Swim the Fly

Calame, Don. Swim the Fly. Candlewick, 2009.

Matt and his buddies have a goal each summer. This summer their goal is to see a naked woman. In addition, Matt wants to impress Kelly, a new girl on his swim team, so he's volunteered to swim the butterfly, a feat he's never imagined he could do (and still doesn't). Will the boys accomplish their goal by the end of the summer?

I didn't think I would like this book, but it ended up being fairly entertaining. The boys have all kinds of crazy hijinx in their attempt to see a naked girl, and Matt's classes with Ulf - a man who survived a boating accident by treading water for seven days - are hilarious. I would have loved to learn more about Ulf and to have him appear more often in the story, but the story was still much better than I expected from a summer tale of horny boys.

Recommended for: young adults
Red Flags: bathroom humor, language, alcohol, drug use, and the fact that three horny boys are trying to see a naked woman
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars