Starfish, written by Lisa Fipps. Penguin Random House. 2021. $23.99 ages 9 and up

 

"I also eat slowly because 
I keep thinking about stereotypes. 
People stereotype me
all the time, too. 

They think fat people are dumb. 
I'm at the top of my class. 

They think we're slobs.
My room is spotless. 

They think we're unhappy. 

That's true. 

But they think I'm unhappy
because I'm fat. 

The truth is, 

I'm unhappy because 
they bully me 
about being fat."

There's a part of me that just wants to stop right there, and let Ellie's words sink in. Maybe how she really feels is all readers need to know. I am concerned that if I did that, I might not be able to convince you that this is a book you need to read. It makes me wish I were teaching in a middle years classroom, and could read it aloud to the kids in my class. I know there would be those who want to read it again as soon as the book is closed. It is that good - believe me! 

In her debut novel, Lisa Fipps grabs the reader's attention in the opening scene. From then on, I could not put it down. Writing it as a verse novel was an inspiration. She gets right to the heart of what is happening to Ellie, and has been since her fifth birthday. 

"Cannonball into a pool, 
drenching everyone, 
and wear a whale swimsuit

to your Under the Sea birthday party
when you're a chubby kid
who grows up to be a fat tween
and no one will ever let you live it down. 

Ever."

The nickname Splash begins with her older siblings. She was FIVE! Ellie could not get the words out to let them know how it made her feel. Had she been able to voice her sadness, they would simply have suggested that the teasing would stop when she lost weight. 

And so, Ellie begins her Fat Girl Rules list. 

"Fat Girl Rules 

I learned
at five:

No cannonballs. 
No splashing. 
No making waves. 

You don't deserve 
to be seen or heard, 

to take up room, 

to be noticed. 

Make yourself small."

Ellie was five! 

Now, she is 11 and the narrator of this beautifully written book. Ellie is fine with how she looks, and her story is very personal. She has a powerful voice and a healthy wealth of humor which keeps her story from being dismal. With help from a therapist, and support from her best friends and her father, she learns how to speak up for herself. 

"I starfish. 

There's plenty of room
for 

each

and 

every 

one of us

in the world."

Starfish? What a concept! That's it. If I haven't convinced you to find this book and read it, I have not done the job I wanted to do.