Fat Kid Rules The World

Kelly Going lives in Beacon, New York. After graduating from college, she has had many jobs. These include adult literacy tutor, ticket agent for a major airline, front desk clerk at a resort hotel, and an assistant in a Manhattan literary agency. K.L. Going likes to travel and she has lived in Maine, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and New York.

Fat Kid Rules the World is her first novel. She has stated that the idea for the book came to her while riding on the subway in New York. The novel came together quickly which she feels was due to the fact that she began writing just prior to September 11, 2001. She has said that she may have used the writing as an escape from what was going on in the world around her. Part of the book was inspired by the life and music of Kurt Cobain.. Going had just gotten into vintage punk music and wanted to express her interests through the book. The character in her book that was modeled after Kurt Cobain was Curt. K.L Going struggles with self-doubt; this showed through the character Troy. Although she is very petite her feelings of self conscious ness showed her "fat kid" character, Troy.

Kelly Going has just completed a new book called The Liberation of Gabriel King. The book is for kids between the ages seven to twelve. It is due out in the summer of 2005. She is currently working on another novel for teens.

Fat Kid Rules the World, written by K.L Going, is a story of two kids brought together by fate. Troy a 300 pound suicidal outcast and Curt a scrawny, high school drop out, who is a punk rock guitar genius. They both live in New York City, but in two totally different worlds. Troy lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and Curt sometimes lives in the projects, other times in the subway or anywhere else that he can crash. The two face very different issues, but without even knowing it they help each other throughout the book. Curt helping Troy is more obvious than Troy helping Curt with his problems, until the end of the book. When Curt saves Troy's life unintentionally they soon become best friends. Curt wants Troy to form a band with him. There is one problem Troy has not played the drums since seventh grade. This does not seem to phase Curt and for the first time in Troy's life he feels accepted. Together Curt and Troy will change the world of punk rock and each other.

Troy Billings is a High School senior and he has problems. For one thing he

is six foot one and weighs 296 pounds. He does not have any friends, and he is positive everyone is laughing at him because of his weight. In a lot of ways, Troy is an easy target. He has an athletic younger brother who taunts him about his weight all the time. Although Troy could easily beat him up, he timidly takes what his brother dishes out and assumes he deserves it. Mr. Billings is Troy's dad. He is a retired marine sergeant. He treats Troy as if he is one of his soldiers. Ever since Troy's mom died, the family has grown apart This seems to be the underlying cause of Troy's weight and depression. Curt MacCrae is a gaunt, semi-homeless punk guitar genius who is worshipped by the high school students as the dropout legend of all time. Curt lives an unhealthy life style, and he becomes addicted to prescription medication. He believes that the medicine takes away his pain. The pain just is not only from ill health, but also from his broken heart. Curt's mother,