Spider Boy (novel)

Spider Boy is a young adult novel written by Ralph Fletcher, first published in 1997.
Plot summary.
Bobby Ballenger is starting a new school far from his old home. He moved from Illinois to New Paltz, New York and his love of spiders has earned him the nickname of Spider Boy from Illinois. This was given to him by the class bully. His pet spider has not eaten since the family moved. Bobby keeps a journal where he records interesting facts about spiders. He then uses it to record his frustrations and thoughts about his new school.