Fat Boy Swim

by Catherine Forde

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 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)

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Scotland

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Catherine Forde is the author of numerous books, including Fat Boy Swim, which won the Grampian Children’s Book Award and was short-listed for the Blue Peter Award; Firestarter; and Skarrs, which was long-listed for the Carnegie Medal.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely little novel.

I read this because I'm teaching it to my S1 class, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I'm a bit old for most books aimed at kids, but this one was a treat. I felt myself getting extremely emotionally involved in Jimmy Kelly's troubles - even had moments reading it on the bus where my eyes were welling up for him!

The characterisation is very good in this, and the progression of not only Jimmy's character but the character of his main bully Victor was very well done.

A real heartwarming read, I'd urge anyone to read it if they fancy something simple and sweet.

[Christina Portocarrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel Fat Boy Swim takes a first person point of view. The protagonist–Jimmy Kelly–narrates his daily life as a member of the school’s swim team. Unbeknownst to his Aunt, Jimmy is bullied for his weight at school and struggles to form genuine friendships. We see that even though he struggles in school, he has a secret talent–cooking. Even though this talent has been anonymously praised by the school, he is afraid of exposing that he is the secret baker his peers glorify. However, upon making a secret deal with his swim coach GI Joe, Jimmy begins his training arc into becoming the best swimmer on the team. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a cliché casual read.

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book boring and that nothing really happened but some big shocking moments.

[Ophelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel still remains a favorite. I loved the fact that it was set in Scotland, and the fact that it has a Bruce Willis lookalike in it, and it also makes me want to go swimming and see what kind of a difference I can make in my own life. Could I relate? I hear you ask. Of course I could, despite the facts that I'm not a boy and one that is still in school. I think anyone could, regardless of whether they have been bullied or not. School was difficult for most people, and this novel really digs into the mind of a young, amicable lad who just gets on with it. I'm proud of him and he is only a character in a book. I loved the whole 'dream' concept as well, it is symbolism at its best. It is one of the few novels that I can remember telling myself to read again whenever I had a slight break from reading novels for University; a novel I can come back to again and again, and go on the journey with Jim who just shines with his honesty and his gracious heart. I finished University this summer, and this novel again, was a 'must-read' as soon as I got home, waiting for me patiently, never failing to put a smile on my face and a quickened beat in my heart for such a modest and realistic character. A truly great read. I owe you, Jim.

[Calvin Foun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was an okay book. There wasn't much that was going on in the story but there was a lot of psychological change in jimmy. I didn't like that there were so many plot changes at the end of the story and then the book just ended. It would have been a little better if the book was a little longer.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter was reading this for High School (2nd year) English so thought i would give it a go. Great story, loveable characters and brilliant writing :)

[Jeremiah Dela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fat Boy Swim by Catherine Forde Book review

This is one of the first novels I have read that left me with the `meh` impression. The book is not terrible, but is not fantastic either. It has no terrible dialogue or cliches nor any great moments or scenes. It is so aggressively middle-of-the-road that I do not really know if i should criticize or praise it. The book is just, ok.

The plot is really simple. An obese teenage boy is being bullied in school, an older authority helps him become a swimmer. He becomes the best swimmer in the school ( In only five weeks!) Beats the bully, gets the girl, the end. The story is very simple, and almost cliche. With pages of self gloating and scenes of the protagonist being abused by literally everyone. All the while the book showers the reader with food related metaphors and puns to show that the protagonist is obsessed with food.

Speaking of food, the protagonist is also an expert chef, the story goes that he does not want to show his skill to the public because he is frightened of what people will say about an overweight being a cook. not showing off the only skill you have to dodge all the criticism and bullying is quite skeptical. Iv`e seen dozens of cooks who are overweight and I did not bat an eye. In fact, I think being a chef suites him more than being a swimmer.

Perhaps what is nagging at me the most is its simplicity. Its plot and setting sadly have no significant details that stand out. The characters are, sort of diverse and a little interesting, but the simplicity is what brings it down. The book is so easy and casual to read that I read through the entirety of the book under 5 hours. Keeping myself entertained by blurting the dialogue in a scottish accent. Maybe the book was ment for casual reading, and should not be taken to seriously like what I am doing.

The book itself is not that captivating, but it`s not terrible either. Its easy-to-read writing and short page number makes it a walk in a park to read. I would not recommend it to the young adults like me who are into the more bizarre, action-packed, love triangle ridden novels. If you`re looking for an easy, peaceful and quick read, Fat boy swim is a very good choice for you.

