Swimming on the Moon by Nicholas Hill

When a fourteen-year-old boy Nick happens upon a bullying encounter in the neighborhood school yard, he meets Mike, a seventeen-year-old boy who suffers from mental and physical retardation. Nick feels bad for the handicapped kid and realizes that despite what he always thought, life isn’t very fair. He becomes more intrigued when Mike explains why people, and even animals, eventually go swimming on the moon.  

To order this book, go to AMAZON for the KINDLE BOOK or to Barnes and Noble for the NOOK BOOK. NOTE: This book is only an e-book at this point and is not available in print. See the author, Nicholas Hill, on youtube talking about his book.

Set in the late 1980’s in a suburb in Long Island, New York, Swimming on the Moon is the story of a remarkable bond between a teenager and an older handicapped kid who couldn’t be more different. In the story, the younger boy Nick is able to transcend the typical ignorance and prejudices of the other kids around him as he attempts to teach Mike about sports, life and love, and answers all the other questions that he asks.  In the end however, it is the youngster who ends up learning from Mike.

Swimming on the Moon is based on a true story and spans two years of the brief, but riveting relationship that develops between the two young men.  It is full of hysterical, sometimes embarrassing events in the life of Mike, as well as some wild adventures, and ultimately, even a swim on the moon.

·             A great book for anyone who loved Forrest Gump!

·             A lesson in expanding emotional boundaries for those special-needs students

·             A timeless tale of a remarkable relationship between a handicapped boy and a young, undaunted teen who was willing to have an open mind towards those who were different form him and his “normal” friends

·             An entertaining story for all middle school and high school students that can relate to the everyday life of the characters.

·             A perfect book for required reading in middle and high school classes for Anti-bullying Week, Anti-bullying Month, and International Anti-bullying Day. 

·             College students will learn a lot analyzing and evaluating the unique human relationship that developed between a handicapped older teen and a young, eager-to-help teen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: NICHOLAS HILL
For eight years, Nicholas was a teacher in a middle school and high school in Long Island New York, and in New York City.  During this time, in order to encourage more reading, Hill started writing and re-telling stories that he had written over the years, generally geared towards entertaining the most challenging students. Combined with his childhood experiences, and his overactive imagination, he would create stories that always caught the interest of his student audience. 

Hill enjoys writing in the narrative, or first person, as he believes this techniques allows him to act out the character so that the reader could also become the main character, and therefore would witness events as they were seeing and feeling them.

A few years ago, Nicholas decided to leave teaching in order to raise his two young daughters, realizing that it was a rather unique opportunity. Since that time, Mr. Hill has written a half dozen books, including a religious trilogy that he hopes to have published someday. Previously, he has also written articles for a Long Island newspaper, and has also written public speeches for some local politicians.
 
 Nicholas Hill now writes full-time. He lives on Long Island with his wife and two daughters.