Independent Reading Level: Ages 10+
Awards & Honors: 2022 Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children’s Book

2022 International Literacy Association Notable Books
for a Global Society Award Winner

2022 National Council of Teachers of English
Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book

2022 NCTE/Children’s Literature Assembly
Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award

2022 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist

2022 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults winner

2022 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults winner

2021 Internationale Jugendbibliothek White Raven

2022 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Friends of American Writers Young People’s Literature Award

2023 Sakura Medal, Chapter Books Category (Japan)

2022 Judy Lopez Memorial Award Honor Book

Clever, poignant, well written, and important—Starfish is a beautiful book. I picked it up randomly because I thought a YA novel in verse would be a quick and easy step toward finishing this year’s reading challenge. It was a quick read, but so much more than that. And I think it’s even more important for adults to read than the tweens for whom it’s categorized. As a woman who’s struggled with weight all my life, I felt the depth of Ellie’s pain and frustration and shame, and I’m glad her story is out there to educate the world. ( )

Gr 5–8—Eleven-year-old Ellie has been bullied most of her life for being fat. The mean girls are bad enough, but her
weight-obsessed mother might be her worst critic. With the encouragement of a new therapist, Ellie learns to
confront her attackers. As she breaks down her restrictive, self-imposed rules, Ellie begins to accept the
unconditional love she deserves. Fipps's empowering, feel-good novel in verse shines, especially given the dearth of
body-positive examples for young readers.

Summary
This book in verse by Lisa Fipps is about a young girl Ellie who is tired of being fat-shamed. She tries to live by “Fat Girl Rules,” which includes: not making waves, avoiding eating in public, and not moving so fast that your body juggles. Despite all of the pressure from her peers and mom, she has found happiness in the swimming pool. There she can be her true self.

Review
In our world today, there is so much pressure on young girls with social media and peer pressure about being a certain size. The reality is all different sizes are beautiful. The world is not one size fits all.
I also love how this text normalizes therapy and shows the importance of finding your people through all of the pressures in the world. Ellie finds allies, friendship, confidence, and hope with her neighbor Catalina, her therapist, and dad.

This book reminds me of the graphic novel Swim Team in many ways. They are both about a young girl facing challenges and finding love in swimming. Both texts show how to help find confidence in yourself, overcome your fears, and to use the people around you for support. Both texts are also in a non-traditional writing style, this one in verse and Swim Team as a Graphic Novel. ( )

I didn't expect it would make me cry. A beautiful book, I'm very happy that I read it. Definitely five stars. ( )