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mindysbookjourney's review against another edition
4.0
I want to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for giving me a copy of Waisted for review.
Alice and Daphne are both working mothers who struggle with their weight. Randy Susan Meyers explores issues of race and of course weight as they are experienced by these wonderful women. They sign up for a weight loss spa along with 5 other women, and agree to be filmed on their weight loss journey. They are promised a supportive and encouraging environment, but that is not what they get. The producers of this documentary are going to extremes to see what these women will do in order to lose weight. The contestants are pushed too far, and they decide to fight back.
I found the main characters really interesting and relatable. This novel discusses issues that go along with being overweight in the minds of the women, their families, and society as a whole. Some things that these women face are eating disorders, yo-yo dieting, binging on food, and bad self image. I also appreciated the authors look into exploitation of people's desire to lose weight in the media (documentaries, television, etc.). I felt myself sick for what the producers of the documentary were putting these women through, and I was glad they decided to take control. I also thought that the ending was well done, because it looked into life after significant weight loss. I really enjoyed these women's path to learning to love themselves. I would highly recommend this novel for those that are interested in issues surrounding weight and self image.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Alice and Daphne are both working mothers who struggle with their weight. Randy Susan Meyers explores issues of race and of course weight as they are experienced by these wonderful women. They sign up for a weight loss spa along with 5 other women, and agree to be filmed on their weight loss journey. They are promised a supportive and encouraging environment, but that is not what they get. The producers of this documentary are going to extremes to see what these women will do in order to lose weight. The contestants are pushed too far, and they decide to fight back.
I found the main characters really interesting and relatable. This novel discusses issues that go along with being overweight in the minds of the women, their families, and society as a whole. Some things that these women face are eating disorders, yo-yo dieting, binging on food, and bad self image. I also appreciated the authors look into exploitation of people's desire to lose weight in the media (documentaries, television, etc.). I felt myself sick for what the producers of the documentary were putting these women through, and I was glad they decided to take control. I also thought that the ending was well done, because it looked into life after significant weight loss. I really enjoyed these women's path to learning to love themselves. I would highly recommend this novel for those that are interested in issues surrounding weight and self image.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
janetlweller's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the first few chapters of this book. It focuses on Daphne and Alice, two women who have struggled with weight most of their lives. The beginning explores their efforts to lose weight, the cultural (and familial) pressures to be thin, and the effect this has had on their lives. However, despite the major differences of the characters (Alice is biracial with a supportive Jewish Mom and not so supportive husband, and Daphne has a hovering Mom who only sees her for her size, but her husband loves her for herself) I had a hard time keeping them straight, they really didn't seem very different. They meet when they enroll in a reality show type documentary that promises to help them lose weight. The book loses its charm for me after this. They discover they are being deliberately humiliated to see how much abuse women will take to lose weight, and plot an escape from the facility. In addition to the ridiculous plot, the dialog is leaden. The book certainly touches on interesting topics in how our society views overweight women, but it seriously missteps by often implying that facial beauty makes up for being overweight!
cindyann62's review against another edition
4.0
ARC thanks to NetGalley!!
I enjoyed this book quite a lot, actually. I would have liked to know more about the effects their movie had on other women. I especially appreciated the individual ways each woman accepted her body. It wasn't a cut/dry 'you must lose weight to love your body' OR a 'you must love your body where it is right now'. We all have our own thresholds of what is acceptable for us. That doesn't mean we get to push those judgments on to others. I also enjoyed the way the women came to support each other and even the reasons behind some of the family dynamics. I'm super glad that this wasn't a book where they all went in fat, boom! did the thing, then came out skinny and all of their problems were solved. Thanks for giving a fairly well rounded story!
