** 3.5 stars **

I was so excited to come across a middle-grade graphic novel that tackles a boy's journey with body image—a topic that often seems to focus exclusively on girls. It was refreshing to see this perspective explored.

That said, I wish the main character had shown more overall growth. While I appreciated his progress in becoming more accepting of himself and his body, his role as a bully felt unresolved. The book included several instances of bullying, and while there were moments where he seemed to grasp the impact of his actions, he never took the step of apologizing to any of his victims. It felt like a missed opportunity.

Elementary librarians, I would save this one for the middle schools due to some language.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I really enjoyed Tyler Page’s previous graphic memoir, Button Pusher, and was excited to get my hands on this one. While it was still well done and fills a need in the middle grade graphic nonfiction genre, I wish it could have been a bit longer. I feel like it didn’t delve into the author’s emotional development enough when it came to his weight. I got to the end and thought “That’s it?” I just wanted more. I do love that there is much more to read now about boys’ weight and boys being sensitive than there used to be!

Returning to middle school is tough for Tyler, especially since his father is on a health kick where he doesn't want the family to eat as much sugar so that HE can lose 20-30 pounds. The father hints that the mother could also stand to lose weight, and Tyler and his brother aren't thrilled with the idea that there will be less ice cream and fewer treats. At school, however, Tyler starts to worry about his weight, especially since the boys have to change for gym, and his classmates all seem to be thinner and to know intuitively that tighty whities are out and boxerr shorts are in. Tyler sees a lot of the toxic masculinity bubbling over in every class; there's an unkempt boy who is constantly attacking others who eventually disappears, pranks at a sleepover that make a boy cry, and constant belittling of others because of their weight or appearances. He also notices that the other boys seem to be in better physical condition (he has trouble keeping up with all of the running on Halloween), and seems to think that this helps them be popular with girls. When his bus route is changed, he makes friends with two other students who don't seem to be as mean as his old friends. He even partners on the project with a girl, and finds that she is fun and easy to talk to. As his father loses weight, Tyler does start getting more exercise, but never tries to implement a program to change his body, even though it makes him uncomfortable.
Strengths: I'm glad that Mr. Page has been able to take his very uncomforatble middle school experiences (see also Button Pusher, about his struggles with ADHD and some behavioral issues) and turn them into lightly philosophical graphic novels that encourage readers to examine their own relationships with their bodies. The father's behavior seems very typical at the time; I can still list all of the fad diets that my own father went on in the 1970s; the ketogenic diet, the thousand calorie diet, the cabbage soup diet, etc. I wish I could say that people were nicer to each other during this time period, but the depiction of students making fun of each other rings unfortunately true. My favorite part of this is the picture of Mr. Page's favorite shirt, which became too small, but then too large, as well as very worn out, but still hangs in his closet. I see that shirt and raise him a pair of denim overalls from 1981 that are still in MY closet!
Weaknesses: By today's standards, Tyler would be quite normal, if not on the thin side. It's worth pointing out to students that this takes place in the early 1990s, because the behavior of most of Tyler's friends would absolutely not be acceptable today.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want to see how people treated others in the twentieth century, as evidenced in books like Ogle's Pizza Face and Four Eyes, or Mercado's Chunky.

I loved this graphic novel and think it’s an important contribution to every middle school library as it shows a young boy dealing not only with body issues but also learning who his true friends are- two topics that are so important for adolescent boys. Highly recommend.