Swim The Fly (Swim the Fly)

by Don Calame

Three boys, one summertime goal: to see a real-live naked girl.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time - quite a challenge, given that none of the guys have the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team.
In the spirit of Hollywood's blockbuster comedies, screenwriter-turned-YA-novelist Don Calame unleashes a true ode to the adolescent male: characters who are side-splittingly funny, sometimes crude, yet always full of heart.

• ISBN10: 1848774532
• ISBN13: 9781848774537
• Publish Date: 9 May 2011 (first published 1 April 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 April 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Templar Publishing
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jo]

I love reading YA. I wouldn't review it if I didn't. But I have to admit that I prefer YA written for boys than YA written for girls. They're just so funny! So when Swim the Fly came through my letterbox, I started reading straight away. And it's brilliant!

I can't count the times I actually laughed out loud while reading this book, or how many of those times I actually sat there laughing for a good while before being able to continue reading. There are so many incidents in this book - whether it be the three mates desperate attempts to see a naked girl, or Matt's Grandad trying to woo a recent windower - that are just so silly and ridiculous, you can't help but laugh. Though I have to say there were moments when I felt a little disturbed at some of the things that happened, but I guess boys will be boys, and it was all fairly believable despite that.

Swim the Fly was light on the serious issues. It touched on a thing or two every now and then, but for the main part, it's a comedy. This isn't a bad thing though, as there was never much of a downer on the story, and I was kept smiling.

This review is pretty short, but I don't know what else I can say without spoiling it, as so much happens. The characters are awesome, they get themselves into so many scrapes, and come out with really funny phrases. It's just a brilliant book, and would make a good summer read. I highly recommend it, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Beat the Band. An awesome book!