I enjoyed this book quite a lot, actually. I would have liked to know more about the effects their movie had on other women. I especially appreciated the individual ways each woman accepted her body. It wasn't a cut/dry 'you must lose weight to love your body' OR a 'you must love your body where it is right now'. We all have our own thresholds of what is acceptable for us. That doesn't mean we get to push those judgments on to others. I also enjoyed the way the women came to support each other and even the reasons behind some of the family dynamics. I'm super glad that this wasn't a book where they all went in fat, boom! did the thing, then came out skinny and all of their problems were solved. Thanks for giving a fairly well rounded story!
stevielynne's review against another edition
3.0
This book was slow to start and kind of hard to get through. The story was very good and the characters were well developed. I just wish there was a little less exposition.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
alittlebrittoffun's review against another edition
2.0
I feel this had an interesting premise and started off well enough but it sort of hit a wall and then unraveled. The core of the story they wanted to tell was valid and important but I think the execution was a bit lacking.
thereadingraccoon's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers.
Waisted is a women’s fiction examination of the American weight loss culture and how it affects two women living outside of Boston.
Although both Alice and Daphne are smart, successful and surrounded by supportive family they struggle with how they see themselves. They both focus too much on the voices of censure and criticism they hear in their heads and feel uncomfortable in their own bodies. For Alice, it’s the voice of her urbane handsome husband and for Daphne it’s her perfectionist mother. Although the lengths the Biggest Loser style documentary they are tricked into goes to extremes (and sometimes painfully comical) to get them thin this isn’t a chick-lit style hilarious rom com. Each character has to examine themselves, their families members and their own culture to find balance. I think most American women can identify with their struggle.
I appreciated that Alice’s husband wasn’t the stereotypical DIVORCE THIS MAN bad guy but a person struggling with his own role in their marriage and that she also played a part in their dynamic and wasn’t just the victim. Daphne had to learn to channel her passions in meaningful ways instead of focusing on her weight and to also create boundaries with her mother.
This did get a little too public service(y) throughout the plot to enjoy completely but it is definitely relatable and readers will appreciate the diversity of characters.
I give Waisted 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).
Waisted is a women’s fiction examination of the American weight loss culture and how it affects two women living outside of Boston.
Although both Alice and Daphne are smart, successful and surrounded by supportive family they struggle with how they see themselves. They both focus too much on the voices of censure and criticism they hear in their heads and feel uncomfortable in their own bodies. For Alice, it’s the voice of her urbane handsome husband and for Daphne it’s her perfectionist mother. Although the lengths the Biggest Loser style documentary they are tricked into goes to extremes (and sometimes painfully comical) to get them thin this isn’t a chick-lit style hilarious rom com. Each character has to examine themselves, their families members and their own culture to find balance. I think most American women can identify with their struggle.
I appreciated that Alice’s husband wasn’t the stereotypical DIVORCE THIS MAN bad guy but a person struggling with his own role in their marriage and that she also played a part in their dynamic and wasn’t just the victim. Daphne had to learn to channel her passions in meaningful ways instead of focusing on her weight and to also create boundaries with her mother.
This did get a little too public service(y) throughout the plot to enjoy completely but it is definitely relatable and readers will appreciate the diversity of characters.
I give Waisted 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).
suspensethrill's review against another edition
3.0
Keeping this one short and sweet, because I think I was not the right reader for this book. It wasn't a bad read, as I gave it 3 stars, but I found myself putting this one down and picking it back up over a span of weeks due to my not being able to engage with the plot or the characters. Will definitely give this author another chance in the future!
*Thank you Atria Books for my review copy.
booknerdnative's review against another edition
2.0
I'm keeping this review brief, because I simply think I was not the target audience for this book. I just found the female lead to be a bit bland and frustrating, and I had a hard time feeling motivated to pick this story back up after I'd put It down. This story I'm sure is one that many people will want and need to hear, so I don't want to discourage anyone from picking it up.
elna17a9a's review against another edition
2.0
Received via NetGalley for review.
I wanted to like this - I was expecting a sharp satire like Libba Bray's Beauty Queens, but instead got this self-serious novel that wasn't sure if it wanted to be a parody or not, about race or weight or society or not.
In broad strokes, the characters are well-developed, and Meyers does a great job really putting you in Alice and Daphne's heads and seeing the loathing and self-destructive behaviors they put themselves through daily. Immediately, I felt for these women and how unhappy they were. Though they were surrounded by loving husbands and family (more on this a little later...), they couldn't move past how trapped they felt, and needed extreme measures to break out.
