Beat the Band (Swim the Fly #2)

Last summer, Coop, Matt, and Sean set out to see a real-live naked girl. This year, they’re setting their sights even higher. Tenth grade will be the year to “tag all the bases… and then… slide into home,” preferably with Prudence Nash, the hottest girl in school. The boys’ plan hits a snag when Coop gets paired with “Hot Dog” Helen, the school outcast, for a semester-long Health project on safe sex. Coop’s popularity falls into total jeopardy.

Coop needs a serious plan to save his reputation. What better way to impress the girls than to win the school’s upcoming “Battle of the Bands?” Never mind that the boys have no musical talent and that Matt and Sean are reluctant to join in. Coop is persistent.

Meantime, Prudence and her posse set out to sabotage Helen but they need Coop’s help to make it work. How far will Coop go to be considered cool?

Beat the Band is the humorous and exciting sequel to Don Calame’s Swim the Fly, and is just as likeable as the first book. With hilarious, amusing characters Calame will have you hooked from the first page. Although the characters can be annoying and self-centered at times, I grew to love and root for them as they developed.

One of my favorite moments in Beat the Band, was when Coop and Matt decided to dye their hair, and tan themselves for their rock star personas. Instead of waking up the sexy rockers they imagined, they woke up as orange-skinned aliens with bright green hair!

Will the boys get what they hope for? Yes, and no. Just like Swim the Fly, what they get may not be exactly what they imagined.

This book has lots of “boy humor” and crude jokes, so I recommend it for more mature readers.

I could not put this book down and I highly recommend it!!