Starfish

Lisa Fipps

Mar 2021 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A Printz Honor winner!

Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant debut novel-in-verse.

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.

Ratings and reviews

OK a few facts: 1. you cannot use genes as an excuse for your weight problem 2. if you do all the right things, you get the right results 3. no one bullies over weight children in obvious ways - they may do sneakily when teachers are not watching Overall, I find this book not very helpful for anyone so far. I was overweight as a child and am still struggling with my weight but I know I can be healthy and fit by exercising and adopting a healthy lifestyle. Blaming my genes is not going to get me anywhere. Hope this book gets better.

Like it was written for me: This is a book that I needed growing up. This beautiful book, written in my favorite format of verse, needs to be in the hands of all middle grade readers and their caregivers as I know it will change lives and open hearts and minds. I loved Ellie; she feels like a close friend of mine as the author let her readers get to know an authentic eleven-year-old girl who suffers from bullying from peers as well as from strangers, including adults and her own mother. I enjoyed the family dramas and relationships and how they evolved and strengthened over the plot arc. The character growth in Ellie, her siblings, and parents was well-paced and believable. My favorite adult character in this book is Ellie's therapist Dr. Wood, AKA Doc. She was born to help children like Ellie--her patience and willingness to listen are admirable. This book will give all readers insight into how to handle bullying without becoming a bully yourself. I closed the book with renewed hope that other readers will also realize you can learn to love yourself despite what others say, think, or do and that everyone deserves to be treated as a human being, no matter what. This book is one that made me think about my own life and how I treat myself and how I treat others. It gave me new tools to use daily in for my thoughts, spoken words, and actions. Most importantly, it made me see myself and gave me new hope.

Adore this book, it's perfect.

About the author

Lisa Fipps is a graduate of Ball State University, an award-winning former journalist, a former director of marketing for a public library (where she won the Sara Laughlin marketing award), and an author of middle-grade books. Starfish is her debut novel. She lives in Kokomo, Indiana.