Welcome to Litsy!

The book is an assortment of poems, Main character's name is Ellie. The main character is a larger girl and people often make comments about her size. The book is great for learning to love herself. Ellie overcomes her feelings of not belonging and realizes she does not need others opinions to love herself.

About a girl named Ellie who is self conscious of her body image and her mom talks bad about her to her face which brings her down. Ellie struggled as being the “bigger girl“ but over time she learns to love herself and her body. The book is in more of a poetry format so there are a bunch of mini stories instead of chapters. It is set up differently than other books but that is what makes it interesting and easy to read.

It is all set up in poems and not chapters. A girl named Ellie is writing the poems and she uses these poems to help get through what she deals with. She is constantly bullied and her mom says things about her weight. She talks with her therapist about all of her issues and she learns that she doesn't need other peoples validation. The only thing that matters is what she likes and how she feels about herself.

Written in an unusual free verse poem format, this book follows main character Ellie who grapples with self love and criticism from peers and her mother. Ellie learns to validate her own feelings and look past what others say.

Excellent read that deserves an audience. Unfortunately it may bring up a lot of pain & anger, outrage.

Just be kind. Being kind is free to you but you can‘t even imagine how much value it brings to others around you.

This book is a painful read, full of miserable characters that I would never, ever forgive when I became an adult.

Her family? 🚮

“Let there be light-sabers“ I liked this are-verse poem because it shows how Ellies therapist uses analogies to what she lies in order to talk about these hard conversations.

This novel is such a great coming-of-age book about really life issues that happen to may middle school girls. This book is also written in free verse which adds lots of dynamic to they story and allows the reader to interpret each verse which new perspectives. I love that this book ends with Ellie becoming confident in her own self and not allowing others to diminish her shine.

Starfish by Lisa Flips. 2021. Cotemporary Realistic Fiction. The book is about a girl named Ellie in middle school who has been fat-shamed and bullied by everyone around her even her mom. In the book she realizes that she is more than enough and doesn't need other people's opinions to validate her.

Book #80
This is a really simple, and yet complex, YA book which I could have used when I was a kid. The main character is a young girl who is bullied by peers, and even family members. It is an insightful look into how society's deeply ingrained fat phobia manifests itself, and how those of us who struggle with our weight can be made to feel "lesser than". How we adapt by, for example, trying to make ourselves "small" or "invisible" to others.

A middle grade book about Eliana, a girl who is bullied about her weight. 5⭐️

Written in poetic form, this book is beautifully heartbreaking. A teen girls journey through fat shaming and learning to stand up for, and love herself. Although rooted in fiction, you know that it happens in todays society. People are cruel and hateful. I‘m so glad Eliana found her voice, but man did I want to bop a lot of characters upside the head for treating fellow humans/family (especially young, impressionable ones) so poorly.

“She's the first person to smile at me today.
The first to make me feel wanted.
Understood.
I blink back tears.
It's unknown how many students' lives
librarians have saved
by welcoming loners at lunch.”

Starfish by Lisa Fipps is a phenomenal book about the trials that comes with being different while growing up. A young girl who is being bullied decides she will live by “fat girl rules” to try to avoid judgement. Throughout this journey she finds comfort in her dad and her new neighbor and is able to live unapologetically as her true self.

I absolutely love this book in verse! Ellie is a fat tween girl and has to learn some hard lessons at such a young age. Ellie was super relatable to me.

Published - 2021
Author - Lisa Fipps
Genre- Fiction, Novel
Award- Michael Printz Award
A touching story about finding confidence within yourself and accepting it from the world. This is a very good read with very strong underlying messages. This story can be relatable and comforting for some.

A great, quick middle grade novel written in verse that takes a hard look at the effects of fat shaming (most of it done by her own mother). I was ready to throw down on all the shitty people that cause our main character such heartache. Highly, highly recommend. Glad I have it available in my classroom library for all my kiddos ❤️

So many opportunities to learn about empathy in this book. One thing that stuck with me, and is a thing you know but don‘t think about, is that the word “teasing” minimizes the verbal violence we inflict on each other.

“It‘s unknown how many students‘ lives librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch.” ❤️📚🙏

This book was phenomenal! Starfish by Lisa Fipps won the Michael L. Prints award for excellence in young adult literature. It deserves all of the hype that it gets. Starfish explores topics of bullying, self esteem, and mental health. This book is definitely heavy and should be saved for probably 5th grade or above.

This book is in poetry style writing because the main character loves poetry. It is a beautiful story of beginning to love yourself and except who you are. The main character Ellie struggles with bullying both by her family and peers at school. Leading her to struggle with her emotional health and have a lot of self doubt.

