Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Goldfish by Nat Luurtsema - OPTIONAL

Luurtsema, Nat Goldfish 249 pages. Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), 2016.  $17.99.  Content: Language:  PG-13; Mature Content: R;  Violence:  G

Louise, “Lou” Brown was on the path to train as an Olympic swimmer.  But when she doesn’t qualify for the training camp and her best friend Hannah does, her life is changed.  She no longer has hours of swim practice or her best friend at school with her.  She realizes what a social outcast she is.  But then some boys hire Lou to help teach them an underwater, synchronized, acrobatic water routine to audition for Britain’s Hidden Talent.  Lou suddenly has a purpose and possibly new friends. 

This book takes place in England.  This book will appeal to readers who swim competitively; otherwise, I don’t see it reaching a broad audience.  However, the themes of rejection and failure will resonate for many teens.  I found the plot to be very slow until halfway through the book when it picked up.  The ending was humorous and engaging, but it took too long to get to that point.  This book is rated R for mature content since “sex” is used several times throughout the book, mostly in reference to Lou’s naivety of the subject. 

HS – OPTIONAL.  Reviewer:  Nancy W.

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