Julie A. Swanson

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Mrs. Swanson I need help with a school assignment and need to know the major events that happen in chapters 9-16. I couldn't find many and thought that maybe you could help. Thank you, Caroline

Caroline, not every chapter has a major event as you may be thinking about it, but there usually is something that happens that's new and significant that furthers the story. It may not be anything big in terms of action or drama; the "major event" may simply be a realization, a progression in her dad's illness, a decision that someone makes, something that threatens. I haven't read the book since it was printed, so I don't remember what happens in Chapters 9-16, but I did just briefly page through those chapters and saw things like I talk about above as well as a few things that I think qualify as truly big events in either her dad's illness (or its treatment) or her relationships with people. If you read/reread it now, I think you'll see them. Hope this helps.

Mrs. Swanson, In your FAQ about writing a sequel for Going for the Record, you asked what people wanted in the sequel. I would like to know if Leah continues to play soccer, what happens between Clay and Leah. And how she finds her peace with the loss of her father. I really enjoyed your book.It opened my eyes to how my life could be. It showed me that I really shouldn't take things for granted. I don't read a lot and i actually finished this in 2 days. I picked it up in my school library for ZYLAR(Zip Your Lisps And Read). I love the IWBTBWSPITW shirt. I hope you consider, again, writing a sequel for Going for the Record. Sincerely, Stephanie

Stephanie, thanks for your note. It's interesting to hear what you'd like to see in a sequel (I don't have it written, but I do have it planned in my mind and know what would happen) and I'm glad that you you can see things that you might've taken for granted but probably won't now. Thanks again.

I'm a seventh grader and I love to read. I checked out "Going gor the Record" in my school library. I read the book within two days and I thought it was just an amazing book. I then checked it out for my grandma to read (we share the interest to reading)she also thought it was a great book. I hope to read more from you soon!(My grandma would probably too.)thank you I hope you keep writing books related to those situations.

Thank you! I'm glad you and your grandma enjoyed my book. It's neat that the two of you have the same taste and can share books. If you keep reading so fast, you're going to get a lot of books read!

i think you should write a sequel to going for the record because the book Going for the Record leaves alot of people hanging and i would really like to find out what she is going to do about college and her and Clay. You should make Going for the Record a series.

I'm thinking about it... :)

One question, is it possible for you to make a part 2 to Going For the Record? I really enjoyed reading this book and I was hoping that Clay and her would get together. If you did make a part 2, I think it should be about the after affects of the story.

If you scroll down on this page, you'll see that a couple other people asked this same question about a sequel (I'm going to have to put it on my FAQ page!) and I answered it there. It's kind of a long answer and I'm too lazy to retype it!

where did this book take place and why it is important? And also why it is a fiction book?

This story is set in Traverse City, Mi. It's not really important except that I wanted to have the story take place near where I grew up, because I know the area well and love it. The book is considered fiction because although it's based on my dad's death and things my family and I experienced during that time, almost everything in the story is made up or is somehow different than our actual family and circumstances. For instance, my dad died when I was an adult and not a teen, I never played soccer in high school, I did not live in Traverse City, I was not the baby of my family, I had 3 siblings instead of 2, my dad did not own a restaurant, there are characters in the story who are not based on any real person and are purely from my imagination, the names and ages of characters based on real people were changed... Almost everything was changed, except my feelings for my dad and the emotions surrounding his death. If the story were non-fiction, everything in the story would have to be a true account based on fact.

Julie are you ever going to write a sequel to going for the record? do you have any other books published? meaghan

hey Julie. Are you ever going to write a sequel to going for the record? I'm in Mr Stimers English class and i finished your book.the ending seemed professional but good, almost like it needed a sequel. --Luke W.

Meaghan and Luke--
Another reader asked if I was going to write a sequel and if you scroll down on this page you can read our full discussion about that. Thanks for your notes! As for your other question, Meaghan, no, none of my other books have been published yet.


why did you chouse socer as a sport Aaron M

Aaron--
I answer this question in the Frequently Asked Questions part of my website, so click My Works/FAQ and then scroll down on that page.



