Common Sense Media Review
Stereotypical boys, objectified girls, no redeeming message.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Freshman swim team members, Matt, Sean, and Coop set a goal to see a naked girl by the end of summer, and the entire book revolves around their schemes to spy on various young women. Matt volunteers to swim the butterfly, a very difficult stroke for him, in order to impress Kelly, who is preoccupied with her cheating ex-boyfriend. Late in the book, Matt has a crisis of conscience, but doesn't really stand up to his friends about his conflicted feelings. He still goes along with their ploys, but tries to foil them behind the scenes.
Is It Any Good?
This could've been a good coming-of-age story if the focus had shifted from the challenge of seeing a naked girl to Matt's challenge of swimming the butterfly much sooner in the story. As it stands, it seems that Matt's focus changes because he suddenly finds himself with a girlfriend (a nice girl that he hung out with but never even thought of in that way until she finally gave him the "I like you like you" talk and kissed him). Some kids might find the main characters' antics and failures funny; however, there is no realization on the part of the boys that girls are actually people with feelings and not just bodies to look at or things to make out with.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the boys' goal. Why was there such urgency about it? What does the fact that they wanted to see a naked woman without her knowledge say about how they view women as people?
Matt's dad left his mom for a younger woman, and his grandfather is not honest in his relationships either. How do you think this could affect Matt's relationships? How do you think Matt could overcome these influences?
Why would Kelly get back together with Tony after he cheated on her so often? Why was Matt so preoccupied with Kelly when she couldn't even remember his name?
Why didn't Matt notice Valerie until she expressed interest in him?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Candlewick Press
- Publication date : April 14, 2009
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 345
- Last updated : July 13, 2017
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