"This funny, honest, beautiful book about the bond between a neuro-typical girl and her nonverbal autistic twin perfectly captures pre-teen life"
March 2023 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month February 2023
Faced with the collapse of their parents’ marriage, twins Anna and Anto know that only one thing really matters to them: they must never be split up. It’s a twin thing.
Anna knows that whatever the differences between her and her brother Anto - and there are many including that Anto is autistic - they are each half of a whole and cannot manage without each other.
Anna narrates the emotionally insightful and deftly told story of how she and Anto, two children facing up to their parents separating with a well-judged mixture of sad reality, tremendous warmth and relieving humour.
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A review from Joanne Owen :
We’re huge fans of Brian Conaghan’s wise, warm-hearted novels here at LoveReading, and Swimming on the Moon really does have the feel of a book that’ll stand the test of time and become a pre-teen classic. Exploring how it feels to fear your parents are splitting up, and showing the beautiful bond between a compassionate twelve-year-old girl and her nonverbal autistic twin brother, it’s moving, funny and utterly adorable.
Anna’s biggest fear is that her constantly arguing parents will split up and separate her from her twin brother Anto. Of course, as with all brother-sister relationships, there are times when he’s annoying and frustrating, but Anna’s patience and protectiveness, and her ingenuity at helping Anto communicate with Lego is gorgeous. She’s proud of him too: “Anto gets to experience the world in a very unique way…He’s not some secret to be locked in a box”.
Then, when Anna discovers her dance group is going to compete in Italy, she sees a bright light of hope. Her parents are never happier than when they’re on holiday, so she just has to convince them all to go to romantic Rome. But with more surprises ahead, Anna digs deep to understand adults’ baffling behaviour, all the while looking out for Anto.
Fittingly, given Anna’s love of the author, Swimming on the Moon is Judy Blume-level brilliant at evoking a 12-year-old’s perspective on life, and through her we gain compassionate, wise insights into how Anto experiences the world.
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Twelve-year-old Anna's parents are going through a rough patch, but Anna can't let them split up. Not when it might mean living apart from Anto, her twin brother. Anto might be a boy, and he might not speak (except using Lego bricks), and he might carry a coat hanger about like it's his closest friend, but that doesn't stop the two of them being like peas in a pod.
It's a twin thing, and nobody's going to separate them. So Anna hatches a plan: get the whole family on a plane to Italy. Her parents have always been happiest on holiday.
How can they fail to fall back in love at a swanky hotel with an actual pool to swim in and everything! But when Anna discovers more about why her family has grown apart, suddenly a happy holiday in Italy seems about as likely as swimming on the moon.
Swimming on the Moon explores big themes of emotional literacy, understanding difference, empathy and communication.
Conaghan's portrayal of twins on the cusp of becoming teenagers - one neurotypical, one non-verbally autistic - shows the strength of the sibling bond in all of its highs and lows, laughs and frustrations.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Swimming on the Moon and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
Swimming on the Moon features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Funny, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month, Stories about Family and Friends, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Swimming on the Moon is available in Paperback
Swimming on the Moon was written by Brian Conaghan and published by Bloomsbury Childrens Books an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Swimming on the Moon has 318 pages
£7.19
