The Story
9 year old Cymbeline has never been swimming in his life. His mum has just never taken him and his dad passed away when he was little. This lack of experience comes as a shock when his teacher Miss Phillips announces to his class that on Monday mornings St Saviour’s School Year 4 class will be starting swimming lessons. Not wanting to be embarrassed by being unable to swim, Cymbeline tells his class that he is fantastic at the sport. This is definitely a bad idea…
Suddenly, Cymbeline finds himself challenged to a swimming race with the worst bully in the entire world! Billy Lee. Cymbeline’s first visit to the swimming pool goes badly. In fact, terribly. He almost drowns! Until the class genius, the quiet and studious Veronique saves him. Cymbeline’s mum freaks out when she hears what has happened.
Then Cymbeline wakes up to find his mum gone. She has been admitted to a mental hospital and Cymbeline isn’t allowed to see her. Does it have something to do with the way his dad died? How many secrets has his mum kept from him? Can Cymbeline and Veronique untangle the mystery in time to save her?
My Thoughts
I could not recommend this book more. It is a hilarious mystery that keeps you gripped all the way through. I recommend this book to anybody who likes something heart-warming and incredibly funny. My favourite character has to be Veronique for being kind and caring as well as super encouraging!
Finally, an important TIP: NEVER trust ‘swimwell.org’!!
