Starfish

This best-selling, award-winning novel in verse introduces us to eleven-year-old Ellie Hofstein. She’s not looking forward to starting 6th grade, and not just because her best friend, Viv, has moved away. Despite Ellie’s commitment to her “Fat Girl Rules” (don’t wear bright colors, make yourself as small as possible, etc.), she is still bullied relentlessly by her peers. But the bullying doesn’t end when Ellie leaves school; her brother makes rude comments and her mother is obsessed with Ellie’s weight, food intake, and the possibility of bariatric surgery - which Ellie doesn’t want. With the help of compassionate teachers, her supportive father, a skillful therapist, and her new neighbor Catalina (a Mexican American girl who knows what it’s like to be judged by her appearance), Ellie finds her voice and the words she needs to stand up for herself. Although the story can be intense at times, readers will be cheering for Ellie by the end!