Butter has enormous musical talent; he plays the saxophone and loves jazz. Sadly, he only plays alone, to forget he is an emotionally isolated and physically challenged teen. For Butter weighs over 400 pounds and is convinced that no one can see beyond his dimensions to get to really know him. Butter (you learn about his nickname in the book) escapes through his music and through the web, where he has a deepening relationship with Anna, one of the coolest girls in school. Fearful that revealing his true identity will scare away the girl of his dreams, Butter creates a new persona--that of a star athlete at a nearby private school.
While most of his classmates ignore him completely or look at him only with pity and a certain fascination, there are some who see opportunities to be cruel. After Butter discovers someone's online post that shows him eating, he impulsively decides to start his own website where he can control the comments while getting attention. Butterslastmeal.com is an immediate success, unfortunately, and all of a sudden he's in a corner. If he doesn't eat himself to death, he is a failure. If he does, well, he's dead. Not much of a choice.
As the narrator, Butter reveals both the depth of his torment and clues to the nice and funny person he can be. The author uses Butter's experiences to raise issues of stereotyping, online relationships, and online bullying without being preachy. Telling the story using a lot of dialog keeps things moving. Recommended.
