A Work in Progress

A Work in Progress is a 2023 middle grade fiction novel written and illustrated by Jarrett Lerner. The many books he has written and illustrated cover many genres and age ranges. His illustrated Geeger the Robot series are early chapter books for young readers; his Nat the Cat series is for early readers; his EngiNerds series are middle grade novels. He also creates activity books and pages for children, many of which are available for free download on his website.

A Work in Progress is a mixed-media novel in verse. The novel is printed on lined paper and written in the style of a journal penned by the protagonist, Will Chambers. Lerner accredits the illustrations in this book to Will, drawing them in his journal. Lerner relies on poetic features like enjambment and concrete poetry, wherein the typographical effect enhances the meaning of the content. The novel explores themes of Individual and Systemic Anti-Fat Bias; Body Image, Self-Critique, and Self-Acceptance; and Authenticity, Friendship, and What It Means to Be Seen.

The novel was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, and Audible. It was nominated for the 2024-2025 Georgia Children’s Book Award, Kentucky Bluegrass Award, Sunshine State Young Readers Award, Massachusetts Book Award, Volunteer State Book Award, and New Hampshire State Book Award. It is a 2024 Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts by the Children’s Literature Assembly and a 2024 ProjectLIT Book, a May/June 2023 Kids Indies Next Pick, and a 2023 Global Read Aloud Book.

This guide refers to the 2023 Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss anti-fat bias, bullying, body dysmorphia, disordered eating, and self-harm.

Plot Summary

In his journal, Will Chambers reminisces how, in fourth grade, a classmate named Nick Fisher called him “fat” as an insult. The insult becomes internalized, making Will feel that being fat makes him “less than” human and unworthy of friendship or love. He begins to dress in fully covered oversized clothes and acts “fake” to cover up his body and his hurt. This fakeness causes him to lose his friends, which he takes as confirmation of his inferiority.

Now in seventh grade, Will feels out of place in a school of thin people, moving slowly and in uncrowded spaces so he isn’t seen. He has a crush on a girl named Jules but doesn’t think a thin person could ever like a fat person. He takes tiny bites of his sandwich at lunch and eats the rest in a hurry in a bathroom stall after the bell rings.

In social situations, like buying chips in public, he worries about how others perceive him. In the store, he runs into his old best friend, Dave. They don’t speak to one another. Will ditches his chips and runs home. He binge eats to numb his critical interior voice. At dinner, his mom talks to him about starting an art club to let his peers “see” him as he is and bond over a shared interest. He doesn’t think anyone would join.

At school, Will hears girls playing the game “would you rather,” posing scenarios between kissing Will and doing something disgusting. They always choose the disgusting thing. When Will gets home, he physically punches his body, wishing it was smaller. That night, he turns down the pizza his mom buys, asking instead for chicken and rice. Throughout the night, he cannot stop thinking about the pizza; he goes downstairs after midnight to eat it.

Will begins a regime of extremely restrictive eating, thinking being thinner will make him “good enough.” At lunch, he now sits behind the auditorium rather than in the cafeteria. One day, he encounters Markus, a classmate who is skateboarding. Markus talks to Will without judgment, amazing Will. Markus is one of the most unique people Will has seen, with a punk aesthetic and neon-painted fingernails.

The next day, Markus tries to get to know Will, but Will is closed off. Instead, Markus tells a story about how he used to try and fit in at every new city his parents moved to. Exhausted, he eventually stopped trying to fit in and chose to be his authentic self, making him much happier. Markus inviting Will to open up scares him. Will runs away.

The next day, he runs into Jules at school. He can’t speak to her. Jules’s friends laugh at him. Will runs to a bathroom, consumed by intense, critical thoughts. Markus notices that Will never eats and that something is wrong. He tries to talk to Will, but Will blows up at him.

Will convinces himself he doesn’t deserve food. Over the next few days, he eats nothing. The next Monday, he walks through the school day dizzy and disoriented. He eventually collapses. The novel uses poetic fragments and blacked-out pages to convey Will’s emotional state.

Will wakes up at home. He realizes the seriousness of what he did and is thankful he is alive. He tells his parents everything he has been feeling. Markus comes to visit him and gives him a skateboard. He gives Will a beginning skating lesson in exchange for art lessons. Being on the skateboard makes Will feel free and alive. Markus tells Will another motivating story about how he realized that he is eternally a “work in progress.” This is helpful to Will. When Will looks in the mirror, he still sees a monster but promises himself he’ll work on his self-image.

Will’s parents get him set up with a family doctor and a therapist named Marci, who sets up a positive and welcoming atmosphere for Will to open up. Markus moves away again, but they pledge to stay in contact. Will decides to start the drawing club his mom suggested. In the school hallway, he tells Jules about the club. He’s seen her artwork and thinks she might be interested. Jules’s friends are rude toward Will, but Jules seems genuine and interested.

Will is beginning to understand that nothing about him or his body is bad, and he cannot control the bias of those around him. He compares his slow progress toward acceptance to finding balance on a skateboard: Sometimes, he goes between good and bad days, but he will always keep trying.