i came across this book on bookishfirst & i was lucky to win an ARC of if.
while reading the first few chapters, i immediately knew that this was a book for me. growing up, i’ve always dealt with being a little overweight. doctors have always told me i needed to lose weight & like the main character Ellie, my mother has been making comments about my weight ever since i was around 11 years old.
Ellie has to deal with being bullied at school, called names by her classmates because of a nickname given to her by her own sister. at home, she has to deal with more personal bullies : her brother who seems to have some deep hatred for her “ruining his life”, a sister that sits back & watches it all happen & a mother who’s constantly making fatphobic comments, trying to shame Ellie into losing weight, making her go on diets & pushing the idea of weight loss surgery... on a 12 year old.
All the while, her best friend has moved across the country so she feels alone until meeting her new neighbor who makes her feel better about being who she is. with the help of Catalina, her therapist & her father, Ellie is able to overcome some of her fears & trauma to starfish & not be ashamed of her body!
this is a beautiful story & the way it’s written is lovely! the chapters are written in the style of poems with titles for each chapter & it’s broken up to look like a poem. i’m not sure if there’s a specific word for this style of writing but i thoroughly enjoyed it. i spoke with the author over instagram & she’s absolutely lovely! i hope lots of young teens read this one!
while reading the first few chapters, i immediately knew that this was a book for me. growing up, i’ve always dealt with being a little overweight. doctors have always told me i needed to lose weight & like the main character Ellie, my mother has been making comments about my weight ever since i was around 11 years old.
Ellie has to deal with being bullied at school, called names by her classmates because of a nickname given to her by her own sister. at home, she has to deal with more personal bullies : her brother who seems to have some deep hatred for her “ruining his life”, a sister that sits back & watches it all happen & a mother who’s constantly making fatphobic comments, trying to shame Ellie into losing weight, making her go on diets & pushing the idea of weight loss surgery... on a 12 year old.
All the while, her best friend has moved across the country so she feels alone until meeting her new neighbor who makes her feel better about being who she is. with the help of Catalina, her therapist & her father, Ellie is able to overcome some of her fears & trauma to starfish & not be ashamed of her body!
this is a beautiful story & the way it’s written is lovely! the chapters are written in the style of poems with titles for each chapter & it’s broken up to look like a poem. i’m not sure if there’s a specific word for this style of writing but i thoroughly enjoyed it. i spoke with the author over instagram & she’s absolutely lovely! i hope lots of young teens read this one!