CW: Fat shaming bullying which includes physical assault.

i am going to be the girl
who rises up
out of the mud
out of the gutter
out of silence
out of a void that has been carved for me,

i am a girl
i own my destiny.


This was such a powerful and inspirational verse novel. Be warned, the bullying in this book is horrific. It isn't just verbal abuse. She is physically assaulted as well. Lily was a fantastic main character and I think the author captured her journey from victim to victor superbly. I also thought Bernadette's story was sensitively told and I felt a bit teary at times during her parts. An important story where Lily's physical changes were a by-product of the change in how she saw herself - and that is a strong, confident person who is worthy of loving and being loved. ( )