What they went through in the Waisted mansion was truly horrible and abusive, no question, and nobody deserves that, even if they "signed up for it." But Meyers brings up a huge issue and then leaves it unresolved, teasing the reader. Alice and Daphne went through this so they could get thin; they got thin. They learned self-control and appreciation. Does that mean it worked, even though the methods were terrible?
If Meyers had really wanted to discuss society and weight and women's self-worth, she would not have left such an important question (however unintentional) examined. She even has a reporter ask the women this question, only for them to brush it off! While some of the women gained the weight back (interestingly enough, special mention is made of the two women who still live with their parents gaining back even more than they had lost), Alice and Daphne remain "thin," but in a way that still leaves them unhappy. They use the extreme self-control they learned in the "fat mansion" to constantly watch what they eat, and both women use their new sense of self to push back against their mothers and the agenda they've been pushing.
With all this, my issues with the novel can be broken down into two main categories: 1) Meyers spends too much time thinking about race issues and multiculturalism. This is as big an issue as weight and women's self-image, and trying to combine the two results in an unnecessarily novel that slows down every few pages to discuss something serious. While I am mixed-race, I am not black, and neither is Meyers. It felt intensely strange to read a white women talking about Alice's beautiful skin and eyes and ability to pass for anything she wanted, while having absolutely no experience with anything she describes.
I understand wanting to increase and promote diversity in novels, so that they reflect the real world, but there is absolutely no reason for Alice to have a Jewish mother, and Southern Catholic grandparents, AND be married to a non-american, AND have a lesbian sister who, of course, is married to a black woman. AND for Daphne to be similarly multi-cultural AND for the "fat mansion" to make sure at least one women of very race is represented (AND for Alice to take specific notice of it!)... it all feels too much, and like Meyers tried too hard.
And 2) I had no idea how fat any of these women actually were. Maybe this was an intentional choice - many women feel as though they are fatter than they are, and no amount of love can convince them otherwise. But if you're going to write a novel about weight loss, specifically, you cannot ignore actual data. Alice's mother has no problem at all with her weight, giving me the impression that, while she's fat, she's probably not obese. But is she smaller than Daphne (besides the fact that she's taller)? And Daphne doesn't see herself as obese, and clearly neither does her husband, but she's very short, and one of her final weights mentioned (139) still seems like a lot. And how does Hania compare to them? Despite her amazing beauty, which Meyers never fails to mention, how tall is she? She apparently looks amazing after the "fat mansion," but she was never as fat as Alice and Daphne to begin with. And then she gains it all back! I'm sure all these women are lovely, but I couldn't picture them consistently, and this hurt my immersion.
I understand what Meyers was going for, and if she had trimmed down a lot of the "big issues" and discussions that they women had amongst themselves (and maybe some of the characters... there are a lot of people to keep track of!), she might have almost had it.
I wanted to like this - I was expecting a sharp satire like Libba Bray's Beauty Queens, but instead got this self-serious novel that wasn't sure if it wanted to be a parody or not, about race or weight or society or not.
In broad strokes, the characters are well-developed, and Meyers does a great job really putting you in Alice and Daphne's heads and seeing the loathing and self-destructive behaviors they put themselves through daily. Immediately, I felt for these women and how unhappy they were. Though they were surrounded by loving husbands and family (more on this a little later...), they couldn't move past how trapped they felt, and needed extreme measures to break out.
What they went through in the Waisted mansion was truly horrible and abusive, no question, and nobody deserves that, even if they "signed up for it." But Meyers brings up a huge issue and then leaves it unresolved, teasing the reader. Alice and Daphne went through this so they could get thin; they got thin. They learned self-control and appreciation. Does that mean it worked, even though the methods were terrible?
