Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.
The Supervillain's Guide to Being a Fat Kid by Matt Wallace
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 25, 2022
Format: Paperback ARC
Rating:
Goodreads Synopsis: Matt Wallace, author of Bump, presents a personal, humorous, and body-positive middle grade standalone about a fat kid who wants to stop his bullies . . . and enlists the help of the world's most infamous supervillain. Perfect for fans of Holly Goldberg Sloan, Julie Murphy, and John David Anderson!
Max's first year of middle school hasn't been easy. Eighth-grade hotshot Johnny Pro torments Max constantly, for no other reason than Max is fat and an easy target. Max wishes he could fight back, but he doesn't want to hurt Johnny . . . just make him feel the way Max feels.
In desperation, Max writes to the only person he thinks will understand: imprisoned supervillain Master Plan, a "gentleman of size." To his surprise, Master Plan wants to help! He suggests a way for Max to get even with Johnny Pro, and change how the other kids at school see them both.
And it works! When Master Plan's help pays off for Max in ways he couldn't have imagined, he starts gaining confidence--enough to finally talk to Marina, the girl he likes in class who shares his passion for baking. With Master Plan in his corner, anything seems possible . . . but is there a price to pay for the supervillain's help?
* A Junior Library Guild selection *
Review: Max is in middle school now and on day 1 he is attacked by a bully. He is obviously upset and wants to take back power but doesn't really know how. He decides, after a suggestion from his mother, that he can't write a hero but he coud try a villain instead and so starts Max's supervillain penpal communication.
The premise of this book was so cute and interesting, I wanted to understand the world a little more though. There are heros and villains, which is fine but I wanted to learn more about them and understand how it became the norm.
I really enjoyed the slight commentary on how superheroes can also be seen as bad - they destroy things, are still fighting, and often make a bigger mess with casualties that planned for. (not Middle grade appropraite at all but this reminded me of the show The Boys). Max also talks about how some villians are going things for good - pointing out the bad in the world. The also can identify as outcasts because of their differences and this is one reason that Max descides to go this route.
I think that Max might have gone too far at times, but I liked that it talked about gaining confidence and not necessarily losing weight - Max embraced his body as-is and was himself in a lot of ways to help with his bully problem.
There were some big and weird coincidence parts, that his villain writes back at all, the girl at school, the connections characters have, the same hobbies etc, but it is a middle grade book so I guess it can be accepted.
Overall, I think that this will be a great book for anyone struggleing with bullies, weight, social isolation, shaming etc. It is a boy main character, but believe that all readers can relate to some aspect of how he feels as a middle schooler.