Hi julie. i hve a past teacher of yours- mr stimer he is letting us read your book, please comment back

youu rule*

Hi there. Glad to hear you're reading my book. Thanks for letting me know and hello to Mr. Stimers!

Julie! I am so happy for you! I read every word on your webpage it was all so interesting. And I REALLY enjoyed seeing the pictures of you when you were little. Mellon

Not THE Mellon, the one and only Mellon!? Soccer Mellon, Dartmouth Mellon? Where are you, how are you? Good to hear from you and thanks for the note!

I had to read this for Summer Reading, and I felt like the point in the end(that Leah realizes relationships were more important than sports...) didn't come across clearly at the end, since you made her play soccer again, and made her like it. I first thought it meant not to give up your dreams....but it didnt..

Well, she did go back to playing at the end, but then she was playing for the pure joy of it, the simple pleasure of the game and the moment, not because she was trying to impress a coach and earn a scholarship. What I meant by showing her going back to playing is that there's no reason to give up something you love so long as you can go back to doing it for the right reasons and with the proper perspective. Sometimes if you can remember why you started doing something in the first place, that helps. And I think Leah was realizing what she really loves about soccer and that there is still joy in these simple things in life.

I may be able to go, I live in Pennsylvania, but that is the day we take my sister to college I think.

I would love to go to Notre Dame. This summer I went to a soccer camp there with four of my friends. We had a great time. It is such an amazing school with so many things that make it different from a lot of colleges. Where did you go to college?

I went to Michigan State but Notre Dame was one of the colleges I was interested in, too. It's still a very interesting place to me. The University of Virginia women's soccer team will be playing Notre Dame in a preseason game in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on Aug.23rd at 7 pm. if you live anywhere near there--my husband is the UVa coach but unfortunately I won't be able to go.
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Mrs. Swanson, thank you for writing back to me. I think that it would be a great idea to skip the senior year in Leah's life and go onto her college years. I have a brother and a sister who have both gone through the process of applying to college and are now attending Notre Dame. I think it would be interesting to hear about Leah's senior year, but you could start out the book with how she decided what college she was attending and her getting her acceptance letters. As I know that is one of the most exciting experiences! ( I think if you write the sequel Leah should attend Notre Dame)--Leah

Well, I'm glad to hear you don't have a problem with skipping Leah's senior year, and it would be fun to bounce more of my ideas off of you, but I don't want to let on any more about where Leah goes to college or what the story would be about. ...Are you hoping to follow your brother and sister to Notre Dame?

Hi Mrs. Swanson! My name is Leah also and I just wanted to tell you that I loved your book. It really hit home for me because I realized how much I was like Leah Weiczynkowski. Do you think that you could try to write a sequel for Going For The Record?

Leah--
I've thought about writing a sequel, but the problem is that it would be much the same as another story I'm planning on writing as one of the books in a series of basketball stories. I'm just really into writing this basketball series and would prefer to include the story in it. But if my basketball series doesn't end up going anywhere, I may use this story idea as a sequel to GFR. I'm interested to know, though, what sort of sequel you're imagining. The one I had in mind would skip a year, and have Leah leaving home to go to college and play soccer. And I've wondered if that would disappoint readers, to have her skip her senior year in high school and the whole "do I go away to college or don't I?" dilemma she would undoubtedly have, as well as the college recruitment/selection process, which can be pretty interesting, too. I also imagine readers would want to know what happens with Leah and Clay, and I'm not sure I want the sequel to be about that. So I'm afraid I might disappoint using the story idea I currently have in mind. But I will give it some more thought... Thanks for your note!
Hi Mrs. Swanson! I am one of Kelsey's friends, although I won't say my name just because it is the internet and stuff. I was talking to Kelsey about your book ( because I think it is really cool how you wrote a book about soccer, and Kelsey plays soccer, and Mr. Swanson coaches UVA soccer)and I asked her why you wrote it, ( don't share this next part with her) and she said, " I have no idea actually. I mean she never played soccer. She wasn't really into sports. I mean she did play some basketball though..." Then when I some how come across this website, and I read the part about your resons for writing the book, I was really glad I had found out. I love your book by the way...! - Kelsey's friend.

