Novel in verse about a boy who struggles with self image. He’s been overweight for a long time, suffered teasing from other kids in school. His parents are often absent from home, their marriage is strained and partway through the story his father leaves. Ari tries to keep up with some expectations his father set with him to prepare for his bar mitzvah, but he forgets to practice the prayers and doesn’t know what to say to the rabbi when he does keep his appointments. He goes for the summer with his mother to a beach property where she works on her art while he wanders the trails and visits the beach with a few friends. One kid whom he plays D&D with, inventing new characters and monsters. He’s very much into cryptozoology, and they make little clay trolls together. There’s also a girl around, who he becomes more and more attracted to, but confused about his feelings. And then the bullying from peers goes too far- some kids beat him up on a bike path. He’s too scared to tell any adults about it, and finally his stress and unhappiness with culminates in an incident of self-harm. His mother finally takes action then, taking him to a doctor who helps him set up a diet plan. The rest of the summer is a mingling of art, worldbuilding for his game, and efforts to stick with his diet. Trying to understand what he feels for his close friend who is a girl, as well. Upset when she pays attention to another boy. Discouraged at how hard the diet is, but encouraged when he finally starts to see results, and his friends make efforts to support him. By the end, he hasn’t quite met with his religious goals (they seemed unclear) but he’s well on his way to being healthier, and much more accepting of himself, where he is now.
This book was a bit hazy in my mind. The parts about his thoughts and concerns over his body were pretty clear. The dynamics of his family and the personalities of his friends were indistinct. And all the stuff about religion, as well. Perhaps because that wasn’t at the front of the main character’s mind. It’s set in an area I used to live in- San Francisco and some environs north of the Bay, but aside from place names and descriptions of fog, nothing really felt recognizable to me. I found that a tad disappointing, but maybe it’s just that what stood out to this author (via the kid’s voice) weren’t the same things that reside in my memory of the place. That’s what it was- I got no sense of place from the writing. And I missed that. It’s a good story though, with a positive outcome after some heartfelt difficulties.