Review: Swim the Fly by Don Calame

4 great peanut butter cookies.

Cover Love:

Yes.  It is simple, there is a girl in a bikini and the font is kind of wonky.  It would be a book a middle school/YA or reader would not mind carrying around.

Why I Wanted to Read This:

I had heard this was a super funny book and it is a YA book with a teenage boy as the main character.  I knew I had to read it!  Here's the synopsis from Good Reads:

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 has 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.

I Kept Reading Because:

I was happy to be part of Matt's life for awhile and wanted to see how his summer turned out.

Romance?: Yes.

What I Liked (& Didn't):

I Liked Matt and his friends.  The author did a great job getting into the heads of these awkward teenage boys.

There wasn't this big shift for Matt, like he worked so hard and got muscles and turned out super good looking.  He did work hard to "swim the fly" but there was never one big coming of age moment.  This was just like a slice of life book.  I liked that.  He did learn to accept himself and learned things about himself, but it was more like he just became more himself, not someone new.

The lengths these three go to to see a naked girl are hysterical.  So funny and every time they come up with a new plan the reader just shakes their head because you know it's not going to work out for them!

And the little traditions and games Matt and his friends played together were so typical of boys.  I had an older brother who did the same kind of things with his friends.  This author really knows his stuff when it comes to teenage boys!

I was glad with who Matt started his relationship with.  I pretty much expected that to happen.

To Sum Up:  A well written book about REAL teenage boys.  A great, funny read!

Book checked out from my public library. 

There is a sequel called Beat The Band that I am going to have to read soon!