A Work in Progress, Jarrett Lerner
A Work in Progress, Jarrett Lerner
List: $9.99 | Sale: $7.00
Club: $4.99

A Work in Progress

Author: Jarrett Lerner

Narrator: Eric Yang

Unabridged: 1 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/02/2023

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A young boy struggles with body image in this poignant and “perceptive” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade journey to self-acceptance told through prose, verse, and illustration.

Will is the only round kid in a school full of thin ones. So he hides…in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, in the back row during class, and anywhere but the cafeteria during lunch. But shame isn’t the only feeling that dominates Will’s life. He’s also got a crush on a girl named Jules who he knows he doesn’t have a chance with, because of his size—but he can’t help wondering what if?

Will’s best shot at attracting Jules’s attention is by slaying the Will Monster inside him by changing his eating habits and getting more exercise. But the results are either frustratingly slow or infuriatingly unsuccessful, and Will’s shame begins to morph into self-loathing.

As he resorts to increasingly drastic measures to transform his appearance, Will meets skateboarder Markus, who helps him see his body and all it contains as an ever-evolving work in progress.

About Jarrett Lerner

Jarrett Lerner is the award-winning creator of more than a dozen books for kids, including the EngiNerds series of middle grade novels, the Geeger the Robot series of early chapter books, the Hunger Heroes series of graphic chapter books, two activity books, the illustrated novel in verse A Work in Progress, and the Nat the Cat series of early readers. You can find him online at JarrettLerner.com and on X and Instagram at @Jarrett_Lerner. He lives with his wife and daughters in Massachusetts.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jasmine

Great audiobook and read! Struggling with weight is hard and sad but there's a good lesson in this story too. This book followed Will. Back in fourth grade, a student called him fat out loud in the hallway. It affected him more than expected. He started to keep to himself. Destroyed his clothes and s......more

Wow, a must for your middle grades collections and to share in your classrooms, libraries, and everywhere you can. Words have so much power, and when Will is called fat in fourth grade he’s never the same, choosing to hide in baggy clothes and retreat from his friends. Three years later, Will’s inne......more

Goodreads review by Kelsey

I have mixed thoughts on this one. Part of me wants it for my students who have a tendency to name call and fat shame others, so they can see a new perspective and understand the damage being done. Part of me wants a book available for students struggling with being bigger than they want to be so th......more

Goodreads review by Deborah

This was the first MG novel in verse I have read where the it focuses on the struggles a young male middle schooler has with body image. The author goes deep, showing through words and images the lengths Will goes to to hide from the world after another student calls him FAT in front of the whole el......more