this is a story about a boy named Richard. He starts off as a low esteemed person who is friendless and the laugh stock of the school because in his family they are poor and to top it off he is fat. The only thing he is proud of is his good grades at school. He thinks he is ugly and so he tries to hide himself. He has a crush at school but his crush does not notice him. His life is a tragedy because at home, his stepmother mistreats him and he is given a whole lot of work to do. But things finally workout for him in the end.