If Meyers had really wanted to discuss society and weight and women's self-worth, she would not have left such an important question (however unintentional) examined. She even has a reporter ask the women this question, only for them to brush it off! While some of the women gained the weight back (interestingly enough, special mention is made of the two women who still live with their parents gaining back even more than they had lost), Alice and Daphne remain "thin," but in a way that still leaves them unhappy. They use the extreme self-control they learned in the "fat mansion" to constantly watch what they eat, and both women use their new sense of self to push back against their mothers and the agenda they've been pushing.
With all this, my issues with the novel can be broken down into two main categories: 1) Meyers spends too much time thinking about race issues and multiculturalism. This is as big an issue as weight and women's self-image, and trying to combine the two results in an unnecessarily novel that slows down every few pages to discuss something serious. While I am mixed-race, I am not black, and neither is Meyers. It felt intensely strange to read a white women talking about Alice's beautiful skin and eyes and ability to pass for anything she wanted, while having absolutely no experience with anything she describes.
I understand wanting to increase and promote diversity in novels, so that they reflect the real world, but there is absolutely no reason for Alice to have a Jewish mother, and Southern Catholic grandparents, AND be married to a non-american, AND have a lesbian sister who, of course, is married to a black woman. AND for Daphne to be similarly multi-cultural AND for the "fat mansion" to make sure at least one women of very race is represented (AND for Alice to take specific notice of it!)... it all feels too much, and like Meyers tried too hard.
And 2) I had no idea how fat any of these women actually were. Maybe this was an intentional choice - many women feel as though they are fatter than they are, and no amount of love can convince them otherwise. But if you're going to write a novel about weight loss, specifically, you cannot ignore actual data. Alice's mother has no problem at all with her weight, giving me the impression that, while she's fat, she's probably not obese. But is she smaller than Daphne (besides the fact that she's taller)? And Daphne doesn't see herself as obese, and clearly neither does her husband, but she's very short, and one of her final weights mentioned (139) still seems like a lot. And how does Hania compare to them? Despite her amazing beauty, which Meyers never fails to mention, how tall is she? She apparently looks amazing after the "fat mansion," but she was never as fat as Alice and Daphne to begin with. And then she gains it all back! I'm sure all these women are lovely, but I couldn't picture them consistently, and this hurt my immersion.
I understand what Meyers was going for, and if she had trimmed down a lot of the "big issues" and discussions that they women had amongst themselves (and maybe some of the characters... there are a lot of people to keep track of!), she might have almost had it.
crystallyn's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. What a range of feeling went through me as I read this novel! I imagine that this is probably typical for any woman reading the book--how could one not feel at times uncomfortable, enraged, motivated, and inspired by the characters in Waisted?. To me, that's a sign of a fantastic read, when the author can make you feel up and down that on the spectrum of human emotions and you ruminate (pun not intended but oddly appropriate!) about the novel long after you read that last word.
Daphne and Alice are deeply unsatisfied with their bodies, and in an effort to find peace with themselves, end up enrolling in a weight loss documentary program that turns out to be a hardcore reality fat camp in disguise. The trainers and administrators of the program are the ultimate fat shamers, tearing the women down to their most vulnerable selves, taking the reader right there with them because it's not hard to imagine what those characters might be feeling. But when the women band together and decide to take matters into their own hands, that's the real feel-good heart of the novel, and that reward is sweeter than any sugary treat.
Thanks, Randy Susan Meyers, for the riveting, rollicking, rollercoaster you give us in Waisted.
And thanks Atria and Netgalley for the early read!
Daphne and Alice are deeply unsatisfied with their bodies, and in an effort to find peace with themselves, end up enrolling in a weight loss documentary program that turns out to be a hardcore reality fat camp in disguise. The trainers and administrators of the program are the ultimate fat shamers, tearing the women down to their most vulnerable selves, taking the reader right there with them because it's not hard to imagine what those characters might be feeling. But when the women band together and decide to take matters into their own hands, that's the real feel-good heart of the novel, and that reward is sweeter than any sugary treat.
Thanks, Randy Susan Meyers, for the riveting, rollicking, rollercoaster you give us in Waisted.
And thanks Atria and Netgalley for the early read!