Biggie

January 19, 2015
Henry “Biggie” Abbott is socially invisible, by choice. The obese 17-year-old lives in a 6,000 sq. ft. house with an indoor baseball field (his stepfather is a local baseball legend) but manages to avoid athletic pursuits and live under the radar. Biggie prefers to channel his perfectionism and personality into academics and spending time online, where he cultivates a robust social life through carefully crafted messages on social networks. After Biggie throws a perfect game of whiffle ball in gym class, he wonders if it’s a fluke. If it’s not, what else is he capable of? Stepbrother Maddux persuades Biggie that with early-morning workouts, healthy eating, and practice, Biggie can pitch a perfect game for the school’s baseball team, avoid diabetes, gain the respect of his stepfather, and win over his crush. Thoughtful and witty, Biggie tells a story full of physical and emotional highs and lows as debut author Sullivan empathetically addresses topics of self-esteem and finding healthier, happier versions of oneself (and what that even means). Ages 13–up. Agent: Sara Megibow, Megibow Literary Agency.

February 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-In this debut novel, Henry is an obese high school student weighing in at 300 pounds. Because of his weight, everyone calls him Biggie, and he has little desire to try to lose the weight. That is, until one day when he is forced to participate in gym class and pitches a perfect game in a Wiffle ball match. The unathletic son of a baseball legend, he's always had little hope of living up to everyone's expectations-until that Wiffle ball game, when he catches a glimpse into his possible future. Most of his motivation to lose weight and play baseball comes from Annabelle, the popular girl he's been crushing on since elementary school, but his chances with her are ruined when she finds out that he's been hacking into her email account for years. Despite this setback, Biggie plans to lose 80 pounds, perfect his curveball, and win Annabelle back by cozying up to the popular kids. The majority of the characters are well developed, although almost none of them are likable, including Biggie, who regularly drops f-bombs, purposefully alienates everyone, and makes poor choices throughout the novel. Some teens may find Biggie's attitude off-putting. In the end, however, Biggie redeems himself by realizing that he just might be the villain of the story. This novel is well written and fairly quick-paced, but only skims the surface on the topic of bullying. VERDICT Readers who persevere through the unlikable characters will find a thoughtful conclusion.-Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, Hartford Public Library, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2015
In Sullivan's debut novel, an obese and lonely high school boy dreams of love, pitching a perfect game and finding his place in the world. Funny how a boy who stands 6 foot 2 and weighs "north of three hundred pounds" can be invisible. But that's how Henry "Biggie" Abbott likes it. He has discovered that the bigger he gets, the less fellow students make fun of him. He sits in the backs of classrooms, rarely speaks, and relies on Yahoo and Facebook to accumulate a massive friends list. Trouble is, he dreams of kissing Annabelle Rivers, and invisible boys don't get the beautiful girls. When Biggie happens to pitch a perfect Wiffle ball game in gym class, he thinks maybe he could pitch a perfect game for his school's baseball team. Younger brother Maddux says he would be the first player in school history to do so, and not even his father, a member of the Iowa Baseball Hall of Fame, threw one in his day. The first-person point of view works well here, demonstrating Biggie's lonely self-absorption and his earnest forays in seeking connections. Though the pacing is sometimes slow, Biggie's story will resonate with all those students who feel invisible and alone. A bighearted story that will have readers rooting for Henry "Biggie" Abbott. (Fiction. 14-18)

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February 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 Overweight is an understatement for 17-year-old Henry Abbott. Exceeding 300 pounds, he knows his nickname, Biggie, requires no explanation. His strategy for getting through the vitriol of high school unscathed is a combination of academic perfection and invisibility. Though he has no friends in his small Iowa town, Biggie is quite popular online, especially with the ladies. When his mother rips up the phony doctor's note excusing him from gym class, Biggie is forced to engage with his classmates and the girl he secretly loves. In a town that lives for baseball, Biggie has hidden from the sport behind extra pounds and social media. After pitching a perfect Wiffle ball game in gym, however, Biggie thinks that baseball might be a way to get the girl of his dreams. Never glossed over, Biggie's challenges with obesity and inner growth make him a memorable character. Venturing beyond the typical boy-seeks-girl story, this filters the agonies of adolescence through a largely unvoiced perspective with an honesty readers will appreciate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)