Bookfest: StarFish

Summary

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.

Author

Lisa Fipps

With her debut middle-grade novel, Starfish, Lisa Fipps won 13 awards, including the 2022 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award, and the novel in verse was selected for 45 state award/book lists. Her second novel in verse, And Then, BOOM!, comes out in May 2024. She’s done virtual and in-person author visits with thousands of children in America, Canada, and China, in addition to being a guest speaker and panelist at festivals and conferences. Starfish has been translated into Turkish, Korean, Spanish, and complex Chinese, and will soon be coming out in four other languages. Lisa is also an award-winning former journalist, and an award-winning former library marketing director. She currently lives in Indiana and has lived in Texas. 

11 Random Facts About Lisa 

(‘Cause I couldn’t think of a twelfth one.)

1. I hate to fold and hang up clean clothes, but I begrudgingly and with a lot of complaining do it anyway. (I also put my faith in kids like you growing up and one day inventing a way for clothes to put themselves away. Hint. Hint. No pressure.)
2. I alphabetize a lot of things because I hate wasting time looking for stuff. (Like spices in the pantry and books on a shelf.)  
3. I keep a list of the many incorrect ways people have spelled my last name – thirty-four to date – including Phipps, of course, but also Sitz, Flips, and Phillips. And the No. 1 misspelling of my name? Simpson. (I don’t understand that either.)
4. I love dogs, especially pugs – even though they shed a LOT and snore. (Gigi’s full name was Princess Gigi Pugsley, btw.)
5. I love learning about all kinds of things, but especially other people and life in other states and countries. (I’ve traveled to Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, England (one of my favorite places because my grandma is from there), Canada, and nineteen states, so far.) 
6. My elbows ache when I sneeze. (Weird, huh?)
7. I enjoy watching TV shows and movies in languages I don’t know that have English subtitles. (Especially those in French, Spanish, and Hindi.)
8. Ants, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, and snakes creep me out. (Ants because of this old movie called Empire of the Ants. Don’t watch it. Trust me. Crickets and grasshoppers because when I  was in fourth grade there were these two boys who would catch them and throw them on the girls so they’d get all tangled in our hair. And spiders and snakes because … ew!!!)
9. I love art. (For years I thought I’d become an artist, but then I had an art teacher I didn’t like. So, I quit art and took creative writing. A boy I had a crush on was in the class and said, “You’re a really good writer. Can I have a copy of your poem?” Swoon. And that changed everything. BTW, the poem was about him, but he never knew. Still doesn’t. Unless you go tell him.)
10. I have a very eclectic taste in music, which means I like to listen to just about everything. (My playlist includes classical, jazz, hip hop, rock, pop, country, Latin, Hindi, and … well, you get the idea. I choose songs based on the lyrics or beat. And my mood. When I’m writing, I also listen to songs I think the characters in my books would listen to. Wanna know songs I listened to when writing Starfish? Click here.)
11. I collect rocks. (Everywhere I go, I find an interesting one and then bring it home to put in jars with all the others to remind myself of my travels. My favorite is a white rock from Nice, France.)