Beautifully written, brilliant, and necessary, (Matt de la Pena,
Newbery Medalist), here is a body-positive book about how a boy deals
with fat-shaming.
Ari has body-image issues. After a move across the country, his parents
work selling and promoting his mother's paintings and sculptures. Ari's
bohemian mother needs space to create, and his father is gone for long
stretches of time on sales trips.
Meanwhile, Ari makes new friends: Pick, the gamer; the artsy Jorge, and
the troubled Lisa. He is also relentlessly bullied because he's
overweight, but he can't tell his parents--they're simply not around
enough to listen.
After an upsetting incident, Ari's mom suggests he go on a diet, and she
gives him a book to help. But the book--and the diet--can't fix
everything. As Ari faces the demise of his parents' marriage, he also
feels himself changing, both emotionally and physically. Here is a
much-needed story about accepting the imperfect in oneself and in life.