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“Moving, honest, and humorous.”
Reading age
10+
Genre
Realistic Fiction
Publisher
Nancy Paulsen Books
My summary of the book
Eliana Montgomery-Hofstein, a middle schooler, has a lot of problems. Her friend Viv is moving away because her father cheated on her mother. The possible threat of bariatric surgery looms (her mom’s idea). Mean bullies try to make her feel bad. No, Ellie won’t let those problems shape her life. Not one bit. Ellie must learn to fight these problems with dignity!
My thoughts
The book is in free verse. The story is so touching, honest, and a bit poetic, and Ellie is so endearing that I devoured the book. I read it in almost one day! Ellie is humorous and thoughtful. Even when people are bullying her, she tries not to care about what people think. Even if some parts are sad, the book is filled with hope.
Ellie’s pug is so adorable. If you see a little dog on the back of the book, that’s Ellie’s pug.
My rating
About the author
“Lisa Fipps is a graduate of Ball State University, award-winning former journalist, current director of marketing for a public library (where she won the Sara Laughlin marketing award), and an author of middle-grade books. Starfish is her debut novel. She lives in Kokomo, Indiana.” – Book Depository.
