There's only a slim connection with pro wrestling, but this is a fun enough children's book, though you might want to shop around on the price.

The bulk of the story is about 11-year-old Archie who feels undersized after his friends and foes go through growth spurts. He then tries a range of tactics to both bulk up and improve his social standing, which backfire in a manner of amusing ways.

The wrestling element comes in two parts. There's a memorable scene in a family restaurant run by a former pro (with a couple of nice lines to make fans from the 80s and 90s really feel their age.) There's also a subplot with Archie learning amateur wrestling that proves somewhat pivotal to the payoff.

It feels a little churlish to criticize the pacing of a childrens' book, but the resolution of the tension does have RKO tendencies. We never actually see how Archie's wrestling tournament career works out as that's not the point of the story's conclusion, though there's definitely room for a sequel.

I'm probably not the best reviewer to judge how well-pitched the writing is for the intended audience. I found the dialogue irritating at times, but given my age, that means it's probably quite realistic for the young characters.

It's certainly not worth adult readers getting just for the wrestling connection, but is worth looking for if you need a present for a pre-teen. It's available to pre-order at Amazon for an August release, though appears overpriced there (and will presumably drop before the release). You can also get it for delivery now from the publishers at a more realistic price.

A good resource but not something that is pertinent to my classroom.