Sink or Swim: The Creature from the Seventh Grade, Book 2

Gr 5–7—Life has certainly taken a turn for the challenging since Charlie Drinkwater morphed into a mutant sea creature/dinosaur in Boy or Beast. Now someone is stealing food in town and all of the evidence points to Charlie. In his quest to find the real thief and clear his name, Charlie teams up with two friends-only to learn that he may not be the only mutant creature in town after all. Meanwhile, the principal decides Charlie needs to learn some discipline and orders him to join the swim team. Unfortunately, water ranks pretty high on Charlie's very long list of things he is afraid of. His quest to fit in with the other children his age (despite weighing hundreds of pounds and towering over everyone's heads) and overcome his fears will resonate with many children this age. Balaban also serves as reader for this audio presentation. His tone fits the story well and he certainly provides the listener with a sympathetic and likable presentation of Charlie. That said, the characters' voices can be hard to distinguish at times and the pacing is a little disjointed. Although this title may stretch the imagination to the breaking point, it does offer a satisfying conclusion and the quirky idea of a giant mutant in middle school may appeal to some of those reluctant readers.—Deanna Romriell, Salt Lake City Public Library, UT