Fat Kid Rules the World (by K.L. Going)

A YA novel recommended in my workshop, where we read the opening scene, which is the main character on a subway platform, contemplating suicide. (We were talking about ways to establish character. Yep, that'll do it.) I loved the way the main character's fat was a throughline of the whole story--for instance, being the source of his crippling insecurity, which in turn drives the plot forward. But it isn't your typical "fat kid loses weight, gets the girl" type of story either. Instead, the fat kid meets up with a very skinny kid, a punk rock guitar player who wants to form a band with him. Not what I was expecting, but I found myself really rooting for Troy, and really not wanting it to end.