A boy’s wish to be a star wrestler is granted in this wacky middle-grade fantasy


Ollie
and his older brother, Hollis, have wrestling in their blood: Their mom
was a pro whose dreams of stardom were dashed by a devious opponent.
Now she’s an overworked, underpaid ref at Smackdown Town, the local
arena. Ollie’s goal in life is to win the golden championship belt for
his mom—immediately followed by his other goal: to hang his bully of a
brother from the roof by his tightie-whities. But there’s one problem:
Ollie inherited their estranged dad’s puny frame, while Hollis got their
mom’s brawn. Thus Ollie has resigned himself to a fate of wrestling
mediocrity and wet willies . . . until the day Hollis gifts him a piece
of stale gum and forces him to chew it. Ollie soon discovers that the
gum—bought on eBay and formerly chewed by a wrestling legend— has an
unusual side effect: the ability to physically transform Ollie into a
pro wrestler. As Big Chew, Ollie’s finally able to put Hollis in his
place and be a star. But when trouble befalls his family, being Big Chew
gets a lot more complicated. In the end, Ollie knows he can’t have it
all; and it’s only when he asks himself who he really is that he learns
what it means to be a champion.