"How do you show that you've been broken apart when the image in the mirror still looks normal and whole?" That's what sophomore loner Chelsea wonders as she slogs through school each day. Endlessly tormented for her weight by her classmates, Chelsea encounters little relief at home, where her mother scolds her for not attending Calorie Counters meetings and even her neighbors taunt her outside her front door. Only her doting dad, who shares her love of musicals and snacks, offers respite from Chelsea's self-loathing and constant shaming. That is, until she's paired with zany Melody, who's obsessed with manga and reinventing herself, for an autobiography film assignment. With Melody's help, Chelsea tries to capture her often bleak but undeniably resilient day-to-day existence. This story of modern-day grit, narrated in Chelsea's sensitive voice, will resonate with young readers growing up in an image-obsessed culture t to mention the adults who deserve to understand the body scrutiny today's teens (and younger) endure.

Chelsea deals with constant ridicule about her weight--still, she is sustained by dreams of owning a shoe store. But when male classmates assault her and post photos, Chelsea's self-reliance is tested to the limit. Although Struyk-Bonn doesn't default to weight loss as the answer to Chelsea's bullying problems, the narrative is mired in fat-shaming episodes that halt rather than propel the plot.

How much derision can a teen endure?Chelsea has a fantastic singing voice, dark brown curly hair, beautiful feet, and skin that she describes (never mentioning race; everyone seems white) as both "olive" and "pink." Also, she's fat. She knows it's unfair that "overweight people are modern-day lepers," but that doesn't alleviate the pain of her mother's enforced food restrictions, schoolmates who bump, poke, taunt, and leer, and little kids who chant, "Fatty, fatty, two-by-four. Couldn't fit through the bathroom door. So she did it on the floor." In her corner are kooky classmate Melody, Chelsea's first friend, and Dad, who makes tasty snacks for her, sings along to movie musicals with her, and saves money for her life goal: opening a shoe store. Chelsea slogs through dismal days, and then things get worse. Fat-hating bullies, sublimating their attraction to her, beat her, rip her shirt and bra, and post photos of her breasts online. Struyk-Bonn portrays the assault's aftermath particularly well, deftly showing Chelsea's traumatization through actions rather than emotional descriptions. After a while, Chelsea pulls herself back up, using a film autobiography assignment, a therapist, Melody, and a crucial, empowering declaration about not having lost any weight: "Who cares?" It's not a loud victory, but it's a relieving one. Valuable for showing a miserable fat protagonist getting happier—without the seemingly obligatory weight-loss arc. (Fiction. 13-16)

Sixteen-year-old Chelsea Duvay is an overweight introvert and musical theater aficionado trying to survive high school bullies and her mother-s ham-fisted attempts to help her lose weight. After Chelsea is assaulted and humiliated in an alley at her school-s Spring Fling dance, a friendship with eccentric and supportive classmate Melody, anxiety medication, and a school video project help her push back against the trauma she-s suffered. Told from Chelsea-s perspective in chapters that are usually just a few pages long, the story unfolds like a series of stream-of-conscious anecdotes or diary entries, with little plot continuity connecting her musings about her relationship with her parents, the taunts and criticisms she endures, and her hard-to-shake feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment. Struyk-Bonn (Whisper) gives Chelsea a blunt voice and frank wit, and her hard-won triumphs and ability to regain her self-confidence come without resorting to oft-seen and ill-advised weight-loss plotlines. However, she also winds up something of an untethered narrator, flitting from topic to topic. Ages 14-up. Agent: Dawn Michelle Frederick, Red Sofa Literary. (Aug.)

The world sees Chelsea as fat. The neighbors sing "Fatty Fatty Two-by-Four" every day, and a druggie asks if her bike is reinforced. She is most happy at home, where she watches musicals with her dad. Chelsea has many things to recommend her, but it is hard to tell people that fact when, every time she thinks of talking back, she breaks out in an itchy rash. The only part of high school that she sort of enjoys is her Film as Literature class, but now she needs to make an autobiographical film to share with the class. Working with her partner, Melody, Chelsea begins to come out of her shell as she thinks of the film. There are setbacks, including a vicious assault by the most popular boy in school, but Melody's friendship and the support of her family gives her something to hold onto. Her family brings her to a doctor who puts her on anti-anxiety drugs and a psychiatrist.In the end, Chelsea's film is a work of art that reveals her tormentors to the world and reinforces her pride. This is not an easy or happy story, but it is a hopeful one. In the end, the title says it all: Chelsea is a nice girl who finds a support system that will help her not only endure, but hopefully thrive. While some secondary characters are two-dimensional, that is largely because Chelsea sees them that way. Chelsea is an engaging, well drawn character who has the reader shivering and itching, and eventually cheering for her.Beth Karpas.