First Lines Friday | April 22, 2022

Happy Friday! Today I am participating in First Line Friday, hosted by Reading is My Superpower, AND First Lines Friday, created by Wandering Words!

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

“I step down into the pool.”

Anyone have any guesses on what book this is? I’ll give you a few clues…

any guesses yet? no? okay, one more gif…

Last chance to guess!

Today’s book is…

Starfish by Lisa Fipps
Published on March 9, 2021 by Nancy Paulsen Books
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade, Poetry
Pages: 256
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, YouTube

Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this debut novel-in-verse.
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules–like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” And she’s found her safe space–her swimming pool–where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It’s also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life–by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.

“I step down into the pool.”

I read Starfish by Lisa Fipps yesterday and I cried. so. much. This books is brutal, and deep, and absolutely remarkable. I would have loved to have had it when I was younger. I don’t plan on re-reading it, but I do plan on recommending it. If you’re looking for the perfect middle grade novel to pull at your heartstrings, read Starfish.

What have you been reading lately? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!

Do you participate in either of these memes? Let me know if you do and link your posts in the comments so I can visit! And don’t forget to have a splendiferous week!