Fat Boy Swim [Library Binding]

Catherine Forde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2004

FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD JIMMY KELLY is “Fat Boy Fat,” the largest kid in his Scottish community, who is made to feel useless at everything. Only his family know’s he’s a whiz in the kitchen, and Jimmy’s determined to keep it that way. After all, what would people say if they discovered that “Big Blob Kelly” had one special talent and it involved food?

So when GI Joe, the toughest coach at school, finds out his secret, Jimmy’s sure he’s doomed. But, Coach proposes a deal: If Jimmy helps him, Coach will help Jimmy . . . swim. With each stroke Coach teaches him, Jimmy feels like he’s getting closer to recognizing the Shadow Shape that’s been haunting his dreams. And closer to Ellie, whose chocolate brown curls look good enough to eat. Coach and Ellie know there’s more to Jimmy than meets the eye. Now it’s time for Jimmy to stop hiding and realize it himself.

“A moving, tumultuous, roller-coaster, acid-etched story.”—The Bookseller (UK)


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Grossly obese Jimmy, 15, has meekly endured years of public humiliation and abuse. Soccer coach GI Joe, temporarily home from his work in Africa with AIDS orphans, becomes privy to the teen's secret–he has an innate talent as a chef. In exchange for Jim's help cooking for a fund-raiser, Coach agrees to teach him to swim. Mysteries abound: a "Shadow Shape" in the deep end of the pool haunts Jimmy's dreams; he falls for and attracts fiery, intelligent Ellie, who has limited vision; and he learns that "Mum" is his grandmother, "Aunt Pol" is his birth mom, and his biological dad–that shape–was a champion swimmer whom he resembles but has never known. In the improbable climax, Jim swims in his first competition and defeats his chief tormentor, Victor, and stands up to the sadistic PE teacher. The book's appeal seems limited. The teen's emergence from his fat-boy shell offers nothing that wasn't done in Robert Lipsyte's One Fat Summer (HarperTrophy, 1991), done again in Chris Crutcher's Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes (Greenwillow, 1993), and done again in K. L. Goines's Fat Kid Rules the World (Putnam, 2003). The story is universal, to be sure, and the "love thyself" theme is important. But the sights, sounds, and colors of the Glasgow, Scotland, setting never come to life aside from the idiom and some slang, which are by turns a wee bit obtuse and a wee bit tiresome.–Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. Like Bobbie Marks in Robert Lipsyte's One Fat Summer (1977), obese 14-year-old Jim Kelly feels that he's "suffocating under his own sticky weight," and his schoolmates' dramatic bullying doesn't help. His only confidence comes from his extraordinary cooking skills, which he keeps secret from everyone except his family. Then a new, aggressive soccer coach, whom Jim privately names G. I. Joe, badgers Jim to gain control of his health. Finally relenting, Jim asks Joe to teach him to swim, and his surprising ability in the pool and his growing friendship with Joe reveal astonishing family secrets. Scottish author Forde tells a gripping story about self-discovery and the thrilling transformation that sports can bring. Writing in a clipped, lively Scottish idiom, Forde describes with graphic intensity the brutal bullying Jim suffers, his passionate self-loathing, and his loneliness. Some plot coincidences and antidiscrimination messages are a bit heavy-handed, but the messy ending is satisfyingly realistic; despite his newfound swimming talent and a slimmer physique, Jim still has complicated, unresolved questions about who he wants to be. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 240 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385902379
• ISBN-13: 978-0385902373
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,819,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understandable, May 19, 2007

By 

Jessica Coleman "Miss*Jess" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat Boy Swim (Mass Market Paperback)

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 :)!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sad, deep and a little poetic., December 25, 2004

By 

Ophellia Rose (My room, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat Boy Swim (Hardcover)

I like the way it is written. It's easy to understand, yet you can feel the pain the boy has endured. Definitely something you can learn from it, poetry-wise, since it has this certain style that makes me like it.

A good book, but not the best.

4.0 out of 5 stars "...my friend Jim, from Glasgow. Uses his talents to make things happen.", December 31, 2007

By 

Long Ago "Far Away" (in the middle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat Boy Swim (Mass Market Paperback)

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.