Also Known as Lard Butt, by Ann Herrick, is about a young girl's attempt to escape her grade-school nickname and remake her image as she enters junior high.
When Ricky, the boy who came up with "Lard Butt," moved away, Laura thought she would finally shed the name that hung around her neck like an albatross. As the story opens, she learns that Ricky is back. Will he revive the name that tormented her for years?
Keep your enemies closer
Laura is determined to bloom, and that means making sure nobody at her new school hears about the nickname. She has to protect her carefully built new image from the one person who could destroy it, and she decides that tutoring Ricky might be the answer. Keeping her enemy close means spending time with the person she hates most, but it is worth it if her classmates, and especially the boy she likes, never find out.
It is a gamble, and Laura knows it: she is betting that being nice to Ricky will buy his silence. As she watches him for any sign that he plans to bring the name back, she slowly realises that they have a lot in common. She begins to sympathise with the former bane of her existence and, more importantly, to understand that his bullying was a defence against hurts in his own life.
Tween angst, perfectly observed
Also Known as Lard Butt is an astute study of early adolescence that is at times excruciatingly real. Even if it has been decades since you were thirteen, you will cringe at the memories this spot-on story brings back. Herrick writes from Laura's point of view and does a fine job of conveying the pain of being bullied, the longing to fit in and the general awkwardness of being a young teen. The story is told with humour and charm, and it never pushes its message too hard.
But there is a message, about empathy, acceptance and growth. By the end, the surface changes Laura wanted to make seem minor next to the real changes she makes in accepting herself and understanding others. A good choice for readers aged about 10 to 14, and for parents and teachers looking for a gentle way into conversations about bullying.
