North of Tomboy by Julie A. Swanson is a heartfelt coming-of-age novel set in 1973, following fourth-grader Jess Jezowski as she struggles to express the boyish part of her identity that others seem determined to ignore. When she receives yet another girly Christmas gift from...

Set in 1975 Michigan, Julie A. Swanson’s South of Superstar is the second book in the North of Tomboy series, and it follows Jessica “Jess” Jezowski, who asks her small school to allow her to play on the boys’ seventh-grade junior high basketball team after...