SWIMMING WITH SPIES

Twelve-year-old Sofiya Oleksandrivna Len, who’s living in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, is used to confronting bullies; now she hopes to stymie the man who wants to train her beloved dolphins for military use.

Sofiya and her friends, including bestie Cedric, who’s Nigerian Ukrainian, are regarded as “the smart kids” and targeted by the rich clique. Sofiya, who has Russian, Ukrainian, and Tatar heritage, has gotten in trouble over her squabbles with Ilya, the Russian boy who’s the lead bully. So she’s surprised when her babushka reveals that Sofiya’s and Ilya’s mothers were close and that the two kids were once playmates—until a tragic accident resulted in Ilya’s mother’s death and Sofiya’s mother’s departure from the family. The former rivals get to know each other better when, as punishment, they’re assigned to work together at the dolphinarium where Sofiya’s father is the director. Sofiya begins to view Ilya differently after seeing him interact with the dolphins, but their newfound bond is strained when Russia invades Ukraine, annexing Crimea and stirring up xenophobic nationalism, and when Major Chaban, Ilya’s father, takes over the dolphinarium in order to use the pod to support Russia’s war efforts. The fear of Sofiya and her friends is palpable, as is the heartbreak they feel for the dolphins. As they hatch a daring plan to rescue the dolphins, their steadfast teamwork and mutual trust against a backdrop of conflict is inspiring.

A heart-pounding, thought-provoking adventure based on true events.