This free verse book is about a girl, Ellie, who is bullied because of her weight. The harassment she faces from her mom about her weight is heartbreaking. It is unfortunate that in the book there is not more intervention from the adults, however, that's sadly reality. So kids facing this issue most definitely can relate and hopefully gain hope the way Ellie was able to find her strength and voice.

Starfish by Lisa Fipps is a must-read for everyone dealing with body image. The novel in verse format is not intimidating to reluctant readers and works well as a read aloud. My library did a summer program on body image featuring this book and had a wonderful virtual visit with the author.

This was a challenging book to read, not because it was hard, but because Lisa Fipps did such a great job of creating the true heartbreak of a child who feels all alone because of her weight. The poetry was beautiful and the emotions conveyed were amazing. This is a book that needs to get into a lot of people's hands, parents and kids included. This was a quick read, but an intense one.

Starfish by Lisa Fipps follows Ellie's story of struggling with who she is. Ellie is bullied about her weight. To find an escape, she starts swimming. The pool is where she feels safe. This novel in verse is easy to read and hard to put down. The story shows being confident and loving who you are.

This book was amazing and extremely moving. The author describes the way she felt and how she was discriminated against due to being overweight. This resonated a lot with my personal experiences as a child and I was very moved.

Ellie has been fat-shamed all her life by those outside of her home, and sadly, some of the people inside of her home as well. While Ellie has made rules to help her cope with these people, she has also formed a support system with her father, her therapist, and her new neighbor who has quickly become her friend. Read this to see how Ellie works to change her perception of herself and find solace in who she is.

I absolutely adored this book. Reading about Ellie reflected my life to me, and I can honestly say that Lisa Fipps did an amazing job in showing our experience.

This book is exactly the book I needed when I was young, and thought that my weight made me both invisible and much too visible.

Adorable! Starfish is a great addition to school classrooms and libraries. I loved the writing, the focus, and the overall journey that Ellie takes throughout this book. I definitely recommend!

I cried. I cheered. I wanted to punch something. Ellie is such a brave character and I was absolutely in love with this novel in verse. The story captures what so many are going through and shows you that it's okay to take up space and be you!

This book about a kid going through coming of age stuff, with nasty bullying on top is sure to be a classroom read eventually. I disliked the parents in this book (mom was the WORST and dad had no backbone). I did enjoy the protagonists confidence in the face of drama and adversity. I feel like kids not ready for Julie Murphy YA would love this novel. well done!

This book is a must for all middle grade classrooms! It demonstrates the dynamics of a family relationship that kids so often live where one parent seems to understand them and the other doesn't. However, both parents do love their child; they just handle it differently and not always in the best ways. Ellie struggles to find herself throughout this book and it's such a journey! Highly highly recommend.

Written in verse, this novel is so accessible to all readers: reluctant or voracious. The characters and their struggles are real and relatable.

I don't think i can love this book any more than I do. This novel in verse shares ways that students can still love themselves and feel comfortable in their skin despite what others may tell them.

How we treat people is indicative of character. Ellie was bullied for the first time in 5th grade at the pool because of her weight.
Ellie struggles with body image problems, a horrible, pushy mother, and a childhood of fighting with food.
Ironically, the only place Ellie feels safe is in a pool where she feels weightless and free.
I love verse novels and felt that this was beautifully written. I will recommend it to many students in our middle-grade library. I feel that verse novels with a unique perspective are exactly the kinds of books to get into their hands to give young people a new perspective on others and the consequences of their words.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

Wonderful book. A mirror and a window for sure. I hope this book earns some Youth Media Awards this year!

Ellie has had to create "Fat Girl Rules" to survive her day-to-day and making herself as small as possible. Since her 5th-grade birthday party when she wore a whale-printed bathing suit, even her siblings have been part of the bullying torment of her size. Worst still, is her mom, who has hinted at her--an ELEVEN year-old--getting surgery to help with the weight. Her best friends, Viv, her new neighbor Catalina and her family, her dad, and new therapist seem to be the only ones on her side.

This is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age body-positivity novel-in-verse told from Ellie's POV. I love the journey Lisa Fipps takes readers on as Ellie learns to navigate her internal anger at the world around, learn to stand up for herself without stooping down to her bullies' level of attacking, and begin the steps towards self-acceptance. Words means things, they can hurt--especially if they come from folks who are supposed to love you unconditionally.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! I am an adult who I'm sure was not the intended audience for this title but it was still very profound and meaningful for me. I have been a genetically plus size girl all my life and it was so beautiful to have a character who experienced the same feelings of shame that I have felt even now. I hope this book can help so many others as it has me. It is a beautiful example of how self love can make or break us in life.

STARFISH is a middle-grade verse novel about Ellie, a girl with a big problem. Because of her weight, many people feel Ellie is fair game for teasing, ridiculing, and bullying. Yet Ellie has true friends who love her and care about her no matter how she looks. Are loyal friendships enough to get a girl through a mean, fat-shaming world?

I LOVED this novel. Everything about it is thoughtful, careful, and kind — which is to say, it walks its talk. Ellie is a poet, a lover of words and music. She is also a girl with finely tuned “fatdar”: her awareness of people all too willing to remind her how to manage herself: “No making waves. / You don’t deserve / to be seen or heard / to take up room, / to be noticed. / Make yourself small.” The novel’s verse is finely balanced; even readers who don’t normally enjoy verse novels shouldn’t mind this one, and readers who prefer verse novels will love the poetic flourishes here.

Ellie is unquestionably the star of this novel. The plot is a relationship-based growth arc. Ellie is surrounded by friends and bullies, and her task is to affirm “I’m not a whale. / I’m Ellie” — no small feat when her bullies include her own family members. But Ellie is bright, caring, determined, and fabulous; she refuses to follow the conform-lose-weight-and-be-ordinary path. With the help of her friends and a compassionate therapist, she will find her own way. I was cheering for Ellie on every page, even while I was crying for the cruelty she experiences. We need more starfish in this world. We need more Ellies.

Without question, STARFISH is one of the best middle-grade books I’ve read this year. I was utterly overwhelmed by how beautifully told the story is — and by how badly needed books like this are. Brava, Lisa Fipps, for writing this gorgeous book.

[This review originally appeared on LibraryThing on August 30, 2021.]

To cope with being bullied, 11-year-old Ellie Montgomery must live by “The Fat Girl Rules.” Finding solace from the judgement in her backyard pool, sprawling like a starfish. When her new boisterous neighbor, Catalina moves into town, the two strike up a friendship. Can this friendship help her to find her voice and stand up to the bullies in her life? The author does a great job of helping readers to see things through another’s skin. The plot is charming and thought-provoking. Readers who struggle with bullying, enjoy realistic fiction, or books about friendship will enjoy reading this book. 4 stars, Gr 3 to 6
Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.