A review by bickie
The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas by David Almond

3.0

Orphan Stanley Potts lives with his aunt and uncle, but this is no Harry Potter scenario. Aunt Annie and Uncle Ernie love Stan very much, but when the shipyard where Ernie works closes, he becomes a little too obsessed with processing and canning fish. Stan heads to a traveling fair on his birthday and is horrified by the state of the goldfish hanging in little bags at the hook-a-duck stand. Stan manages to convince Dostoevsky, the booth owner, to give him the fish, and he quickly takes them to the river to refresh their water, giving him immense calm. One thing leads to another, and Stan ends up joining the hook-a-duck operation while unbeknownst to him, a group of self-righteous vigilante thugs shut down the "fishy operations" going on inside Ernie and Annie's house (which was turned into a fish processing factory). Stan discovers talents he never knew he had, and all ends well (unless you decide on a different ending; it's really up to you). Best for ages 9-12 (identity-seeking; younger children will likely not understand the ironic humor of DAFT, the anti-fishiness vigilantes; however, nothing objectionable).