Ellie learns to release her pain by expressing it through art or writing. Mom’s words in particular have affected Ellie’s negative self-image. Wood slowly earns Ellie’s trust and helps her realize the impact others’ words have on her. Ellie begins to embrace the idea of allowing herself to take up space, likening herself to a starfish that stretches its limbs out to take up all the space it needs.ĭr. She visits a plus-size boutique for the first time and realizes she doesn’t always have to shape herself to fit the world there are places Ellie can belong just as she is. Wood as a power struggle and resists giving up any information about herself during their first session. The girls’ friendship develops throughout the novel and becomes a transformative source of support for Ellie.Īt the behest of her parents, Ellie reluctantly sees a therapist, Dr. Accustomed to being bullied, Ellie is initially suspicious of her new neighbor Catalina, but the girls become fast friends, bonding over their shared love of words and music as well as their shared experience of being excluded at school. Her only refuges are her backyard swimming pool, where she feels weightless and free, and her poetry, through which she can express herself without inhibitions.Įllie’s best friend Viv moves away before the start of the new school year, and a girl about Ellie’s age moves in next door. To cope, Ellie lives by self-imposed “Fat Girl Rules.” Each rule reinforces the idea that Ellie doesn’t deserve to take up space in the world. Ellie’s only support is Dad, who loves her for who she is and doesn’t treat her weight as a problem to be solved. Ellie’s older brother Liam treats her with contempt, while her older sister Anaïs looks on with pity. At home, Ellie’s Mom enforces harsh diets and pins weight loss articles on the fridge to motivate Ellie to lose weight. Twelve-year-old Ellie Montgomery-Hofstein has endured bullying about her weight ever since she was five, when she canon-balled into her family’s backyard pool and splashed the other swimmers, earning her the nickname “Splash.” Since then, Ellie’s classmates have taunted and ostracized her. This guide is based on the Penguin Random House 2021 edition.Ĭontent Warning: Starfish discusses emotional and food-related abuse as well as fat-shaming. Wood, Ellie learns to embrace her own worth as a person and use her words to stand up to bullies without becoming one herself.

With the help of her new friend, Catalina, and her therapist Dr.

She is bullied at school by her classmates, and at home by her mother, who disregards Ellie’s feelings and sees her weight as a problem to be relentlessly attacked. Ellie teaches herself to live by self-imposed “Fat Girl Rules,” metaphorically shrinking herself to avoid drawing attention to herself.

Books like starfish by lisa fipps