Goldfish: A Novel
By:
After a young swimmer's dreams come to a screeching halt, she finds new, unlikely (boy) friends and a side of herself that she didn't know existed.
ISBN: 9781250089182
JLG Release: Oct 2016
Sensitive Areas:
Language: Strong Language, Sexual Content: Mild Sexual Content/Themes, Medical: Eating Disorder
Topics:
Swimming
, Competition
, Friendship
, Reality television
Awards & Honors
2017 USBBY Outstanding International Book List, Grades 6–8
ILA Young Adults’ Choices 2017 Reading List
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Booklist, The Horn Book Magazine, The Horn Book Guide^, Publishers Weekly, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Horn Book
Louise’s Olympic dreams are dashed when she comes in dead last at a qualifying
swim meet. Her best friend Hannah takes what Lou thought would be her spot
at a prestigious swim training institute, and Lou dejectedly goes back to school,
where her teammates won’t speak to her and her coach tells her she’s done. Lou
resigns herself t Louise’s Olympic dreams are dashed when she comes in dead last at a qualifying
swim meet. Her best friend Hannah takes what Lou thought would be her spot
at a prestigious swim training institute, and Lou dejectedly goes back to school,
where her teammates won’t speak to her and her coach tells her she’s done. Lou
resigns herself to a dull year, and then three boys desperate to win a TV talent
competition recruit her to train them in synchronized swimming. Lou scrambles
to learn about the sport, and things come humorously to a head when the
group decides to rehearse in the fish- and marine mammal–filled tanks at a local
aquarium. Rarely, if ever, in YA do you see a friendship among three boys and a
girl where there is no romantic melodrama (a crush does develop, at a slow burn,
between Lou and one of the boys). Lou’s voice is irreverent and self-deprecating,
and the way Luurtsema explores body image—with Lou grappling with her perceptions
about her athletic, decidedly-not-hourglass shape and trying to decide if
she even cares whether boys look at her a certain way or not—is refreshing. That,
and the fact that Lou is biracial and suffers no identity crisis about it, sets her
apart. If the premise of this British import feels somewhat unrealistic, and Lou’s
swim coach seems unnecessarily, impossibly cruel, Goldfish makes up for it with a
protagonist who really acts and sounds her age. sarah hannah gómez
Book Details
ISBN
9781250089182
First Release
October 2016
Genre
Fic
Dewey Classification
F
Trim Size
8 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Page Count
240
Accelerated Reader
Level 4.7; Points: 8;
Scholastic Reading Counts
Level 4.5; Points: 15;
Lexile
Level 730L
Format
Print Book
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Feiwel & Friends
Potentially Sensitive Areas
Language: Strong Language, Sexual Content: Mild Sexual Content/Themes, Medical: Eating Disorder
Topics
Swimming, Competition, Friendship, Reality television,
