Stock up for summer! Buy 2 Books 📚 Get 1 FREE

The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: A Work in Progress, Jarrett Lerner

A Work in Progress

Jarrett Lerner

Reader Score

90%

90% of readers

recommend this book

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.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
  • Publish Date: May 2nd, 2023
  • Pages: 368
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.30in - 5.90in - 1.30in - 1.35lb
  • EAN: 9781665905152
  • Recommended age: 08-12
  • Categories: • Social Themes - Emotions & Feelings• Social Themes - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance

More books to explore

Book Cover for: The Misfits, James Howe
Book Cover for: Lily's Promise, Kathryn Erskine
Book Cover for: Free to Be...You and Me, Marlo Thomas and Friends
Book Cover for: Smiles to Go, Jerry Spinelli
Book Cover for: Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Judy Blume
Book Cover for: The Outsmarters, Deborah Ellis
Book Cover for: What to Do When You Worry Too Much, 2nd Edition: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety, Dawn Huebner
Book Cover for: Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume Two (a Courageous and Comedic Early Chapter Book about an Animal Control Of, Kate DiCamillo
Book Cover for: The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry, Chad Morris

About the Author

Lerner, Jarrett: - 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.

More books by Jarrett Lerner

Book Cover for: Nat the Cat Has a Hat: Ready-To-Read Pre-Level 1, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Welcome to Scare School, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: A Work in Progress, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Saved by the Smell, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Nat the Cat Has a Snack: Ready-To-Read Pre-Level 1, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Forest Frights, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Nat the Cat Takes a Nap: Ready-To-Read Pre-Level 1, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Nat the Cat Takes a Bath: Ready-To-Read Pre-Level 1, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Missed Meal Mayhem, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Goes for Gold: A Quix Book, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: No More Mr. Mice Guy, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Snack Cabinet Sabotage, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Geeger the Robot Goes to School: A Quix Book, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: EngiNerds, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Party Pal: A Quix Book, Jarrett Lerner
Book Cover for: Field Trip: A Quix Book, Jarrett Lerner

Praise for this book

"A successful marriage of art and poetry."-- "--Kirkus Reviews"
* "A perceptive representation of recovery and self-acceptance."-- "--Publishers Weekly, starred review"