Losing It

In her first middle-grade novel, Fry, a PW contributor, pens a straightforward but heartfelt novel about an obese boy who joins his school's cross-country team. Since Bennett's mother died, he has lived alone with his similarly overweight father in a loving, but junk food%E2%80%93filled household. When Bennett's father has a stroke, the 13-year-old tells him, "you and me have some changes to make." Bennett goes to live with a nagging aunt, who puts him on a healthier diet and forces him to walk each morning, but Bennett's own desire to change motivates him to take action. Some characterizations are reductive%E2%80%94such as a bully who calls Bennett "Fat Boy," but has his own painful home life%E2%80%94and the story's trajectory has its predictable elements. Even so, readers will grasp the intensity of Bennett's fear about trying something so outside his comfort zone ("What if I try%E2%80%94I mean give it absolutely everything I have%E2%80%94and still fail?") and appreciate his tenacity as he does the hard work to get himself on track. Ages 10%E2%80%93up. Agent: Jill Corcoran, Herman Agency. (Sept.)