Author: Wai Chim
ISBN: 978-1-76011-341-4
RRP: $16.99
Freedom Swimmer is based on a true story and aimed at an 11-14 year old audience, but I think there is a lot to attract audiences of a much wider demographic.
My history is patchy to say the least, it was never my strong suit at school and it really hasn’t gotten any better. I should probably know more about Mao’s China than I do and so I found it interesting reading to delve into that time through Chim’s writing.
Freedom Swimmer is the story of two Chinese boys from very different backgrounds and the unlikely friendship they forge when forced to toil alongside one another in the fields.
Ming is an outcast in his village even before the arrival of the youths from the Communist Party re-education program, it is rumoured that his father died in an attempt to make a freedom swim and that has tarnished Ming’s reputation in the village. He also lost his mother in the last famine and is all alone, my heart broke for this boy who was only eleven when he needed to take his deceased mother away because he was the only one left in the family.
Six years later the famine has passed but the village is still very poor and all of the villagers are working hard in the fields for minimal rations credits. When the city boys are bussed in they are looking fit, healthy and well fed – a sharp contrast to the villagers. The first night the city boys cook a meal like the village boys haven’t seen since before the famine. It highlights their difference as starkly as their appearances.
The months the two groups of boys spend living in close quarters show the contrasts, but also start to blur the differences. As each group of boys learn more about the other it changes their way of thinking a little.
We watch on as the villagers learn a little more about Mao’s philosophies and begin to memorise his teachings, while some of the city boys start to question Mao’s ideals and the treatment carried out in his name.
There are times in our lives that we all sit back and think we have it hard, well Freedom Swimmer is a great illustration of just how good we have it. I hate to think how bad things would have to be for someone to give serious consideration to swimming from Mainland China to Hong Kong, through shark infested waters that are patrolled by guards.
Freedom Swimmer tells a harrowing story of poverty, famine and communism in China, with back breaking work, suspicion on every corner and never knowing who to trust. It’s a story of the bonds of friendship that grow when everything seems lost and it’s the story of a determination to break the bonds of oppression and find freedom. I really enjoyed this book for it’s interesting characters and it’s spotlight on history.
Freedom Swimmer is book #44 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2016
Thanks to Allen & Unwin 16 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading Freedom Swimmer with their children so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below. I look forward to hearing what they think.
Freedom Swimmer is available now through Allen & Unwin, Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Wai Chim can be found on Facebook, Twitter and her Website.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
My 11 year old sister enjoyed this book. She had no trouble reading this book on her own (but she is an advanced reader for her age) and got through it pretty quickly. Miss 11 was intrigued by China’s Great Leap Forward and asked me whether this was something that actually happened – she was quite shocked to learn it did.
Miss 11’s other comments on the book were:
– I found the story very interesting
– Li was my favourite character, I liked him.
– I think the book was suitable for my age, but there were a couple of tricky words I wasn’t quite sure about
– I liked how the chapters switched between the perspectives of the two main characters; Li and Ming, as this let me see the story from two different point of views
– I liked the twist in the story when Li found a letter (but you will have to read it to find out what it said)
– I would recommend this book to my friends
– I rate it 7.5 stars out of 10
The freedom swimmer is an absolutely wonderful book, such a page turner. I enjoyed reading it. It was quite enlightening how other cultures live compared to Australians. The hard times they faced were quite an eye opener. The Australian life style is like living like royalty compared to the struggles that they had to endure. It was fascinating how the boys swam all that way as it would have been extreamly dangourous and hard and they would have had immense persistenance to carry on. The freedom swimmer is an amazing book and I would rate it a 8.5 out of 10, thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book it was truely an eye opener and wonderful book.
J. 14 years old
I read “Freedom swimmer” by Wai Chim and though it is aimed at the younger readers, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Reading the difficulties that the China has experienced, makes me appreciate my home that little more. Ming and Li are brillliant characters that have been well selected to tell the story. Currently, my 13 year old is reading it and is really enjoying it.
Sorry for late review but my step son is a slow reader and is still only half way through this book. So far he has said he is enjoying it and we do set half an hour before lights out so he can read . Please note we have shared custody of him and he doesn’t like to take his book to mums as his little sister gets into his stuff . We are doing our best to encourage him to read more . I’m thinking I may have to sit with him and share the ready out aloud . Any other suggestions please let me know , as I don’t wish to turn him of reading .
Nikki, no need to apologise. I had left chasing this one until late because I know that younger readers aren’t always as quick.
I completely understand everything you are saying, and I too would hate to turn him off reading by pushing too hard. Reading together is always a fabulous together time, and allows you to talk through what you’re reading with him so that’s a great idea.
I’m glad to hear that he is enjoying the book, thanks for getting in touch and I look forward to hearing his thoughts when he does finish the book. 🙂
Freedom Swimmer is a wonderful book my son and I enjoyed reading
Absolutely fascinating how other cultures live compared to our lives
The hardships that they endured were quite a eye opener
We were amazed that the boys undertook the swim which is extremely dangerous
it showed the courage the boys went through. to beat the odds and prove they could do it
The book is wonderfully written and I believe it has a great story line this is a book that all would enjoy reading i know we did
This slight volume packs a powerful punch. And would recommend it to readers of all ages for its powerful message. My 12 yr old son found it hard to believe that the events in the book were so recent and so real. It shocked and troubled him that recent history could be so brutal. Made him think about the freedom we take for granted. He loved that the freedom swimmer ended on a happy note as it was the first book he has read with a deeper more somber topic that was from real life and not fictional.
The friendship that endures and deepens between Ming and Li amid the difficult circumstances they find themselves is the most beautiful part of the book . And a good lesson for kids as well. The book was a great talking point between me and my son as it made politics more real seeing these events through the eyes of kids a little older than him. Overall a fantastic thought provoking read that does still manage to entertain with elements of adventure and survival.
Sorry for late review, had trouble getting stepson to read this . Don’t think it was his kind of book to be honest . But he did persevere with it . So that was a good thing .