A Work in Progress

Written in verse, this read creates a powerful and emotional atmosphere as a young boy deals with self-image issues surrounding his weight.

When someone teases Will for being overweight, the cruel comment digs deep and festers. At first, he only tries to hide the problem, but it eats at him as he isolates himself from everyone. His mind whirls around his weight until he decides to diet, which he has really no clue how to handle. One day, a new kid enters school, and Will seems to have found a possible friend...not that he really believes anyone wants to be his friend. As Markus opens up to Will, Will is already in a bad place and in an unhealthy spiral, which he doesn't see...and doesn't know how to break.

This is a graphic novel and show more takes a form reminding of Wimpy Kid. The tale is written in poetic, short verse/phrases and carries a font to give the atmosphere of being written by Will on notebook paper with his doodles and scribbled art mixed in. This creates a potent and quick read. The artwork slides right in with fitting emotions so that both text and imagery work hand-in-hand to carry the message home. Will's fears, frustration, panic, depression, and frantic moods come across vividly and demand attention.

The entire thing stays in Will's head, and he is obsessed with his weight the entire way through. He goes through emotional extremes and takes the reader right along with him. It does a fantastic job at portraying the insecurities surrounding self-image problems and how they can spiral out of control. Still, it leads everything into a healthier direction by the end and offers a wholesome conclusion. So, the message hits loud, clear and with impactful emotions...and yet, I wish there would have been a little relief here and there (other concerns/thoughts/tiny sub-plots or a teensy bit of humor), since 350+ pages at this level of seriousness is heavy for certain middle grade readers and might not be a great fit for more sensitive readers. But for the right readers, it carries heart and food for thought.

It was nice to see Will's struggles with weight and dieting from a boy's perspective, since this is a problem for both genders. However, I do wish there would have been other pressures/issues involved outside of the school atmosphere and sheer body-imaging problems. Due to the number of heavier kids in schools today, weight isn't going to be the sole cause of bullying or mental turmoil as seen in Will's case. There is much more at play, and that's ignored here. But then, that's a complicated can of worms, and this read hits Will's weight, self struggles, and developing friendships with well-done craft, grit, and tons emotion. For the right reader, it leaves with an impact.
I received a DRC and found this very well done in many ways. show less

Early in Will's story, he shares a searing memory from fourth grade, in which a kid called him "fat" as an insult. This was a pivotal moment for Will, who until then knew that he was bigger than other kids but not that he was supposed to feel "less" because of it. Over the next few years, he drifted away from friendships and wore baggy clothes to be unnoticed - and ate more to feel better. Eventually, though, his internalized fatphobia and self-hatred become self-destructive; he stops eating entirely, and passes out at school, which leads to him finally getting the help he needs from parents, doctors, and even a new friend.

Will tells his story sketchbook-style, in poems with short lines, surrounded by sketches, scribbles, and cross-outs show more in the margins. It conveys his pain so effectively it's often uncomfortable to read.

See also: Garvey's Choice (graphic novel) by Nikki Grimes

Quotes

But up until that point...
I hadn't known [my size]
was the thing
about me
that mattered most
to the rest
of the world. (21)

And as soon as
I realized
my size mattered
so much
to everyone else
it mattered
that much
to me. (24)

You've stepped through
a door
and now the thin
is locked behind you.
Or no:
it's crazier.
You step through
a door
and then the door
disappears. (35)

For me
it was like
an atom bomb
going off
and wrecking everything
in its path.
But for him
it was probably
just another moment
in another
completely forgettable
day. (52)

"The way I
look at it--
the way
I think
about myself
is like
a work in progress." (Markus, 318)

"Thinking of myself
as unfinished
in that way--
it's gotten me to be
a lot kinder
to myself." (322) show less

This book was beautiful

If you’re interested in reading this book, I’d recommend looking at trigger warnings; the author also includes trigger warnings at the start of the book. This book was honestly hard for me to read at time. It made me feel really sad, but I’m glad I pushed through the book. I read this book because it’s a 2024-2025 Sunshine State Book. This one specifically interested me because I relate to body image issues and have since I was young. Mine never progressed so far as me having an eating disorder like our MMC, but the story still struck a nerve nonetheless because I’ve known people I’m close to who have struggled with eating disorders. This book was fabulous, and I’m glad it is a Sunshine State book show more for our 6-8th graders. show less

Will has an run in with a bully in 4th grade that tilts his world. A boy walks up to him and loudly announces that he's fat. He hadn't really thought about it before, and then he can't stop thinking about it. He carries this burden around with him all the time. The book has lots of dark scribbles that show the way that Will gets stuck, his loud inner critic, and the ways in which he tries to deal. He drifts away from his friends. He overeats, he stops eating.
A quick read, a moving read. His new friend Marcus talks about being a work in progress and that along with talking to his parents about what has been going on is the key to start untangling the thoughts that have been blocking him.
Told in printed font verse that makes it seem show more like a diary that also includes drawings and images that compliment the text. show less

This was the first MG novel in verse I have read where the it focuses on the struggles a young male middle schooler has with body image. The author goes deep, showing through words and images the lengths Will goes to to hide from the world after another student calls him FAT in front of the whole elementary school. From there, we watch as Will spirals, trying to out run the food demons, only to see what happens when things get out of hand. The introduction to his new friend Markus is a breath of fresh air to Will, helping him realize that not all people judge a book by it’s cover. Don’t want to give too much more away, except that, like Will, we are all a work in progress and that this is a book that will be added to my MS library show more collection as soon as it is published! Thank you to Edelweiss for the ARC and to Jarrett Lerner for a story that has been missing for quite a while. show less

Will is the only round kid in a school full of thin ones. So he hides…in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, in the back row during class, and anywhere but the cafeteria during lunch. But shame isn’t the only feeling that dominates Will’s life. He’s also got a crush on a girl named Jules who he knows he doesn’t have a chance with, because of his size—but he can’t help wondering what if?

Will’s best shot at attracting Jules’s attention is by slaying the Will Monster inside him by changing his eating habits and getting more exercise. But the results are either frustratingly slow or infuriatingly unsuccessful, and Will’s shame begins to morph into self-loathing.

As he resorts to increasingly drastic measures to transform show more his appearance, Will meets skateboarder Markus, who helps him see his body and all it contains as an ever-evolving work in progress. show less

Recommended Ages: Gr. 6-8

Plot Summary: One day at school, a bully calls Will Chambers fat. Then he repeats it in front of everyone in the hallway. Will knows he's always struggled with his weight but until then he never realized that is what others thought about him. While his friends support him in the moment, eventually they naturally grow apart. Can Will ever see himself as anything else? Can Will ever spend time thinking about anything else? Can Will ever get the nerve to start a drawing club at his school and ask Jules?

Setting: unknown and unimportant

Characters:
Will Chambers -
Nick Fisher - bully
Jules - girl at school, likes to draw
Markus - skateboarder who runs into Will outside at lunch one day

Recurring Themes: bullying, weight, show more friendship, confidence, eating disorder

Controversial Issues:
crap - multiple times in the first 90 pages

Personal Thoughts: Personally, I preferred Starfish to this book. This one could be read in an hour, yet I thought it repeated a lot. Nothing really happened for a long time and I thought Will's parents were dumb for not putting the pieces together earlier and for not encouraging healthier eating and/or a therapist. It was a 87 pages of Will being miserable before more things started happening in the story, and it wasn't until the very, very end that he finally got the support he clearly needed.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: VERY quick -- novel in verse but also very repetitive at the beginning
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: show less