- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Candlewick (April 14 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 076364157X
- ISBN-13: 978-0763641573
- Product Dimensions: 14.4 x 2.8 x 20.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 458 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #344,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Quill & Quire
Reading like a cross between Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Karate Kid, Don Calame’s Swim the Fly finds nerdy 15-year-old Matt Gratton conspiring with his equally nerdy buddies, Cooper and Sean, to achieve their summer goal: to see a naked girl for the first time. The trio live in Lower Rockville, a sort of North American everysuburb, and compete on the local swim team. Matt is crushing on a new girl on the team named Kelly, and to impress her, he volunteers to swim the butterfly in the regional championships. The problem is, not only will Matt have to compete against Kelly’s ex-boyfriend, star athlete Tony Grillo (a.k.a. Tony the Gorilla), but Matt sucks at the butterfly. Humour and hormones are Swim’s dual fuels. The novel tests the boundaries of what some adults might deem tasteful. Major plot points include a diarrheal disaster, a barfing extravaganza, and a backfiring visit to a nude beach. There’s plenty of girl-ogling on the part of the boys, and Calame has a knack for lacing their dialogue with creative euphemisms. Cooper, in particular, displays a shockingly coarse flair for inventing names for girls’ nether regions (“the Wookie’s smile,” “mouse house,” “golden donut,” etc.) Calame delivers a fast-paced, well structured story that is laced with hilarity, sweetness and wisdom. If adults can get past the naughty stuff, Swim the Fly is, in fact, the sort of book that could tweak many boys to the fun of reading. There’s nothing here that boys don’t encounter daily among their peers, and it is all relatively innocent. Indeed, Calame, previously an elementary teacher and a screenwriter, shows tremendous sensitivity to the awkwardness, insecurity, and frustration of being a 15-year-old boy, and nails the exhilaration of young love.
Book Description
Three adolescent boys with a single goal: see a reallive naked girl. The result? Razor-sharp, rapid-fi re, and raunchy, of course. And beyond hilarious.
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.
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.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Swim the Fly (Hardcover)
SWIM THE FLY is a funny, cute novel about three best friends on a mission - to see a girl "in the buff."Every summer, the boys get together on the morning of their first day of summer swim team and set a goal. They must complete this goal by the last day of summer. This year, it is to see a girl naked. The main character, Matt, sets his eyes on Kelly West, the newest addition to the Rockville swim team. Having gone from string bean to smokin' in just one year, Kelly is gorgeous - and Matt can't keep his mind off of her. Unfortunately, this goal turns out to be far easier said than done. In just a few chapters, the reader realizes that Matt's other summer goal, swimming the 100-meter butterfly (which is generally acknowledged to be the hardest stroke in the sport of swimming), is far more realistic. A fast and fun read, I would recommend SWIM THE FLY to boys and girls alike - boys will repeatedly relate to Matt and his friends, and girls will be interested to see a bit into the mind of a typical teenage male. This book constantly delivered laughs and was never too slow or too boring. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Don Calame in the future! Reviewed by: Margaret Waterman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious!!,
By
This review is from: Swim the Fly (Hardcover)
Matt and his friends always set a goal to achieve during the summer. In past years, they have accomplished playing a thousand games of ping pong and collecting a thousand golf balls from a course. This summer, the goal is more difficult to achieve: Matt and his friends want to see a real live naked girl.Matt is hoping that girl will be Kelly West, so he volunteers to swim the 100-yard butterfly for their team in order to impress her. There's just one problem: Matt can't swim 25 yards of butterfly before he feels like he's drowning. It's the most difficult stroke there is ' will he be able to do it in time for the championships? And is there any chance that Matt and his friends will achieve their other goal? I read this book for my job as a Teen Librarian, and I LOVED it. It's totally hilarious, and the jokes will definitely appeal to male readers. I was laughing so hard, my husband (a "reluctant reader") also read it, and he loved it too. My top recommendation for teenage boys!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews) 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Side-splitting,
By Bri Meets Books - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Swim the Fly (Hardcover)
I was eager to get Swim the Fly by Don Calame. Because it is, in a word, hilarious. But being an English major, I can not be concise and therefore must use words to describe this novel: uproarious, rollicking, fun, and side-splitting come to mind.Matt's about to spend the summer the way he and his friends, Coop and Sean, always do: competing against each other to be the first to reach a goal. This summer's goal? To be the first to see a real live naked girl. Soon Matt's got another goal to reach: swimming the 100 yard butterfly on his swim team to impress his crush Kelly and the new girl on the swim team. To accomplish this, Matt seeks the help of a eccentric and nearly-sadistic swim instructor, Ulf, who tortures Matt with his unorthodox training methods. Meanwhile, the race to reach the guys' goal continues with hilarious results. Calame's background as a screenwriter (Employee of the Month and the Disney Channel original movie Hounded) shines throughout the novel, as each page is perfectly paced, beat by beat. Here the laughs really are a mile a minute. As each plan fails - some the fodder of popular teen shows, such as nude beaches, hiding in the locker room - they get more wild and ridiculous, but always hilarious. Whether it's the mishaps due to a powerful new laxative or an ill-fated trip to a nude beach, Matt and his friends never fail to bring the laughs. Although slightly crude, like films of the Jude Apatow ilk, Swim the Fly still packs a lot of heart. The rest of the novel is rounded out with great moments by his family, including a grandfather sweet on a widowed neighbor. Not just a boy book, it's a great summer read and one that'll be packed in my beach bag this summer! 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious... with a heart.,
By J. Fant - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Swim the Fly (Hardcover)
Like all great comedies, Swim the Fly transcends "funniness."In addition to the almost incontinence-causing hilarity, this book is true to life, capturing the awkward, sometimes mortifying experience of being an adolescent, while entertaining with brilliant characters, snappy dialogue and a gripping, redemptive story. The novel is full of witticisms that stick in my memory, but are probably unprintable here (I haven't read Amazon's review policy). Calame has that rare gift of fiction writers -- a fresh, unique and memorable voice. He has hit the ball out of the park here. p.s. I had the same feeling of hearing an original voice that I did when watching Juno. I hope this, too, is made into a movie. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read That Doesn't Talk Down to Teens,
By Rebecca Mazin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Swim the Fly (Hardcover)
I spotted this for my 13 year old swimmer son and read large parts myself after he fell asleep. Reminded me of Carl Hiaason (his adult fiction, Skinny Dip), fast very well written and creative. My 15 year old picked it up and said, "I won't like this, I'm not on a swim team." I think he later read it twice. Laugh out loud funny and yes, the consensus in our household is that it would make a great movie. Buy this for your teen and enjoy it yourself.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
