Mrs. Boote (silent E)
(She/her/hers)
(She/her/hers)
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules–like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” And she’s found her safe space–her swimming pool–where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It’s also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life–by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.
by Celia C. Perez
When three very different girls find a mysterious invitation to a lavish mansion, the promise of adventure and mischief is too intriguing to pass up. Ofelia Castillo (a budding journalist), Aster Douglas (a bookish foodie), and Cat Garcia (a rule-abiding birdwatcher) meet the kid behind the invite, Lane DiSanti, and it isn't love at first sight. But they soon bond over a shared mission to get the Floras, their local Scouts, to ditch an outdated tradition. In their quest for justice, independence, and an unforgettable summer, the girls form their own troop and find something they didn't know they needed: sisterhood.
Four unique personalities form a crew with a mission in this engaging, well-plotted second novel from Peréz (The First Rule of Punk). New in Sabal Palms, Fla., and living with her grandmother during her parents’ divorce, Lane DiSanti, who is white, randomly places anonymous invitations to her grandmother’s opulent home, leading the recipients to form a secret scout troop, “the Ostentation of Others and Outsiders,” the summer before seventh grade. Each has a personal motivation for joining the eclectic group: Ofelia Castillo, the daughter of protective Cuban immigrants, is a budding investigative journalist intent on uncovering the affluent DiSanti family’s secrets; Cat Garcia, a passionate birder, wants to expose the tragic history behind a local troop’s celebrated artifact but feels pressure from her Cuban-American family to fall in line; and culinary whiz Aster Douglas believes her Bahamian ancestors might have been swindled out of the DiSanti fortune. As the girls rally behind Cat’s cause, important, nuanced discussions about privilege, institutional racism, and rectifying historical wrongs arise, prompting each to a deeper understanding of intersectionality and activism.