middle grade contemporary – Reading While Fat

And Then, BOOM!

In 2022, I read and reviewed Lisa Fipps’ award-winning first book, Starfish, a fat-positive middle-grade novel-in-verse, so I was happy to find out that she published a second middle-grade novel-in-verse in 2024, And Then, BOOM! And Then, BOOM! tells the story of Joe Oak, a tween who lives with his grandmother, because his Mom oftenContinue reading “And Then, BOOM!”

The Queen Bees of Tybee County

I loved The Queen Bees of Tybee County (publication date April 15, 2025) by Kyle Casey Chu! I loved meeting Derrick Chan, his best friend JJ, grandmother Claudia, and the new friends he meets in Heritage, Georgia. As the book open, 7th grader Derrick is playing in the championship basketball game as a point guard,Continue reading “The Queen Bees of Tybee County”

Camp Sylvania

I loved reading Camp Sylvania (2023) by Julie Murphy, as an adult with a child who is now also an adult. I so wish that there had been books like it when I was a fat child or even a fat parent of a child. Books like Camp Sylvania are so, so needed, so thatContinue reading “Camp Sylvania”

Forever This Summer

Forever This Summer (2021) by Leslie C. Youngblood is a bittersweet and heartwarming middle-grade novel set in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and starring 11-year old Georgie, who is visiting with her Mama and baby sister Peaches to help take care of Mama’s Aunt Vie, who has Alzheimer’s. Georgie misses her best friend back in Atlanta, Nikki, andContinue reading “Forever This Summer”