A great story about friendship, I highly recommend you read the swim and I can't wait to read more from Jens Colting as soon as I can.

This is an imaginative and entertaining book about the unlikely friendship between two friends. Wheelchair bound Goliath has Muscular Dystrophy and his health is worsening. He befriends the shy, self-conscious Tiny, a 7-foot-tall fourteen-year-old who swims like a fish (perhaps due to his webbed fingers?) and they hatch an amazing adventure to help save Goliath’s life. This was a delightfully quirky read verging on fantasy and has some great lessons about friendship and acceptance.

I was provided an advanced copy of the book by NetGalley but all opinions are my own!

This book was so cute and inspiring! I will be recommending it to everyone! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Goliath, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, is rescued by Tiny, a giant who swims like a dolphin. The two boys become inseparable friends and go on a life-changing adventure. I love the story line and love the characters. The book can help to teach children to respect differences in others.

Goliath suffers from a form of Muscular Dystrophy and is in a wheelchair. Although there is an experimental treatment available in the US his mom can't afford to travel from Ireland or pay for the treatments. He is progressively getting worse. One day, while at a nearby pool he falls in and is rescued by a boy named Tiny. Tiny is really tall, has webbed hands, and has mental limitations. After being abused by his father Tiny was taken in by a retired sea captain. After the rescue Goliath and Tiny become friends.
Soon after Tiny decides to try and help Goliath by swimming across the Atlantic. He will swim beside the boat, rest at night with the boat stationary, and start agin each day. After convincing Goliath's mom and Karl they set off with a Guinness Book of World Records official. The hope is that the publicity and the record will help bring in money for Goliath's treatment. But the journey is full of danger - illegal whaling ships, storms, the reappearance of Tiny's father who wants to exploit him.
Can Tiny really swim across the ocean and help his friend.
Overall I liked this story of hope and friendship. There were some parts - especially with the whales that delved into the more fantastical but it was a heartwarming tale even though it was pretty implausible.

As the mother of a middle schooler, this is a great book about acceptance and dreams. I love the dream of the characters wanting to break the world records. As an adult it was easy to scoff at some of the things that happened, but there I had to look at it through the eyes of 12/13 year old or through my daughters eyes. My daughter read this as well as she loved it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This middle-grade novel introduces two boys struggling in different ways. Goliath is a 14-year-old boy bound to a wheel chair as a result of an aggressive form of muscular dystrophy. His imagination and outlook on life are inspiring. He has a quirky way of seeing the world. His voice will resonate with readers "It doesn't faze Goliath though. Not much does. When you're in a wheelchair you sort of become less afraid of things other people are afraid of. It's like there's one less thing that could happen to you, and that makes a difference."

When a 7 foot tall boy named Tiny rescues him from drowning in the community pool, they become fast friends. Tiny is an excellent swimmer, born with webbed fingers and toes. Referred to as a giant by his peers, and being mistreated by his father forces Tiny to run away. This unique friendship reminded me a lot of Max and Kevin in Freak the Mighty. With Goliath's ideas and Tiny's brute strength, they become a force when they are together. It's nice to find books with diverse characters that persevere. I will add this to our K-8 library collection.

Written in third-person point of view: omniscient (the narrator knows all of the thoughts and feelings of the characters). For example, Goliath: "She's wrong about Goliath being upset. That's not why he's quiet. He's quiet because he's thinking. When life hands you lemons, you either cry about hating lemons, or you figure out a way of making lemonade, selling it on the street corner and buying something cool with the money... He's thinking of a plan to convince his mom to agree to the transatlantic swim." Tiny is built for swimming, and Goliath thinks if he can swim from Ireland to Boston, it will cover the cost of the medical procedure he needs.

You won't be able to stop yourself from falling in love with Tiny: "He feels fine but the fact that he is staying in his secret room with no thought- turns him into a bit of a clam. Everything happens on the inside, so he doesn't feel a need to talk. Every night as he climbs over the railing after the day's swim his body is weary, but it's the kind of weary that disappears after dinner and a good night's sleep, and not the kind that chips away at you, day after day, chip by chip, until the engine is full of sand and won't start again." Introverts will find truth to his words in a way that others won't fully understand.

When I started reading this book, I expected it to be realistic fiction. The more I read, the more I questioned the likelihood of these events occurring. Gradually, they became more and more far-fetched, leading me to wonder whether the transatlantic swim was a dream or if this story turned fantasy. It turned fantasy! Whale riding, late night sabotage, and freak waves created by intense emotions gives the story a magical twist. I believe there is a target audience for this one... fans of The Riverman trilogy by Starmer or Tumble and Blue by Beasley (they also have a neat blend of realistic fiction and fantasy.... which I may just start calling "real fantasy"...)

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of "TheSwim. All opinions are my own.

The Swim is a middle-grade chapter book. We first meet Goliath, a 14-year-old boy living in a wheelchair due to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. His condition is deteriorating, but he is imaginative and soaks up knowledge. He may be limited physically, but he has a good soul.

Tiny, a 7-foot-tall teenager with webbed feet and hands, ran away from an abusive home and has found shelter with Kurt on a houseboat. The water is the one place Tiny feels safe and free from judgment. The water is also why he and Goliath meet: Tiny saves Goliath's life in a pool accident and they quickly become friends; they both feel like freaks to the outside world, but they connect with each other over their differences and draw out their strengths: "He might be small and Tiny may be slow with his words, but [others] don't know the superpowers the two of them have when they're together."

They concoct an elaborate plan to have Tiny swim across the Atlantic Ocean, 3,000 nautical miles from Ireland to Boston. Tiny's world record attempt will garner media attention and he can direct it to Goliath in hopes of gaining sympathy (and the necessary pro-bono medical care in Boston) to get Goliath the treatments he needs.

The book is playful and there are no shortage of adventures on their World Record attempt. There are encounters with other boaters (some friendly like the circus ship, others more ominous like the whalers), weathering storms, and meeting whales. I had to suspend some of my disbelief, but I imagine an adventurous child devouring this book, getting caught up in the text, worrying about the outcomes, cheering on the antics. Themes of family, friendship, and loyalty abound. It's just the sort of book that will capture young imaginations.

This is a very sweet and unusual YA/children's book. A boy in a wheelchair befriends a disfigured boy at their local pool in Galway. The book is well written and interesting and has excellent messages about acceptance. Would be very good for children to read and take on board.