[Jimmy Saville · Rating 5 out of 5]

jimmy is fat and ginger he cant expect not to get bullied but he has his villan redemtion and wins a swimming thing. Warra swimmer. dead book. who does swimming tho frfr ong. Goofy ahh cheese puff lookingcrusty fat ginger kide hides under your bed after reading. don't recommend as he will take over your body during the night. When ellie enters the room jimmy finna turn around and shank her with a sword cuz she looking like a mincraft skeleton innit. Dk how he finds her leng shes a dead ting jimmy got no pum. GI joe looks like dwayne the rock johson. he definetly chugs bare protien at 3 in the morning then wakes up at 3:01 .he trains 25/8 and looks like andrew tate. Jimmys mum isnt actually his mum which is bare peak innit and his aunt is acc his mum. warra plot twist tho. his dad did leave tho which on jimmys part i would not have. i personally would track him down hide under his bed and whisper demonic things every night to him until he goes crazy then i will show up at his door saying im his son and then when he lets me in i will take out the machete that i had concealed behind my back and slice his head clean off. then ill play basket ball with it and shoot some threes Overall peng a leng book do read. 69420696969964204204026996 8========D---------------

[amna · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was on my library's free books cart. it caught my eye because of the title, which tbh reminded me of the books of my youth. i mean i guess it makes sense why so many books from the 2000s talk about fatphobia since being fat was next to being a sin back then (e.g. what they did to jessica simpson) but it really feels like the type of book that would be assigned reading for an eighth grade health class. i don't think this was ever checked out since there's no dates stamped on but i think ill be sneaking it back onto that cart because this is such a one time read. it was most certainly targeted at people younger than me but the book is very much for a British audience. I'm not sure why or how we have this here since its a UK edition but theres a LOT of cultural references to especially scottish things since the book takes place in Glasglow i believe but im gonna be so fr i could NOT understand the majority of what they said. this teaches a very valuable lesson regarding healthiness and body positivity to those that it is aimed at but if you're any older or younger (and do not understand the language) i think that it will be missed.

[Hunter Storkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very hard book to put down. It felt like a true story and the amount of detail was great. It is about a boy that gets picked on about his weight because they say he is "disgustingly overweight." He also gets abused as well but he keeps his head up through the ups and downs throughout the story. As the story goes on he keeps dreaming about becoming a chief and how he has always wanted to be a chief. But school life is hard for him because he doesn't want to go to school and how everyone just blows him off but then he decides he starts to learn how to swim and how he tries to better himself. I truly recommend this book if you like true stories and how it can keep you in the book and it shows how he tries to better himself and proves to people how people can do anything.

[Dave Manke · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the beginning, the book contains some interesting characters. The characters seem quite average at the beginning, because the author is slow to develop them. As a grade 9 class in Jakarta Indonesia the students really enjoyed the plot twists towards the end. The characters became more interesting at the climax of the story. They would not recommend it to other grade 9 classes. It's really hard to get into for Indonesian students. The terminology is too confusing for ESL learners. It might be easier for a grade 9 Scottish class with the slang. The book seems very generic besides the plot twist. The swimathon was the best part of the book.

[Anna Cavallo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really good teen book which covers the theme of bullying very well. Jimmy is an overweight teenager who is picked on by everyone at school including some of the teachers and has no friends so daily life at school is so hard.But he is a very good cook but unless he wants to be picked on even more, he has to keep it secret. He also wants to learn to swim so takes on the challenge and finds he is also very good at that. Putting effort into his swimming begins to make him fitter and begin to realise his binge eating is not good so that stops too.

[Duran Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fat Boy Swim is about a kid named Jimmy. He loves cooking and his dream is to become a chef. He also likes playing football. His coach also makes him work the hardest. Everybody laughs at him because he is overweight. Later on he found out his mother was dating the priest. He then met the priest who he found out was his football coach. The coaches name is GI Joe. Gi Joe wanted Jimmy to start swimming. Jimmy wanted to swim but he was not very good at it. GI Joe then taught Jimmy how to swim and Jimmy loved it.

I would recommend this book.

[Jamison Henson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a alright book. One thing i didn't like about it is that it repeats its self a lot. for example in this book there is a heavy kid who does swim and people make fun of him because hes fat. and it reflects himself a lot for the first half of the book on how he just gets bullied and how hes insecure. This book was pretty entertaining but its not a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat at all.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fat Body Swim is a book about a fat kid who has a talent for cooking. No one knows about this talent that he has except for his family. A coach finds out about his talent and wants to make a deal with the fat kid. The coach is willing to train the fat kid to become a swimmer.
This book would be a higher star rating if it contained more information about the main character’s life.
I recommend this book to those who don’t want to be bored while reading.

[Broden Quick · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Rounded up. I thought this book was sweet. A very basic plot of a bullied teen, finding self-confidence by learning to swim and realising he's great at it. I had fun but just felt the "twist" added nothing to the book.
I did love the fact that I basically read the whole book in a Scottish accent.

[jimmy brookes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jimmy is a crusty cheese looking puff boy dead wimmer ong he so dooky bro dies half way through the book and come back as a pack of watsitts he kisses this dead ting with glasses called ellie dead man clapped obese chunky boy

[Ahlam Tariq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book because it had a relatable character who fills an invisible hole inside him with junk food, despite his ability to cook like a chef naturally. Because he is overweight he is bullied continuously by a group of children his age led by victor who is the antagonist of this story but still has a character arc worth reading. Jimmy manages to overcome his fear of the water and starts to swim elegantly sooner than expected, swimming seems to be running in his blood as he soon finds out about his true identity is, this is a heart-warming story of overcoming odds and finding your true talent.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cracking book, actually! Brilliant for young readers. The Scottish accent will no doubt puzzle many who aren't acquainted with it, but if you've got that on lock then it's all grand!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Definitely worthy of being on our reading list for Year 8.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminds me of a Crutcher book. Good plot, solid characters, tidy ending. It was fine.

