Reviews for Starfish (J/Book)
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A girl seeks acceptance rather than judgment for her size. Eleven-year-old Texan Ellie loves to swim in her backyard pool even though a cannonball during her fifth birthday party earned her the nickname “Splash” and endless jokes about whales. She maneuvers through life following unspoken “Fat Girl Rules,” chief among them, “Make yourself small.” Ellie dreads the start of sixth grade, partially because her best friend just moved away, but mainly because classmates bully her at every turn. The worst, though, is her mother, with her endless stream of derogatory comments, obsessive monitoring of Ellie’s food intake, and preoccupation with bariatric surgery (which Ellie knows is unsafe). Thankfully, Ellie has support in compassionate educators, tried-and-true friends, her beloved pug, and her more considerate psychiatrist father, who finds Ellie a therapist to work through her pent-up feelings. As a self-proclaimed poet, Ellie has a strong command of words, and she learns how and when to use them to defend herself. She also makes friends with her new neighbor, whose Mexican American family can empathize with being judged on appearances. Fipps’ verse is skillful and rooted in emotional reality. The text places readers in Ellie’s shoes, showing how she is attacked in many spaces—including by strangers on public transit—while clearly asserting that it’s other people who need to change. Half-Jewish, half-Christian Ellie is cued as White. Make room in your heart for this cathartic novel. (Verse novel. 9-13) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A girl seeks acceptance rather than judgment for her size.Eleven-year-old Texan Ellie loves to swim in her backyard pool even though a cannonball during her fifth birthday party earned her the nickname Splash and endless jokes about whales. She maneuvers through life following unspoken Fat Girl Rules, chief among them, Make yourself small. Ellie dreads the start of sixth grade, partially because her best friend just moved away, but mainly because classmates bully her at every turn. The worst, though, is her mother, with her endless stream of derogatory comments, obsessive monitoring of Ellies food intake, and preoccupation with bariatric surgery (which Ellie knows is unsafe). Thankfully, Ellie has support in compassionate educators, tried-and-true friends, her beloved pug, and her more considerate psychiatrist father, who finds Ellie a therapist to work through her pent-up feelings. As a self-proclaimed poet, Ellie has a strong command of words, and she learns how and when to use them to defend herself. She also makes friends with her new neighbor, whose Mexican American family can empathize with being judged on appearances. Fipps verse is skillful and rooted in emotional reality. The text places readers in Ellies shoes, showing how she is attacked in many spacesincluding by strangers on public transitwhile clearly asserting that its other people who need to change. Half-Jewish, half-Christian Ellie is cued as White.Make room in your heart for this cathartic novel. (Verse novel. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Since she was five, Ellie (now eleven) has lived by a list of Fat Girl Rules: "Make yourself small"; "Move slowly so / your fat doesn't jiggle"; "When you hear laughter, / someone's laughing at you." She only feels comfortable in her body when she's swimming or spending time with her dog or her similarly fat best friend, Viv. But when Viv moves away, Ellie is alone in facing the sixth-grade bullies, who call her a whale, slam doors in her face, and -- horrifyingly -- loosen the screws on her desk so it collapses. It's not much better outside of school, where strangers make rude comments, or at home, where her mother posts dieting articles on the fridge and even takes her to see a bariatric surgeon without her consent. (If it all seems too cruel to be realistic, an author's note explains that these experiences are based on Fipps's own.) Luckily, Ellie has the support of her dad, a new friend, and an understanding therapist who teaches her to stand up for herself. Ellie's simple and powerful free-verse poems intensify her emotional turmoil and smoothly destroy stereotypes ("They think I'm unhappy / because I'm fat. / The truth is, / I'm unhappy because / they bully me / about being fat"). Her strength in accepting herself and learning to defy her Fat Girl Rules is an inspiring reminder to all readers that they deserve to "take up space." (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
