Starfish
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A PRINTZ HONOR BOOK • Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant novel-in-verse.
“In her debut novel, Starfish, Lisa Fipps confronts diet culture and fat phobia head-on. . . . The book reads as if Ellie herself is writing these poems, which are accessible and engaging.”—The New York Times Book Review
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules—like "no making waves," "avoid eating in public," and "don't move so fast that your body jiggles." And she's found her safe space—her swimming pool—where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It's also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie's weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life--by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Told in verse, this affirming representation of fatness stars Ellie Montgomery-Hofstein, 11, who, to avoid the bullying she's endured since the age of five, lives by the Fat Girl Rules—the unspoken rules one learns "when you break them—/ and suffer/ the consequences." Finding solace from taunts and judgment in her fenced-in backyard's pool, Ellie, who is half-Christian, half-Jewish, and presumed white, enjoys sprawling in the water like a starfish, weightless and free. When her best friend Viv moves away, Ellie feels alone at her Dallas, Tex., school, but she soon forms a tentative bond with her new neighbor, Catalina Rodriguez, whose boisterous, loving Mexican family makes her feel accepted for who she is. With support from new friends, her father, and a therapist who acknowledges her feelings and helps her find her voice, Ellie finds the strength to stand up to her bullies, including her mother, who pressures Ellie to undergo bariatric surgery, and verbally abusive older siblings. Fipps's use of verse is as effective as it is fitting; Ellie dreams of becoming a storyteller and poet "to help people feel what it's like/ to live in/ someone else's skin." A triumphant and poignantly drawn journey toward self-acceptance and self-advocacy. Ages 10–up.
