Author(s): Rebecca Petruck

Junior Fiction

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 and fleas. 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 between Darryl and Eloy heat up, Will wrestles with questions of loyalty and honor--and learns that maybe not all friendships are worth fighting for.