On the surface, One Fat Summer is the story of a pubescent boy learning to stand up for himself and, in the process, shedding the fat that has plagued him for most of his childhood. This is what young readers will see and admire.

If this were as far as the novel took its readers, it would be merely quite good. However, what Robert Lipsyte really gives us is an almost textbook example of the coming-of-age story. Bobby's learning to speak up, to do the jobs that need doing, and to say no to the ove More...

One of my favorite kid/young adult books from when I was a kid. Dug it up and reread it this year and it was just as good as I remembered. When I was a kid means it was probably written 30 years ago and it's set in 1952. Just like The Pigman by Paul Zindel (another one of my faves) this book seems dated in the lingo, atmosphere and dress, but the way the teenagers act, think, feel - that is timeless and Lipsyte gets it right.

I think this author must have coined the term "ice cream headache" and More...

This is one of a couple of books in a very odd genre that I read over and over as a child. The genre is something like "books that on the surface are teen wish-fulfillment fantasies about losing weight, but which are actually about them struggling with having one hypercritical and one totally codependent parent."

(Or really, two totally codependent parents, one of whom is on the hypercritical hypercontrolling end of the spectrum, and the other of whom is on the super-enabling, no-boundaries end. More...

A story that was rough but beautiful. The characters while being somewhat under developed were extremely lovable and realistic. The scenes of embarrassment and torment were amazingly well written. The story was fascinating and a quick easy ready for anyone who enjoys stories of courage and change.

The downfall in it however lies there blocking what could have been a five star story.

This (though not the fault of the author) was a very poorly edited story. As a reader I have to constantly re-r More...

“One fat summer”, it sounds interesting by the title of the book. I saw this book when I was an eighth grader in my middle school. However, I didn’t read it. But it was very interesting that when I was in library, I saw this book again, in that time I know this will be the next book to read. It is about a fat boy called Bobby who hates summer so much because it is the time to show his fat body to people. During the summer, Bobby finds a job by mowing the lawns for one dollar per hour. He decide More...

If you picked up One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte you wouldn't think that it would show how Bobby Marks hates summer when most people love summer. Bobby Marks is an obese boy who would rather have winter all year then shed his spring coats. In One Fat Summer; Bobby goes to the fair ands sees a ad on bullentin board. His best friend makes him call the Dr. K for him to apply for the job. When Bobby gets the he starts to lose weight and his starts to change. One Fat Summer shows how a obese person More...

this book taught me alot.
it was about this boy named Bobby and he seemed to scared about his body size and never wanted to b around people especially in the summer. Him and his best friend joanie who has something that she hates about her body, she hates the fact that her nose is all messed up and that she wouldnt be able to fix unless she had some type of surgery and her and bobby had many things in commen. in the beginning bobby and joanie were both shy kids who were afraid to show there faces More...

This book is about a boy named Robert “Bobby” Marks who hates summers because he doesn't like to wear a bathing suit because he is overweight. And he couldn’t stand how everyone would tease him because of it. It seems like the only one that accepts him is his friend Joannie. Joannie is a pretty girl with a big nose, and isn’t good at showing her emotions. She leaves to go back to her hometown, but she won’t tell anyone why. She was the only one that made summer bearable for bobby. So he has to f More...

Bobby, an overweight boy, has been made fun of throughout his whole life. It doesn't help that this summer he has to work in the lawns of Dr.Kahn, while his best friend,Joanie, spends some time in the city. Having a difficult boss to please, a group of gangs threatening to beat him up if he doesn't quit his job, and a friend with plastic surgery, Bob is in a whirlwind of a summer. But, he finally has the courage to stand up for himself and not let others think he is a push-over any longer.

I fou More...

''Bobby Marks hates hot weather. It's the time when most people are happy to take off their heavy jackets and long pants. But for Bobby, who can't even button the waist of his jeans or reach over his belly to touch his toes, spending the summer at Rumson Lake is pure torture.
This particular summer promises to be worse than usual. His mom and dad can't stop fighting. His best friend, Joanie, goes home to New York City unexpectedly and won't tell him why. Dr. Kahn, the rich, stingy estate owner More...

I think about this book often, especially when summer rolls around, and came here to give it a well-deserved 5 star rating.

This is a wonderful teen book about how a teenager handles bullies, disappointed parents, a grumpy old man, and a perfect sister, all who give him grief about being overweight. They all try to break him or change him through humiliation, pestering, or shame, but it's not until he decides it's time to change his body and lot in life that he's able to overcome a weight proble More...

One Fat Fine Book
By Robert Lipsyte
ISBN: 0-06-447073-3
This novel begins with the main character Bobby talking about himself and how he doesnt like being fat because the summer meant he would have to wear shorts and short sleeved shirts to keep cool, and he didnt like having to show the public that he is overweight. As the plot progresses, we begin to meet new characters and find out more things about Bobby. Because Bobby takes on a lawn mowing job, he faces trouble with the job because the perso More...

