Reviews with content warning for Eating disorder - 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl

Awad’s debut flies under the radar in comparison to her other books, but as usual she is unique and excellent and I enjoyed every second of her brilliant writing in this book. Pinpoint observations and her sparkling and specific brand of humour.

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njurdi93's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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brigid_'s review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I hate the title of this book and genuinely hated this book zero stars until about 80% of the way through. Then I started to think of it as story about a woman who is dealing with a society-driven psychosis and how the book is could be an exploration into how society ruins peoples lives, so stopped hating it. But also I don’t know if I need to participate in that.

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khanyisile13's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Genuinely a smart read that details the internalised prejudices around weight that women are constantly exposed to. We are inside the main character’s head for most of the book, and it’s written in vignettes of her life, so not a story in the typical sense, but a clever way to show the reader how societal judgement truly tattoos itself on women, even in ways that we can’t describe. It was realistic, even in its absurdity, and revealed to those who might not struggle with the conversation in their in their heads, the judgement in their own eyes of themselves, it revealed what that is like. At some point the book became stagnant, and it felt like there was parts of the story missing, and I think she could have played around a little more with different perspectives. By the end of the book, I was ready for it to end. But it’s an important read nonetheless.

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