgender male, Based on the author's own experience as a champion mixed-race swimmer (and the first recorded transgender NCAA athlete to compete as a man)., the book heartbreakingly explores the obstacles facing trans folks, from bullying to body image to emotional adjustments, on top of the other challenges of growing up. (Trigger warning for intense bullying and anti-trans discrimination and violence). I devoured this story, simultaneously feeling deeply moved and reaching new understandings. I wish the characters had been more nuanced, though I realize some of this was a conscious choice. While the author is quick to note that Obie's experience of receiving loving support from family, friends, coaches, and classmates is not the reality for most, by depicting supportive characters the novel offers models for caring and helpful behavior for allies. The story provides a window for understanding the intersections of race, culture, and gender identity, and offers numerous resources for further reading. Obie's deeply moving story has stayed with me in the weeks since I've read it, and I'm excited to recommend this important read to parents, educators, and kids.

This is the first book I have ever read with a Transgender main character and I am so grateful for the perspective I have gained from reading this book, even as an adult reading a story for middle grade audiences. It started a little slow for me, but I quickly became so invested in Obie’s journey and his over all well-being. The Author’s Note at the end had me in tears. The story, based on the author’s lived experiences, is such compelling evidence for the need to empathize and support members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and especially youth who rely on that support for survival. Please read this book, read it with your middle grade kids, and talk about how you can become allies for the Trans and LGBTQIA+ community.

Obie is...
1. a swimmer
2. Half Korean, half white
3. a writer
4. transgender
5. alive

This middle-grade novel is just excellent. Obie is in seventh grade and on top of all of the usual middle school drama, he also has to deal with his former best friend turned bully, Clyde, who is making his life miserable. Clyde's father was also Obie's swimming coach until Obie was kicked off the team because he is trans.

Despite the many instances of transphobia in this book, Obie's life is filled with loving allies and advocates. His parents, brother, grandparents, new teammates, and English teacher are all in his corner. Despite all of this support, Obie does attend therapy and is able to connect with a college-age transgender swimmer through his new coach. Obie occasionally alludes to "That Year" when he first came out to his parents. While it is never stated outright, it's assumed that Obie had suicidal thoughts during that time period.

One of my favorite parts of this book was Obie's relationship with the adults in his life. So often in MG and YA books, so many issues could be avoided just by talking to adults. Obie maintains open and honest lines of communication even when he worries about being a "snitch." I also love when authors include books within their novels. Obie is reading Jason's Reynold's All American Boys, which is one of my favorites!

This book caught my attention because I follow Schyler Bailar on Instagram. His account is such a wonderfully inclusive corner of the internet. His advocacy and willingness to share his journey are truly commendable and life-saving for many folx. Be sure to grab a copy of this book when it releases on September 7.

Favorite Quotes:
-"Anger is lie holding hot coals with the intent to throw them at someone, You never throw them, so you're the only one who gets burned.
-"If anyone makes you feel like you are less-than because of who you are, that is on them That is about their character. And you don't need them. Don't ever let anyone trick you into believing there is something wrong with you."

A timely fiction middle grade novel that addresses, among many topics, the intersection of transgender identities and competitive sports. While competitive swimming (both school and club teams) provides a backdrop for the story a number of other topics are addressed including harassment, biracial identities, homophobia, culture, family, friendship, ex-friends, and even dating. I found the writing style itself a little choppy/abrupt and thought most of the characterizations seemed a bit aged up -- Obie and his friends seemed like high schoolers rather than middle school students. The work starts with a well written and warranted warning about triggering content. Could be enjoyed simply as a work of fiction or as the basis for discussion in a classroom or book group.

I enjoyed this book, it really is a great ownvoices representation especially for a middle-grade book.

I had an issue with the large amounts of transphobia and hatred that Obie had to face. At points, it was so upsetting that I had to put the book down. This may just be my own thing, I don't love books that center around violence and hardships that queer people go through. The author did give adequate warnings before the beginning of the story but it was very intense.

I loved all of the characters, and it felt very realistic of the age group. None of the characters behaved perfectly, even the good characters made little mistakes here and there because they're human. I loved that Obie's parents and the rest of his family were supportive of his transition, that's something that I adore in queer books.

Obie's romance with his gf and their dates are so cute to read through. I was rooting for them the whole time, I wish there had been a couple more scenes of them together because I just couldn't get enough of them.

Overall, it's a pretty cute book but there are a lot of dark and dreary moments that made me want to quit reading. I just kept waiting for things to get better for Obie, and it was upsetting that it took so long.

Bailar's debut is a compelling story of middle school student athlete Obie, who is a transgender boy facing hatred and discrimination at his school and at the pool. Despite dealing with tough situations, this coming of age story is very sweet, and often highlights supportive friendships and family relationships in Obie's life, including his brother, parents, a ~love~ interest, and teammates at a new pool. It doesn't shy away from demonstrating how people can create harm with their actions and words -- but also is clear about where there is nuance, learning, and growth that can occur with different people in Obie's life.

I love the semi-autobiographical nature of this book -- Schuyler Bailar is a transgender man who was a NCAA Division I swimmer, and although the transition came later in his life, he clearly models one example of what this could look like for a teenager. I was a competitive swimmer and I loved all of the nerdy talk around different races and meets, while also appreciating the way in which this book made me rethink the way that our locker rooms, races, and swimsuits are all gendered and how hard it would be to navigate a change while being an athlete.

There are some very sweet moments, which balances out some of the darker moments, and Bailar is careful to frame this as just one story of one transgender kid -- it's not meant to be fully representative of all experiences. However, it's a wonderful addition, filling a lot of gaps in terms of literature written for kids by and about a transgender youth, and the integration of sports. I really recommend this one to middle grade readers, but with someone willing to discuss it with them -- it's definitely going to bring up several emotions, regardless of identity. Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy, all opinions are my own.

This was a sweet novel, and Obie was a character one could root for. Even with all of the hardships, I appreciated that Obie had a supportive family by his side.

Representation matters, and Schuyler has done an #ownvoices in the strongest possible way. He too was assigned female at birth, as Obie is in this story, and He too was on the swim team. So, he knows by where he speaks, or writes in this case.

From the get-go, we see Obie being assaulted by his former friend, and unlike so many novels, Obie does go and report it, and we do get to see the bully kicked out of school.

This doesn't mean the rest of the book is just butterflies and roses, though.

Good voice for Obie. You feel the struggles he is going through, and it is so nice that his parents are right there helping him and loving him, every step of the way. Good book for middle graders to read if they are cis gendered or transgender, they will get things out of this either way.


<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>