Adam Baron

Representation: Side Asian character
Trigger warnings: PTSD, death of a brother, death of a child in a river, near-death experience
Read this review for context. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.

The library I got this from didn't have this book physically however they did have an ebook copy so I picked that up instead and I didn't know if I would enjoy this considering I haven't read from this author before but it was a pretty good mystery about why the boy in this book couldn't swim however the ending spoke for itself. Where do I begin? This reminds me of another book similar to this but different also. It starts with the main character Cymbeline Igloo or Cymbeline for short and he admits at the starting pages that he has never been swimming. Ever. Initially, I thought Cymbeline's mother made all sorts of excuses to prevent him until when in some point in the future he has to swim at his school, he thought it couldn't be that bad since he researched what freestyle is but man, it couldn't have played out worse.

Cymbeline arrives at the pool and for some reason, he boasted he was a good swimmer and could even do the moth which isn't a thing, there was a guy called Marcus Breen and he pushed him in, fortunately another character Veronique Chang pulled him out, that must've been the most embarrassing point in his life. There was an event I didn't see coming and it's not at all how I thought it would play out when Cymbeline called someone for a flight to Australia and his mother delivering a rant and that's where her composure starts to unravel and soon enough I knew she was mentally ill but why, this is a central theme in this.

In the middle of all that Cymbeline is sent away to live with another relative and his cousins but even that doesn't go as well either and it was explicitly said Cymbeline's father died and no one knows why and that is just a fabrication as I saw later on. There was a moment where Cymbeline met Veronique and the conversation looked normal until she told Cymbeline that he could not swim despite me knowing that so she sets him off to find out why, as if he never found out. There was an inappropriate moment that I didn't like; didn't matter much though. The last few pages were a sight to see as Cymbeline's mother was standing in a river, Cymbeline saw his father and I knew the big question was finally going to be answered. The book cuts to Cymbeline swimming for the first time in his life and then it cuts to the reason (and no, it's not systemic racism unlike the other book), a while back Cymbeline once had a brother called Antony but he died and his mother didn't want him to go near water since it was so traumatising for her ever since. Wow. That was tragic. And that's about it, the ending was a low note.… (mehr)

Someone is picking on Cymbeline's favorite teacher Miss Martin - first they put jelly in her shoes, then they blow up her Olympic sports bag and finally they graffiti on her car. Cymbeline and his best friend Veronique must solve this mystery and also what is going on with Veronique's grandmother ; a refugee from Vietnam. Why has she stopped eating. What is the mystery of the photo and why is their friend's dad who is a private investigator working for V's grandmother.
A lovely story about a Grade 4? boy trying to make sense of his world and also about growing up and learning that life isn't always good. (The part where C sees the photos of the boat people and their losses is quite confronting for the character. This book is the sequel to "Boy Underwater" but you don't nedd to read that before reading this, as I hadn't.… (mehr)