My fourth grade students go bananas over the Mark Twain Readers Award that is given each year. It is an annual award in the state of Missouri that is given to one book that is selected by school children, grades 4 to 6. A list is published every year with the nominees and this is how I stumbled upon A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner. I had no idea this book would hit so close to home and have a lasting impact on my own outlook on self-acceptance. Before we get further into my experience reading the book, here are a few details to know about the book first.
*A Work in Progress features a child dealing with issues of body image, self-acceptance and self-hatred. These topics can be triggering for any aged reader or blog visitor. Resources are shared at the bottom of this post and please remember, “We are all a work in progress.”
I want to be upfront and share that I, like the main character, Will, struggled with my weight and self-acceptance from a young age. In fact, I still do as a woman in her 30’s. Due to my close connection with Will and this book, I feel it is important to share these facts because I do wonder if I loved this book so much because of my personal connection to it. At the same time, I think a review from an individual who has walked in the main character’s shoes in real life is meaningful and offers a different perspective then perhaps other reviews of this book. I apologize if this review at times feels like an entry from my diary.
Students who love to draw, doodle, and create art will be drawn to this book due to its use of comic-style illustrations and visuals. This can be a great way to introduce a compelling and emotional story to those students. However, this book is best fit for students who themselves have started to have that mind shift from a child to young adult. Puberty is on the horizon and the awareness of other people’s thoughts and opinions are now everywhere. These students are picking up on what is popular, trendy, and being pushed as the “norm” and may find themselves not in those categories at all.
The main character Will, is a young man who is in middle school and due to an incident in fourth grade by an unkind classmate, gets hit with the reality that he is fat and everyone thinks it. Immediately to Will fat equals ugly, grotesque, and monstrous. The author, Jarrett Lerner starts the book with the incident so the reader knows exactly what Will has experienced. We as the reader, are on the journey with Will as he lives in a state of self-hatred, and uses isolation and avoidance as his coping strategies. Will’s relationship with food and eating is front and center in this book and it is important for teachers and parents to know that Will uses many different tactics to lose weight that are all harmful.
I do not want to give to much of the plot away because it will take away from the experience of reading it and being beside Will as he finds himself not suddenly healed, brimming with self-confidence and self-acceptance, but understanding that he, along with everyone else is a work in progress.
There are a few things that help Will discover this understanding that include supportive parents and an injury that forces him to stop in his tracks… literally. However, the most heartwarming and memorable support is a character named, Marcus. He rolls into Will’s life one day on a skateboard and from then on not only positively impacts Will, but the reader. His own self-reflection, vulnerability, kindness towards himself and others, and drive to connect with Will made me tear up at moments and wish I had a Marcus in my own life as a child.
Lerner not only impressed me with his illustrations (that are Will’s drawings) and how he embedded them perfectly in the book, but also with his storytelling. This book is written beautifully and I am in awe of his writing talents.
No surprise based on my review but, A Work in Progress, is deemed worthy of a Check Out! In fact, I would say not just a Check Out, but a Buy the Book and keep it forever.
Checkin' Out 
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