Many people love the summer (especially myself) since you can just relax without worrying about school stress, but it's not that way for Bobby. He is a 200 pound kid that doesn't like to wear anything that shows his fat. To keep himself busy over the summer, he took on a mowing job with Dr. Kahn, who is very greedy and rich.
During his job experience, Bobby learned a lot of things. He learned to speak up for himself and say no to the overeating that serves as an escape from his own weaknesses. Th More...

Most people love the summer and cant wait until it comes but not for Bobby. He is a 200pound kid that does not like to wear t-shirts or shorts-but instead heavy jackets and pants that will cover his weight. He has only one friend but she went to New York for the summer and so, to keep himself busy he took on a mowing job with Dr. Kahn, a greedy and rich man. This is where it gets interesting when a guy named Rumson, an ex-worker of DrKahn decides to get revenge from Bobby for taking his job.
I en More...

I remember some things about this book very clearly - "Crisco in a can," eating Oeroes, the metabolism tests, thinking the mowing will be easy then doing it all crooked. But, I know I never finished this book. Not sure why I abandoned it. Since these things have stuck with me for over fifteen years, you would think it was good enough to keep going.

Here's what Ruchelle F. had to say about this book:
Overview: Robert was always getting teased about his weight and he was always getting beat up, just because of his job mowing lawns.
This book ROCKS because: People can relate to Robert and how everyone treats him and the way Robert feels about himself and how he likes swimming.

One Fat Summer is a good book. It tells the struggles of a boy's goal to loose weight. In the story the boy uses a fake age to get a job mowing someones lawn. The job is tough at first, especially with his weight problem, but he gets better at it as the sstory goes along. His friend goes on a trip to with her family, but doesn't tell him why. When she returns thier friendship isn't quite the same.
The boy deals with many other delimas in the book, but you'll have to read it yourself to find the More...

I thought this book was very emotional, mainly because Bobby was going through emotional issues, like the fact that he was big fat man who couldn't fit in to any of his clothes, and that everyone made fun of him. In his summer vacation, Bobby found out about how terrifying and exhilarating life can be, the hard way.

I think this book was very good, and even though it was fiction, it was like real life, but reenacted. This book was about Bobby Marks, a normal person who goes through summer while being overweight, which embarrasses him sometimes, and usually is a bad thing about him. I think this book takes place somewhere in the early 21th century or 20th century, because as it shows on page 166, Bobby gets payed only a small amount from his job.

i read this book in 8th grade 27 years ago and greatly enjoyed it. one thing that has stuck with me through the years is the authors detailed description of traditional breakfast as the perfect meal.

to this day i must have oj and toast with my eggs, hashbrowns and bacon in order for it to be a complete breakfast.

The main character is Bobby, a fat, good kid, who works for Dr. Kahn, a mean and greedy man, for 50 cents an hour. His parents' relationship is bad and they are about to get divorced. Bobby's best friend, Joanie, goes to New York and has plastic surgery. One of Bobby's bullies wants to take his job, and threatens him to try to make him quit. In the end, Bobby has a good summer.
I like this story because it takes place in a rural area. When Bobby worked for Mr. Kahn, he did things which a person l More...

Set in the 1950's, it's the account of Robert Marks an overweight teen who is not comfortable in his own skin but spends his summer at his family's summer lake resort and gradually learns some things about himself, including that he's capable of a lot more than he thought.

I read this book when I was around fourteen, the age of the narrator, and it stuck with me. A few years ago I thought about it and ordered it from Amazon, and then it sat on my shelf until the other day.

It wasn't as good as I remembered, but it was interesting to see how much of it I remembered from the first time I read it, over a decade ago.

So there I am, reviewing away on goodreads, when suddenly 'One Fat Summer' pops on into my head. I can't remember if it was any good, I mean I assume it's not because, well, just look at it for christ's sake, but anyway I read it on vacation in vermont in 1994 because it was laying around. What's remarkable, though, is that I can recall an INSANE amount of narrative trivia from this SOB. Like the St. Christopher medallion, and the truck driver who liked Mantle more than Mays, and the rhinoplasty More...

I thought that 'One Fat Summer' was a good read. I liked Bob, the main character. I thought he would have made a good friend.
I enjoyed the way his story developed over the summer that he was telling us about.

This was in my designated desk in the teachers room in one of the Japanese schools I worked at. I have no idea why. I was pretty starved for some English written word, so this book kind of made my day.

Anyway, this is a tale of fat boy's summer of lawns and life lessons. I've read plenty of books about the growing pains of adolescence, but usually from a female viewpoint, so it was interesting to see what the other side is like. Actually, it would probably benefit all kids to read books about the More...

I really liked this book. It was really interesting and I was exited to read it. I would recommend this book to al my friends. This book was amazing and I want to read it again.

I had to read this book to make a test for my reading students.

One great aspect of this book is its humor. The kid in the story is pretty funny. The funny, chubby boy decides to get a job mowing lawns one summer, and he manages to transform from a self-loathing, depressed, weak little boy to a mature, "fit," brave young man. It is somewhat of a coming-of-age story that certain boys would like. Silly boys. Boys with a sense of humor. Underdogs. That kind of kid.

This book kind of reminded me of More...

it is about a boy that was bigger than every other person and wanted to be skinny so he got a job. He went to work every day and by the time summer ended he was skinny