Splash

Charli Howard's Splash is a warm, honest story for 11 year olds about a girl who loves swimming until someone calls her fat.

What happens

Molly is in Year 6 and lives with her nan and grandad. She's shy and tall, and she's happiest underwater, pretending she's a mermaid from an ocean kingdom.

Her best friend Chloe is pretty, bossy and suddenly obsessed with boys. On the way to Chloe's birthday swim, Chloe lets slip that she thinks Molly is fat. Then, as Molly stands on the diving board, an older boy yells "Jump, whale, jump!" and the whole pool laughs.

Suddenly Molly doesn't want anyone to see her in a swimming costume. She even tells her friends that swimming club is for babies, just to keep Chloe happy.

But her PE teacher thinks she could do really well at regionals. Her grandad (who taught her to swim and is now very poorly) is SO proud. So Molly starts training at half past six every morning, in secret.

And then there's her mum, who left years ago and suddenly turns up on the end of the phone.

You're right inside Molly's head, and it feels very real. Wanting to be treated like a grown-up. Being embarrassed by your nan and then feeling awful about it. That tight feeling of keeping a friend happy when she's being mean to you. Her nan's chat in the café about airbrushed magazine models is lovely.

Have you got a Year 6 at home getting ready for secondary school? They'll probably recognise a lot of this.

It's good to know what's in here. There's body-shaming and a lot of talk about weight and bodies, a bit of boy stuff (Chloe says you'll be called frigid if you haven't kissed anyone by Year 7), and a mum who doesn't sound well. It's all handled kindly, but a child who is sensitive about their body might want you close by.

What to read next

If they'd like another story that starts with a disaster at the swimming pool, Boy Underwater is about Cymbeline Igloo, who has never been swimming in his life (his mum always has an excuse) and has just bragged his way into a race against the class bully.