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katjacatbeans's review against another edition
Furthermore, his obsession with BMI as an indicator of health is easily refuted by a cursory internet search - even in 2013, when the book was published, it was easy to find data that BMI was never intended to be used for individual health metrics (rather, at a population level) and that it simply does not work for many ethnic groups (aka, anyone other than the European population it was based on decades ago). I think the author is just unquestioningly propping up his own fatphobia and shielding it with commonly accepted knowledge rather than scientific fact - which quite honestly undermines the data-driven nature of the MC.
Furthermore, it's ableist. The first iterations of the questionnaire make it clear that he's using someone's BMI and exercise habits as a proxy for lifelong health. Able-bodiedness is a temporary condition. We all succumb to accident, illness, genetic predisposition, and aging. Additionally, his comment about a woman's low BMI being desirable, since she shows no sign of anorexia, is complete trash. First, no one can tell if a person has an eating disorder simply by looking at them. In severe cases of anorexia it may be obvious, but I've known several people who fall into the overweight or obese bmi ranges (just saying, so we can compare apples to apples) who have or have had anorexia without becoming "too thin". That's just not how bodies work - another truth that is pretty easily understood with fairly cursory research.
The author's biases are punching holes in character development, showing a lot of shoddy background research, and doing more to uphold gross societal expectations than I think he realizes.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexism, and Misogyny
jolineliest's review against another edition
- 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
1.5
Graphic: Body shaming and Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Death, and Alcoholism
Minor: Grief, Bullying, Car accident, Fatphobia, Dementia, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Suicide
nialiversuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Death, Cursing, Misogyny, Ableism, and Medical content
Minor: Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Suicide, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Blood
epellicci's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
What I was expecting from this book was a sweet, hearty, slow-burn. What I got instead was bad cliches and caricature characters. Don is The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon, whose rushed character arch at the end of the story involves him trying to change every aspect of himself in order to be lovable. Made worse by the fact that the humour constantly placed Don as the butt of the joke. Overall this book was a lot of a let-down.
Moderate: Misogyny
slanderoid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, and Ableism
Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia
libt11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol and Fatphobia
Moderate: Grief, Dementia, and Misogyny
the_escapist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, Addiction, and Ableism
debookgeek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Suicide, Death, Death of parent, and Car accident
lilyofthevalley_reads's review against another edition
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
rachaelreads1989's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Minor: Misogyny