Eleven-year-old Ellie has been a fat kid all her life. She got the nickname “Splash” when she jumped into the swimming pool at her fifth birthday party, though some kids also called her “whale.” Ellie, who is white, loves swimming and feels most comfortable in her body when she can float on her back with her arms and legs outstretched, imagining that she is a starfish. She is bullied at school, but has a good new friend next door, Mexican American Catalina. Ellie’s own mother is her worst bully, however. She began withholding food from Ellie when she was four, constantly comments on her weight, tries to “fix” her by forcing diets on her, and even considers pursuing bariatric surgery for Ellie. Fortunately, Ellie’s dad is in her corner. He stands up against her mother, takes Ellie to see a therapist, helps her to find a doctor who isn’t anti-fat, and even takes her to a plus-size clothing store for kids. Ellie’s therapist helps her begin standing up for herself, enabling her to confront classmates who hatch a particularly cruel plot, and to confront her mom, telling her how much she has hurt her over the years. Ellie has one Jewish and one Christian parent and practices both religions, her spiritual beliefs another welcome aspect of this ground-breaking novel in verse that will speak to many fat kids, as well as to those who bully or look down on them. (Ages 8-12)

A PRINTZ HONOR BOOK • Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant novel-in-verse.

“In her debut novel, Starfish, Lisa Fipps confronts diet culture and fat phobia head-on. . . . The book reads as if Ellie herself is writing these poems, which are accessible and engaging.”—The New York Times Book Review

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.