Kelsey's Friend--
Your parents would be proud of you for being so careful on the internet! And I'm glad you figured out why I wrote the book. I won't share your post with her, but if she finds it on her own, I'm not to blame. Glad you liked my book. Thanks for telling me so. Now I'm curious who you are...

Julie, I am doing a book talk on this book because it is my most favorite book. I love to read and I can read a book over 250 pages in about 1 hour so I have read a bunch of books (a little over about 250 books and yours is my all time favorite book!) I am 12 1/2 and my great aunt died 2 years ago of cancer and since my mom didn't really have a mom there for here she was my moms mom. My aunt had breast cancer since she was 25 then when she was 57 she got regular cancer then got bone cancer at age 59 she died after long days and then one night she got up to get a drink of water and hit the wall and died. My mom is always sad when she comes up or it is her birthday. I loved her and we all miss her dearly but my mom made contact with her mom after my aunt died so there was a gain and a loss to her death. I want to say that I read your book in 1 day but because of how sad it was I would have to wait awhile to start again. Thank you so much for letting me have such a great book to read. Thanx Very Much, Meghan Johnson

Thanks, Meghan! I'm glad you liked my book. It's strange, isn't it, how something can be so sad yet still be our "favorite"? I guess it's because the sadness in this case is about love. Anytime you really love something, there's the risk of losing that thing and then being sad. But it's worth it, and you always have your memories and the love for that person. I think of this kind of sadness as "touching", which is different than a lot of other sadnesses (like ones produced by voilence or cruelty). There's something beautiful and happy about it, too, or at least sacred. Sorry to hear about your aunt.
I appreciated your note--keep up the reading!

Thanks. :] Yeah, Me and my Dad were super close. Losing him has taught me many lessons about life, and how you should live it to the fullest, because you never know whats going to happen next. But i must say right now, hands down, "Going For The Record," is my all time favorite book. You are an excellent author, and should really continue with your work. Oh, and one last thing. Thank You, for writting back to me, it really means alot. -- KarLee Dipzinski

Well, thank you. It means a lot that you wrote me in the first place.


[- KarLee Dipzinski]

haha. well Thank You. :] So im in Mr. Stimers English class, and we had to write letters to "Leah." Then he picked like 4 or 5 to send to you. Mine was one of them chosen. Did you ever read it/them ?

No, really, I like your name, not teasing. Yes, I read your letter. I'm sorry you lost your dad so young. It sounds like you were as close or even closer than Leah and her dad.


In your book "Going For The Record" Leah is super close with her dad. Were you and your dad ever that close ? KarLee Dipzinski

KarLee (love your last name)--
My dad and I had much the same relationship as Leah and her dad did in the book, at least at the end of his life when he was dying, that is. But he was never as into my sport as Leah's dad was. He liked basketball and the fact that I liked it so much, and he came to most of my games, but he really left it to be "my" thing and was not so involved in it (he never talked about my getting a scholarship or anything; that was no goal of his for me), which I'm thankful for! And before he got sick, he and I never talked about deep things together. I never really confided in him or anything. Although we were affectionate with one another, our closeness when I was young was more of an unspoken thing.



Did you face any criticism from the girls of your school since you were more like a boy and enjoyed sports? Did you face any difficulties having to live them? How so?

In elementary school I had a hard time making friends. I wanted to be friends with the boys but would get teased that they were my "boyfriends" if I hung out with them, so I made do with a couple girls in my class who I found the most interesting. But I was the "odd one out" in that group of three. It wasn't until jr. high that I found a true friend and I never faced much criticism for being a tomboy after that--just gentle teasing.


You said you coached varsity girl's basketball, was your team any good?

No! That was in Iowa and our school had just changed over from the old 3-on-3 game that most of the schools in Iowa had been playing up until that point, so they weren't used to the new rules, including being able to dribble more than two times before passing off (many of the schools they played against already played the modern game.). But they improved a lot and the year after I left they had a great season.


Your web site was cool. Love, Jake Polakowski

Thanks Jake! (Jake's my nephew)