I would be remiss if I did not mention the library and the librarian in the book, Mrs. With this new-gained confidence, Ellie eventually confronts her mother and explains the damage her words and actions did to her. We see the growth and how she gains confidence. Wood to seeing how she could defend herself without attacking others in a realistic, poignant and at times funny manner. Readers witness Ellie go from a reluctant participant with Dr. And yet, Ellie had strong allies with her father, friends and therapist. Reading all the bullying that Ellie endures (a prank to have her desk collapse, classmates kidnapping her dog, verbal abuse by her brother), it is the relationship with her mother that had me squirming. Ellie has even created Fat Rules, “ If you’re fat, there are things you can’t have.” She made this rule after her mom told her she could have piano lessons after she lost weight. What makes this story even more difficult is how Ellie brainwashes herself into accepting that it is her fault for how others treat her. Told in verse, we experience all the comments, the blatant bullying, the name-calling, all from Ellie’s perspective. That became her nickname from her fifth birthday. It wasn’t because her cannonball was perfect, but that her weight caused the big splash. The nickname came when her sister called her that on her fifth birthday after her cannonball into the pool. Classmates and even her siblings call her Splash, as in whale. Meet Eliana Elizabeth Montgomery Hofstein, known to her best friend Viv and her parents as Ellie or El. Finally, we have a protagonist that learns to defend and accept herself and stand up to those who bully and ridicule her. Rudine Sims Bishop coined the phrase that books could be windows, mirrors and sliding doors for readers but books, where the protagonist is overweight are few and far between. Books have been a way to escape, learn and model to see how characters dealt with issues and situations.
Middle Years is a tough time – trying to fit in, figure out who you are and belong. It is a read that, for many, including myself, was a read where I did not move until it was done. But be forewarned it’s not an easy read, and you need time set aside to read it. Thank you to Edelweiss+ and the publisher Nancy Paulsen Books for an eARC of this book.Įvery once in a while, you read a book that you know everyone needs to read.
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