[Jake Howie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice wee novel that plucks the heartstrings. Would definitely recommend this

[Geor.2010 · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good totally recommend 😉

[Anna Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mum embarrasses me enough just being my mum, but now she's won this Feeko's supermarkets competition it's even worse.

[Jesse Wilkerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine Jimmy, a 14 year boy who has no friends, and is overweight. He’s out for a soccer team with other people in his class, and with his rival/bully Victor who always ridicules him at every single practice, and after every game for being too fat, or horrible at the sport. Jimmy the 14 year old boy has a hidden skill for cooking, and has not told anybody except his mother and aunt. After getting talked into a fundraiser by the priest/swim coach he decides to take up that offer, and from the first day of practice his life would change forever.


The first thing that I enjoyed about this book was the plot, which sort of went from Jimmy losing everything in his life, to him going through a lot of stress and coming out on top. It is really inspiring watching Jimmy get better as an athlete, and as a better human being in general. And I enjoyed how the book was simple in that it went from beginning to end and that’s it.


Another thing that I enjoyed about this book is that it is very simple concept,and it actually could happen in real life, but it is fiction. Jimmy is portrayed really well in this book and there was a lot of details explaining all of the main characters in the story and how they changed throughout the course of the story.

Fat Boy Swim is a pretty decent book, and I recommend it for anybody that has to read a book in school, or just read a book that does not take that much time and effort, but still is entertaining. This is also a relatively short book, it has over 200 pages, but it does not take that long to read. All in all i would probably give this book a ⅗ simply because it is not a book that you can just get hooked on and keep reading, it is more of a casual book that is fun to read.

[Hi · Rating 1 out of 5]

i hated this book i think it was soap opera






























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was something about the blurb of this that reminded me vividly of reading Tim Bowler’s Midget, which I loved as a kid, so I couldn’t help but pick this YA novel up as a reprieve from the textbooks. It also, when I flicked through reviews, promised a happy ending. The first two chapters felt a little unwieldy, Forde’s style unfamiliar, however her rhythm is quickly picked up – especially read aloud.

Not being the target audience, I did guess the big family secret fairly early in the book; however this didn’t spoil the enjoyment of the read. Somehow it ended up being 1AM, I’d turned ‘one more chapter’ into the entire book (oops!)… Very good for expanding a teen’s vocabulary and definitely one to read about the pool on holiday – her vivid detail left me craving chocolate éclairs and a good swim!

[Salsabrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jimmy Kelly's transformation from slovenly, miserable fat kid to talented and confident swimmer is a heartening journey for readers.

*SPOILER* Fourteen-year-old Jimmy Kelly is slovenly and fat. He is
teased and bullied constantly at school, not only by classmates but his PE teacher as well. His refuge from the cruelty is, ironically, gourmet cooking. Jimmy knows how to cook and he enjoys creating meals and "tablet" (a type of candy) for his Mum and Aunt Pol. Father "GI Joe" learns Jimmy's secret and wants him to cater the swimathon fundraiser. In exchange, Jimmy gets swimming lessons from GI Joe. Jimmy proves to be a natural talent in the pool. He drops 21 pounds and is growing in confidence, even gaining a sort of girlfriend in Ellie McPherson. But Mum and Aunt Pol drop a bomb, revealing a family secret and Jimmy's real parentage.

[Lör K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this back in Year Eight in secondary school, and I remember this being one of the best books I have ever read.

Welcome to Scotland, where we follow Jimmy. He's fourteen years old and is overweight, and constantly teased. The joke of it all? Jimmy's talent lies in cooking. Eventually having enough, Jimmy decides to turn his self loathing life around and learn how to swim.

This book, changed my life .

This isn't even an exaggeration. This book completely changed my perspective on everything. This book made me a lot more aware of so many things I can't even list everything. I connected with Jimmy way too much it was painful. I cannot explain just how much I loved Jimmy and how much I loved this book. This is such a beauty of a book, I really need to read this again and review this correctly.

Read this.

[Roberta Dellabora · Rating 4 out of 5]

La recensione completa QUI

Jimmy non potrebbe avere una vita peggiore. E' terribilmente in sovrappeso e costantemente schernito dai compagni di scuola e di calcetto. Le sue cose non sono le uniche ad essere distrutte, ma anche la sua dignità.
Fat Boy Swim è uno di quei libri dove la morale diventa importantissima e si rivolge sopratutto ad un pubblico giovane che ha ancora a che fare con la vita scolastica. Il bullismo viene affrontato come tema preponderante, ma la scorrevole e diretta narrazione di Catherine Forde ci insegna che prima o poi, nonostante tutte le controversie della vita tutti possiamo avere finalmente il nostro riscatto. Così come accade a Jimmy.