Review in Two: Swim the Fly

Matt's a scrawny 15-year-old who's never kissed a girl and has a tendency to find himself in hilariously awkward and embarrassing situations, but he's not about to let that prevent him from achieving his two summer goals: seeing a real, live girl naked and swimming the 100-meter fly. Screenwriter Don Calame bursts onto the young adult scene with his first novel, Swim the Fly, with characters and scenes so vividly written that you'd swear you were laughing along in a crowded theater instead of reading a book.


Swim the Fly
by Don Calame
Candlewick
Release Date: April 14, 2009 (hardcover)

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I'd heard a bit of a buzz about this book and knew it was something I'd want to get my hands on and write about before its release. I was not disappointed. Matt and his friends Sean and Coop are your typical awkward, fart-joke loving, girlfriendless group of guys trying to figure out how to get a girl to notice their existence. The group's schemes to see a naked girl and attempts to fit in with the popular crowd fail so miserably in such absurd, yet "oh my goodness, that could totally happen!," ways that the reader is in stitches over and over again.

Calame's experience as a screenwriter comes through in his descriptions of characters and situations, making it easy to visualize the action. Minor product placement throughout the novel made me see a movie in the book's future, but it wasn't overdone or annoying.

All in all, a fun read that I think would make a perfect summer read for most any teenage boy.