“Then I grab the eraser and get rid of every last one”

This book is about a girl named Ellie who has been bullied for her weight her whole life. The bullying started when she wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash in the pool. Her mom starts to control her diet by monitoring her portions and choosing “healthy“ alternatives. One of Ellie's friends, who is also plus-sized, is moving away making Ellie feel alone. The story is all about how Ellie navigates this hardship and how she overcomes it.

A novel in verse from the viewpoint of Ellie, a fat middle schooler. The way her mother and siblings treat her is even more heartbreaking than the bullying she faces at school. Fortunately, Ellie‘s dad is in her corner & hooks her up with a terrific therapist. With their help, plus the support of some friends her age, Ellie learns to stand up for herself. The overall rating on Goodreads is 4.51 with more than 15,00 readers: a strong pick! #kidlit

So now I never let Mom know what I want
because she‘ll keep it from me
as punishment for being fat
disguised as motivation to lose weight.

Written in free verse, this was a quick read. I appreciated the story of Ellie learning to accept herself as she is and stand up to her bullies, including her own mother, but I also wanted more.

#MiddleGrade #NovelInVerse #TRS2022

📚 💕

I started this book during independent reading with my students today and this page caught my attention. Personally, I didn‘t seek solace in physical libraries, but this page still resonates with me and I‘m sure it will with others as well.

#MiddleGrade #NovelInVerse #TRS2022

…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…

#SwimmingPoolDay #JulyJam @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

A poignant, and completely relatable read for me. The only difference being my "swimming pool" was my ever growing collection of books. This is one of those books that reasonates with everyone no matter what your age and I would say it should definitely be a must read for all children and adults. A book that shows people at their worst and how it brings out the very best in others. A heartwarming read ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #starfish #lisafipps

I‘m only a little into this book but so far it‘s really good. Usually when I read books I don‘t get emotional or feel anything but with this book for some of it I can relate. When I was younger I was on the chubbier side not overweight just cubby and all my “friends” were skinny and beautiful so I always felt left out because of that. They were all so good at everything and they all looked so good so i can relate to this book a lot.

This book has an important story to tell about learning to accept your body, stand up for yourself, & the negative impact of body shaming to anyone of all ages. But it‘s quite depressing to read- in addition to being made fun of in school & in public, Ellie is verbally abused by her mother. The father, who is supportive of Ellie now, never admonish his wife for bullying their daughter? Also the novel-in-verse format wasn‘t nicely poetic. ⬇️

Thanks @ramsfan1963 for the tag.
1. Tagged
2. If done well or truly relevant to the story.
#two4thursday @thespineview

Perfectly said! This review is spot on. Such a moving book & well deserved #goodreadsfinalist

This is a very quick read about bullying, body issues, fat phobia, and teen friendships. It felt very true to life in that nothing ever seems to happen to the bullies but the emotional growth of the protagonists was inspiring.

There are a lot of ways I tell a great book from a good one: reading it in one sitting, wanting to punch fictional characters in the face, reenacting dramatic conversations between characters while enraged, clapping my damn hands when the absolute perfect thing happens. Get your hands on this one. And do something with it because holy hell the words said to this fictional child are not all that fictional and it is devastating.

😆😆😆😆

Although this is a middle grade book, it should be read by EVERYONE. Body-shaming can never be right and everyone should know this. It really broke my heart reading Ellie's story and what she has to go through. However, what I loved about this book is how the entire situation was dealt with from therapy to confrontation, teaching us that attacking is not a solution.

It's been a rough reading month for me, both in terms of quality and quantity. So I was so glad I picked this one up today! It's a middle grade novel written in verse, so it was a super quick read, but it had such a great story and lessons to be taught. And as someone who has a hard time loving herself, I *did* cry a little!

May wrap up. The Kent State graphic novel was well researched and well done, highly recommend. Starfish was also an amazing middle grade novel in verse and for Angie Thomas fans, Concrete Rose was excellent on audio.

“I want people to accept me,
just as I am.”

Ellie is a middle schooler who is bullied about her weight not just by her classmates but by her family as well. Ellie just wants everyone to accept her just the way she is. They decide to take her to a therapist who can help Ellie express herself and stand up to get bullies. I just wanted to reach though the book and slap Ellie‘s family and have them support her. I gave all the stars to this novel!

Awesome book in free verse about the lived experience of Ellie, a budding writer who is bullied at home and at school because of people‘s perceptions of her weight. This book should be in all middle school libraries.