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A review by ashylibrarian
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Wow...This book hit hard in all the right yet emotional ways.
Ellie has spent her life being fat-shammed by her peers, doctors, and even her own family. This has taken a toll on her in so many ways. The only place Ellie feels comfortable, confident, and weightless is in her swimming pool. She has a connection with water that brings her joy and peace while the rest of the world races by.
I absolutely HATED Ellie's mom in all the ways I think the author intended. She was awful in the things she said, the things she did, and the ways in which she saw, or rather didn't see, Ellie. The diets, the surgeries, the doctors. Ellie's mother never stopped to ask what Ellie needed and instead just pushed upon her what she, the mother, wanted.
To hear that her mother and brother were embarrassed to be seen with her broke my heart. To hear the names Ellie's peers called her broke my heart. But to watch Ellie grow and rise up through these clouds with the help and support of a therapist and friends was a transformation I absolutely NEEDED to read about.
I will absolutely always be recommending this book to all the readers.
Ellie has spent her life being fat-shammed by her peers, doctors, and even her own family. This has taken a toll on her in so many ways. The only place Ellie feels comfortable, confident, and weightless is in her swimming pool. She has a connection with water that brings her joy and peace while the rest of the world races by.
I absolutely HATED Ellie's mom in all the ways I think the author intended. She was awful in the things she said, the things she did, and the ways in which she saw, or rather didn't see, Ellie. The diets, the surgeries, the doctors. Ellie's mother never stopped to ask what Ellie needed and instead just pushed upon her what she, the mother, wanted.
To hear that her mother and brother were embarrassed to be seen with her broke my heart. To hear the names Ellie's peers called her broke my heart. But to watch Ellie grow and rise up through these clouds with the help and support of a therapist and friends was a transformation I absolutely NEEDED to read about.
I will absolutely always be recommending this book to all the readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Body shaming
Moderate: Eating disorder and Emotional abuse