Fat Boy Swim

What's not to like about this story!? Fun to read and full of hope. A great story of Fat-Boy Fat Jimmy Kelly, the poor, pathetic and obese 14 year old who is relentlessly teased by his schoolmates. With the help of an adult who takes the time to care, Jimmy can make a turnabout in his life that might put him on the road to success and self-preservation. All in all, it's a great story of perseverance, overcoming personal obstacles and life's hurdles to find a sense of self worth and personal accomplishment. Probably something that anybody who ever went through adolescence can relate to in some capacity. Plus, how could you not like a book that has as an underlying story a love for delicious food and includes chapter names like "I don't like Mondays", "Refugees and chocolate eclairs", "Suck ups", "Jigging", and my personal favorite, "GI Joe kicks ***". The book is entirely appropriate for kids and adults. I plan to have my 11 year old read it as she likes to eat good food, is a competitive swimmer and will relate to the story. I recommend it to anyone who likes to read. It's quick and easy and worth your time.

What an excellent book. It is so empowering and beautifully crafted. Its organisation follows the pattern of a menu, as the protagonist, Jimmy, simply loves to cook and adores food. One of the themes throughout the book is food, food, food, and the food imagery used makes the reading a succulent experience. Moreover, beyond all this food is a boy who comes of age and pursues his dreams in a determined manner, inspiring the reader with his strength of character. This book has everything I love: beautifully written, about food, swimmimg, relationships, secrets kept and discovered, and partly set in a school. Wish I had written it! A winner.

This book was pretty good, not the best but 4 stars is too low. The scenario is that the very fat boy Jim, gets teased a lot a school (ovbiously because hes fat), lives with his mother and aunt pol, (his father dies a few years ago) and Jimmy has one secret that pretty much no one knows about: his cooking. He is a very good chef, and plans to open up his own resturant one day but is too embaressed to tell anyone what he thinks. His school coach (father patrick) has seen the abuse that Jimmy has taken from his classmates and offers to help in order for Jimmy to cook for him at a fundraiser for a well to be built to help poor people. Jimmy starts having these weird dreams, and then fiqure out he wants to swim. His classmates see this, and tease him even more, but Jimmy can never stand up for himself. I won't tell you anymore, so you can find out for yourself, but this book talks about important issues about bullying, learning to stand up for yourself, going after your dreams and not being afraid to show who you are. It also contains a huge twist that no one expects, and the only thing ill tell you about that is that Jimmy has family problems that are quite sad, but he learns to deal with them and accept who he is. (This book also contains a litttle bit of romance as well!) I would highly recommend this book, because it really captures you tino reading it and you can learn a few important lessons from it. This author really knows how to write, and if you don't read this book you'll be wishing you did the rest of your life :)!