BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Ellie Montgomery-Hofstein has been called Splash since her fifth birthday pool party, when her big cannonball earned her a nickname she never asked for and can't shake. Now starting sixth grade in Dallas, she faces relentless bullying at school from classmates like Marissa and Kortnee, while at home her mother clips weight-loss articles for the fridge, controls what Ellie eats, and withholds things Ellie wants as motivation to lose weight. When Ellie's best friend Viv moves away and a new neighbor named Catalina climbs over the fence and into her life, something begins to shift. The story follows Ellie through a sixth-grade year in which she starts seeing a therapist named Dr. Wood, finds her voice as a poet, and takes on the harder work of deciding what she actually owes the world versus what she owes herself.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Starfish
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Starfish. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a girl keep a diary of Fat Girl Rules instead of dreams?
✓ Answer
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
Ellie collects the unspoken rules she's punished for breaking, like no cannonballs and make yourself small. The list grows throughout the novel as she learns to fight back.
- First half
In what book does a girl's best friend become her new school's snowball mascot named Comet?
✓ Answer
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
Viv sends a video showing her dancing on the football field in a snowball costume with a blue-and-orange flame tail. Ellie is thrilled but envious of how Viv has found a way to be okay with her size.
- First half
In what book does a girl toss a tourist's camera memory card over Niagara Falls?
✓ Answer
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
On a family trip, a group of giggling foreign tourists surround Ellie at Horseshoe Falls and snap her picture as a joke. She snatches the memory card and throws it into the falls.
- Second half
In what book does a friend reveal she's been wearing her swimsuit under her clothes for weeks?
✓ Answer
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
When Ellie finally asks Catalina for company, Catalina rips off her jeans and T-shirt to show she's been ready all along. Their first swim together marks Ellie's shift from I to we.
- Second half
In what book does a girl wallpaper her family fridge with articles about parents body-shaming kids?
✓ Answer
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
After seeing Viv's mom's supportive notes, Ellie plasters her own kitchen with research about how parents' comments hurt overweight kids. She even tacks pages to her parents' bedroom door.
- Near the end
In what book does a Texan dad smoke brisket all day during the Festival of Lights?
✓ Answer
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
During Hanukkah, Dad babies brisket Texas-style while the family serves fried treats like potato latkes and jam-filled sufganiyot. Ellie says Mom not commenting on calories is the true holiday miracle.
