← Back to discovery

One Fat Summer

Robert Lipsyte

1977150 pagesabout 2–3 hours
1977
first published
  • 1977Harper & Row · 152 pages · ENGISBN 9780060238957
  • 1978Bantam Books · 150 pages · ENGISBN 9780553143065
  • 1983Bantam Doubleday Dell Books · 150 pages · ENGISBN 9780553255911
  • 1992Trumpet Club · 232 pages · ENGISBN 9780440847878
  • 1981Perfection Learning PreboundISBN 9780812426687

They used to call me Crisco Kid because I was fat in the can... So begins the woeful tale of Bobby Marks, a 200-pound candy-bar nut who hated summertime because he couldn't hide his body fat in heavy clothes. The year was 1957. The month was hot July. That was the summer his friend Joanie goaded him into getting the job. When he met his idol, the lifeguard Pete Marino. And when Willie, the crazy ex-marine, vowed to gun him down. Then Bobby found out just how terrifying, exhilarating, dangerous, and wonderful, one fat summer could be...

How it reads

Character focusSingle lead

Worth knowing

Written forMiddle grade
How do you feel?