The Supervillain's Guide to Being a Fat Kid
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
Matt Wallace, author of Bump, presents a personal, humorous, and body-positive middle grade standalone about a fat kid who wants to stop his bullies . . . and enlists the help of the world’s most infamous supervillain. Perfect for fans of Holly Goldberg Sloan, Julie Murphy, and John David Anderson!
Max’s first year of middle school hasn’t been easy. Eighth-grade hotshot Johnny Pro torments Max constantly, for no other reason than Max is fat and an easy target. Max wishes he could fight back, but he doesn’t want to hurt Johnny . . . just make him feel the way Max feels.
In desperation, Max writes to the only person he thinks will understand: imprisoned supervillain Master Plan, a “gentleman of size.” To his surprise, Master Plan wants to help! He suggests a way for Max to get even with Johnny Pro, and change how the other kids at school see them both.
And it works! When Master Plan’s help pays off for Max in ways he couldn’t have imagined, he starts gaining confidence—enough to finally talk to Marina, the girl he likes in class who shares his passion for baking. With Master Plan in his corner, anything seems possible . . . but is there a price to pay for the supervillain’s help?
* A Junior Library Guild selection *
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Eleven-year-old baking enthusiast Max Tercero, who is fat and reads as white, hopes that his first year at Captain Clobbertime Memorial Middle School will offer a respite from being bullied for his size. But when he becomes the favorite target of school water polo captain Johnny "Johnny Pro" Properzi, he knows that nothing has changed. Desperate, Max seeks advice from Maximo "Master Plan" Marconius III, an incarcerated supervillain and fellow "gentleman of size and intellect," who once took on environmentally conscious escapades. Receiving Master Plan's covert email guidance, Max begins gaining confidence and readying to take down Johnny Pro by using Johnny Pro's increasingly aggressive behavior against him, all while navigating the anxieties of middle school, including the locker room and new and changing friendships. An epistolary conceit is well deployed here, creating a safe space for Max to voice his concerns and gain needed empathy and wisdom from an understanding (if not necessarily trustworthy) adult. Confronting the assumption that physical appearance correlates to morality or worth and reinforcing the idea that individual choices and actions show a person's true self, Wallace (Bump) writes a triumphant arc of self-acceptance that extends to developing personal ethics and boundaries. Ages 8–12.
