Ellie has a nickname at school, Splash. Her older sister actually started it, which is very hurtful, her mother is constantly telling her about her food, weighing her, watching what she eats, limiting her choices and talking about bariatric surgery for weight loss. Her older brother picks on her as well, with mean jabs. Her best friend is moving to Indiana and she has no other friends at school, and gets picked on constantly with no teacher intervention. The only one who seems to be on her side is her dad, except he takes her to a therapist! Ellie ends up making a new friend, Catalina, her new neighbor. She also learns to stand up for herself at home and school.
Told in verse, this book was sad and empowering. I love the fact that overweight kids and "skinny" kids will see themselves in this book and hopefully will create empathy for others. I think that kids wanting a sad book will definitely have it in Starfish.
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