Will didn’t plan to eat a stinkbug. But when his friend Darryl called new kid Eloy Herrera a racial slur, Will did it as a diversion. Now Will is Bug Boy, and everyone is cracking up inventing insect meals for him, like French flies and maggot-aroni andfleas.
Turns out eating bugs for food is a real thing, called entomophagy. Deciding that means he can use a class project to feed everyone grasshoppers, Will bargains for Eloy’s help in exchange for helping him with wrestling, but their growing friendship only ticks off Darryl more.
Will may have bitten off more than he can chew as crickets, earthworm jerky—even a scorpion—end up on his plate, but insects are the least of his problems. When things with Darryl and Eloy heat up, Will wrestles with questions of loyalty, honor—and that maybe not all friendships are worth fighting for.
Rebecca Petruck is the author of BOY BITES BUG and STEERING TOWARD NORMAL, both with ABRAMS/Amulet.
BUG received a starred review from ABA Booklist, who said it’s "...funny, perceptive, and topical in more ways than one." It was a Louisiana and Minnesota youth reading award nominee.
STEERING was an American Booksellers Association New Voices selection as well as a Kids Indie Next List title.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UNC Wilmington. She has been a mentor for SCBWI Carolinas, Pitch Wars, and Writing in the Margins.