Bauer develops the major theme of Squashed through Ellie's struggles to handle the stresses of competition and the resulting changes in relationships produced by the competition. In the process, Ellie is forced to redefine success and determine what is most important in life.

Winning in the adult category becomes Ellie's major goal. Every spare moment of her time is devoted to nurturing her giant pumpkin Max. Her goal is to win the blue ribbon and beat the evil, four-time winner, Cyril Pool.

But Ellie's father, her grandmother, and Wes, the new boy at school, complicate her path to success. Mr. Morgan disapproves of her devotion to the project. He wants Ellie to concentrate more on solving her weight problem and developing a social life partly because he himself rejected farming and also because he has not come to terms with the death of his...