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theocbookgirl's review
3.0
This title was timely, shocking and an eye-opening read for any woman of any size or color. It was thoughtful and honest and should be required reading for young women even if they’re not struggling with their weight.
The first half of the book is the Fat Camp and I had a hard time with the cruelty and shaming and the pain and debasement the women experienced. It felt like I was watching a sad and mean reality show. It was over the top and had horrible “competitions” and unrelenting and demeaning coaches. (We learn the justification later on.)
Alice and Daphne both struggle with self esteem and negative self talk, marriage problems and families that don’t support them. They are desperate and unhappy and ready to do anything.
There was a lot happening in the second half of the book after they “escaped”. The women have formed strong friendships and want to maintain their weight loss. They don’t want the humiliating video footage to be released. They are getting so much attention for being thin yet it’s changing them in ways they didn’t expect. Their husbands and children don’t seem to understand what they endured.
Another 2019 book that deals with eating disorders was “The Girls at 17 Swann Street” which was emotional and surprisingly moving. This title was much different in the tone and pacing, yet also contains an important message.
The first half of the book is the Fat Camp and I had a hard time with the cruelty and shaming and the pain and debasement the women experienced. It felt like I was watching a sad and mean reality show. It was over the top and had horrible “competitions” and unrelenting and demeaning coaches. (We learn the justification later on.)
Alice and Daphne both struggle with self esteem and negative self talk, marriage problems and families that don’t support them. They are desperate and unhappy and ready to do anything.
There was a lot happening in the second half of the book after they “escaped”. The women have formed strong friendships and want to maintain their weight loss. They don’t want the humiliating video footage to be released. They are getting so much attention for being thin yet it’s changing them in ways they didn’t expect. Their husbands and children don’t seem to understand what they endured.
Another 2019 book that deals with eating disorders was “The Girls at 17 Swann Street” which was emotional and surprisingly moving. This title was much different in the tone and pacing, yet also contains an important message.
stacyroth's review
2.0
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
Alice and Daphne have struggled with weight all their lives. Alice's husband has admitted that he doesn't find her attractive at her size. Daphne is the only overweight person in her family, and her mother constantly criticizes Daphne's weight in an attempt to get her to change. At the end of their ropes, Alice, Daphne, and five other women each make the decision to be part of the Waisted documentary. The pamphlet promises, “Respect. Health. Mindfulness. We believe by bringing these values to the forefront, women will have the opportunity to choose exactly who they want to be for just the right reason.” What really awaits these women is an unrelenting barrage of being shamed and trainers seeing how far they are willing to humiliate themselves in the attempt to become thin.
The organization of the story could have used some work. I feel like the message of the story didn't come through as clearly as it could have, and at times, the characters seemed to come across as caricatures rather than real people. Also, it was hard to remember at times whether chapter I was reading was from Alice or from Daphne; they did not have distinct voices. The premise was interesting but not well executed.
Alice and Daphne have struggled with weight all their lives. Alice's husband has admitted that he doesn't find her attractive at her size. Daphne is the only overweight person in her family, and her mother constantly criticizes Daphne's weight in an attempt to get her to change. At the end of their ropes, Alice, Daphne, and five other women each make the decision to be part of the Waisted documentary. The pamphlet promises, “Respect. Health. Mindfulness. We believe by bringing these values to the forefront, women will have the opportunity to choose exactly who they want to be for just the right reason.” What really awaits these women is an unrelenting barrage of being shamed and trainers seeing how far they are willing to humiliate themselves in the attempt to become thin.
The organization of the story could have used some work. I feel like the message of the story didn't come through as clearly as it could have, and at times, the characters seemed to come across as caricatures rather than real people. Also, it was hard to remember at times whether chapter I was reading was from Alice or from Daphne; they did not have distinct voices. The premise was interesting but not well executed.
sickee26's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
marynolanpleckham's review
3.0
Meh. Tried to be hard about body positivity and health, but it was a bit cliche and overdone for me. I finished it but I can't recommend spending your reading time on it. Though... it was terrible.
a_lpenglow's review
3.0
Interesting book but flitting between perspectives and characters made it hard to follow
nickieandremus's review
4.0
*** I received an advanced e-copy from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review
The premise of the novel is this small group of women going to a weight-loss retreat as part of a documentary, only to discover that it was an extreme weight-loss boot camp designed to humiliate the women and see how far they would go in order to lose weight. As someone who has struggled with their weight almost their entire life, I could relate to the women and their struggles. It begged the question: how far would I go to lose weight and be thin again? The methods used by the ones making the documentary repulsed me, my heart broke for the women at times and I mentally cheered them on at other times. The book went a little slow at times, but was overall a very empowering story for women everywhere.
The premise of the novel is this small group of women going to a weight-loss retreat as part of a documentary, only to discover that it was an extreme weight-loss boot camp designed to humiliate the women and see how far they would go in order to lose weight. As someone who has struggled with their weight almost their entire life, I could relate to the women and their struggles. It begged the question: how far would I go to lose weight and be thin again? The methods used by the ones making the documentary repulsed me, my heart broke for the women at times and I mentally cheered them on at other times. The book went a little slow at times, but was overall a very empowering story for women everywhere.
bookcrazyblogger's review
3.0
This book was an absolute mess for the first 70 pages. I couldn’t tell the difference between the characters and the background information was hard to understand, especially Daphne’s. The latter half of the book was much more enjoyable, despite the difficult subject matter. How much suffering, humiliation and lack of respect does it take for a woman to simply give up and do anything takes to lose weight? This book attempts to show that side but does a much better job at showing these women saying ‘enough is enough,’ to all the crap they put up with. I would have loved for this book to have been longer, if only because I think the author brings up brilliant points about race in addition to weight in American women but fails to recognize the wealth privilege of these women. The novel could have been so much deeper if the author chose one and ran with it but instead, it felt too shallow, with not enough time spent on either one.
mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition
Would you do anything to lose weight? A group of seven women decides to go to a weight loss camp for a documentary, and they get more than they bargain for.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for the #ARC.
Overall, it's not a bad book. It just wasn't for me. Full review at https://mydearwatsonbooks.wordpress.com/2019/07/08/waisted/.
#waisted
Thank you to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for the #ARC.
Overall, it's not a bad book. It just wasn't for me. Full review at https://mydearwatsonbooks.wordpress.com/2019/07/08/waisted/.
#waisted
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Eating disorder