The Swim Team

by Catherine Jarvis

Sixteen-year-old Khetiwe has a natural talent for swimming. When she is given a scholarship to a prestigious Johannesburg private school, she immediately bumps up against Farrah, the swimming captain, who sees her as competition.
As “the poor girl”, Khetiwe is already struggling to fit in, but Farrah sets out to make her life unbearable. When the two girls clash over Aidan – Farrah’s exboyfriend – Farrah becomes even more unhinged. The constant bullying is starting to seriously affect Khetiwe, but when she tries to defend herself, things turn out even worse...

A realistic portrayal of teenage angst with a cast of believable, authentic characters.

328 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2021

About the author

Catherine teaches English to high school students where she shares her love for writing and Shakespeare. She studied English Literature at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her short stories have been published in the anthology Feast, Famine and Potluck and in the 2015 Jalada anthology. She lives in Johannesburg with her husband and two children. "The Swim Team" is her first novel.

Reviews

[Rosh (_soap_box)]

3.5 🌟

A perfect book about a teenage girl learning that success doesn't only mean being in white spaces. We follow Khethiwe a swimmer who gets a scholarship to a prestigious all girls school who has to navigate the pressure of being a poor talented black girl at a white institution. It covers a lot of topics that are crucial is south africa right now; xenophobia, racism and the pressure to be an 'expecionally good black person' when around white people.

Khethiwe makes mistakes and I appreciated seeing that because most teenage girls would do the exact same thing and it should be normal to give black girls some grace and room to just be.

[Charles Siboto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Swim Team is a great YA novel that shows the wide gap between rich and poor in South Africa and how much we still have to do with our race and gender relations. The characters are appealing (or deliciously despicable in Farrah’s case). The story comes across in the style of things like Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars, which is great because it’s cheesy and dramatic. The Swim Team tackles issues of white privilege, bullying, sexism and xenophobia in a way that it doesn’t bog itself down with the issues but it does make a point of addressing them.

[Dino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Really enjoyed this well written and topical novel. The story provides a first-hand account of the many social issues in South Africa driven by extreme inequality. The characters are intriguing and the plot gripping.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this South African Young Adult debut novel by Catherine Jarvis. A highly relevant book which deals with issues such as race and class in a delicate and understandable way. Highly recommend.

[Sanet Odendaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

From one English teacher to another: Wow! Excellent read, accurately portraying the real struggles of learners in South Africa. Loved it!

[Kiara Mabaso · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt very undone.

[Bo Solem · Rating 2 out of 5]

my main issue about the book that itched the whole way through was how Jarvis communicated the weight of being a black girl in swimming. what she did right was know the weight was there to begin with, she acknowledged it. What she didn’t do was express why Khetiwe felt this pressure, isolation, etc. Khetiwe says that she has to represent as a black girl, yes that’s correct but there’s no core understanding of why. Reasons why would be “I was given a great opportunity,” or, “I have to represent my people well in a white dominated field,” or “I wanna inspire other black girls who never felt represented,” or just, “I’m represent all my black ancestors who never got the chance, I do this for them,”. My mother constantly reminds me of things like this which puts me under pressure in everything I do. That would add so much weight to her actions, defiance or her misconducts because she’d indirectly feel like she’s failing her people, not just herself.

[Olivia S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complete page turner, I really enjoyed this book :) to be fair I may be a bit biased, my aunt wrote this book but still loved it

[Luke Calder · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging read about conniving mean girls and petty rivalries set within the delicate social issues that surround Johannesburg schools.