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kaia8523's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
What are the downsides to being Charlie? His best (only?) friend is a skinny, ADD Turk obsessed with the Rat Pack, he's 5'10" and weighs 235 (and no, he's not on the football team), and his mother disappears every so often. That's not enough? He's just spent the summer between junior and senior year at a fat camp, a very cute girl has moved in across the street, and he's sharing a locker with the class pariah.
As he goes through the first semester of his senior year he starts to come out of his shell a little, despite things going wrong - very wrong - at home. There's a caring teacher but, in true teen fashion, Charlie doesn't really turn to him for help. His food issues will resonate with any teen dealing with weight problems.
The writing brings Charlie to life is a way that makes him feel real - usually this combination of "downsides" is too much, as though the author is just throwing things in for effect. Here, that's not quite the case. Charlie's love of photography, his crush on (and near inability to speak to) Charlotte, his problems at home, etc. all made sense and don't have that kitchen sink feeling.
ARC provided by publisher.
As he goes through the first semester of his senior year he starts to come out of his shell a little, despite things going wrong - very wrong - at home. There's a caring teacher but, in true teen fashion, Charlie doesn't really turn to him for help. His food issues will resonate with any teen dealing with weight problems.
The writing brings Charlie to life is a way that makes him feel real - usually this combination of "downsides" is too much, as though the author is just throwing things in for effect. Here, that's not quite the case. Charlie's love of photography, his crush on (and near inability to speak to) Charlotte, his problems at home, etc. all made sense and don't have that kitchen sink feeling.
ARC provided by publisher.
catladyreba's review against another edition
3.0
I had a tough time with this at first. I didn't really like Charlie at all, and I took no small umbrage about how Charlie described and felt about fat camp, and the kids who went there. Fat girl problems, I get a little defensive about my larger peoples. Regardless, I pushed on, and eventually I got there. The end of this book was so strong and moving, it pulled me through, and I was able to appreciate Charlie, and what he was struggling with, and his growth throughout the book. (Side note, I added this to my "to be read" pile in 2012 and finally got around to it, I am inordinately proud of this fact.)
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
2.0
1.5.
Charlie's been the fat boy forever but when he goes to fat camp for the summer and comes home having lost weight, he wants to go after Charlotte, the new girl who he thought he had no chance with before. In addition to that stress is the stress of mom who is far from being sane. She and Charlie's father are on again and off again and now they're off again and she's flying off the deep end.
I didn't buy the voice in this story, and it read very young for me. Charlie didn't sound like an 18 year old but more like a 12 year old, and I felt that many of the story elements themselves read much younger than YA, too. It was much more juvenile than I expected but because of some of the language and some of the other situations, this isn't a book I'd give to a middle grade reader.
I have a hard time with books that tackle weight issues, but I found this one particularly sticky because it's never handled head on. But when it does emerge, the way it's brought up doesn't sit right. First, Charlie admits to wanting to lose weight for Charlotte, not himself. And while that in and of itself isn't a problem, I found those moments when he chose to "comfort eat" false and at times a little cringe-worthy.
To be honest, I was bored with the plot most of the way because little happens. Even when we get to emotionally strong moments, I found myself not really caring. The ending really threw me though, since it was a straight paragraph of Message.
I wanted to like this one, and I think had it been written at the middle grade level, I would have. The male voices didn't sound like high school seniors (and if Charlie's friend used the word "chickie" one more time to refer to a female...) and because of the lack of depth in exploring some pretty tough topics, I was left underwhelmed.
Charlie's been the fat boy forever but when he goes to fat camp for the summer and comes home having lost weight, he wants to go after Charlotte, the new girl who he thought he had no chance with before. In addition to that stress is the stress of mom who is far from being sane. She and Charlie's father are on again and off again and now they're off again and she's flying off the deep end.
I didn't buy the voice in this story, and it read very young for me. Charlie didn't sound like an 18 year old but more like a 12 year old, and I felt that many of the story elements themselves read much younger than YA, too. It was much more juvenile than I expected but because of some of the language and some of the other situations, this isn't a book I'd give to a middle grade reader.
I have a hard time with books that tackle weight issues, but I found this one particularly sticky because it's never handled head on. But when it does emerge, the way it's brought up doesn't sit right. First, Charlie admits to wanting to lose weight for Charlotte, not himself. And while that in and of itself isn't a problem, I found those moments when he chose to "comfort eat" false and at times a little cringe-worthy.
Spoiler
As someone who has struggled my entire life with my weight, books that tackle this issue bother me for a number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that we rarely, if ever, see a teen character who is overweight being okay with themselves -- I can think of a single instance. And I get why that is, but I don't like when the character suggests they want to change because of a romantic interest. It's not true; it's only one element of a truth. What was particularly bothersome about this instance was that Charlie, who is obviously struggling with self-esteem issues stemming from body image problems, chooses to pick on someone else to comfort himself. Then he wants reader sympathy for his own weight struggle when he hasn't earned that sympathy in the least. I also just found the way he talked about his weight frustrating. When he admits to his father near the end of the book that he "throws up his food," I was further put off by the issue being here at all. It felt thrown in rather than genuinely explored. Maybe, though, what bothered me most about the weight issue not being tackled thoroughly came at the very end, when Charlie equates having problems in life with being fat. Literally, "I see how bottling everything up and stuffing it down can weigh you down" is one of the final lines and belittles the actual problem and makes it into a metaphor. So the reader, who may or may not be bringing their own experiences to the book, walks away actually feeling kind of bad about themselves because they've been packing away emotional problems they don't want to deal with and that's why they're fat? I know that's not what's intended, but that's what it felt like, and it left me uncomfortable.To be honest, I was bored with the plot most of the way because little happens. Even when we get to emotionally strong moments, I found myself not really caring.
Spoiler
I kind hoped Charlie's mom would die since that might have brought more feelings out of me. That she lived disappointed me quite a bit.I wanted to like this one, and I think had it been written at the middle grade level, I would have. The male voices didn't sound like high school seniors (and if Charlie's friend used the word "chickie" one more time to refer to a female...) and because of the lack of depth in exploring some pretty tough topics, I was left underwhelmed.
andiabcs's review against another edition
3.0
The Downside of Charlie was a book that fell into my lap to read and review. I had never heard of it until a request to read it came in. Reading the description I was quick to say yes. Sounded like a solid concept by a debut author. And I must say although it was slow at times I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I got the request.
The Downside of Being Charlie is the story of well, Charlie, a high school senior that has been anything but poplar this whole life. His best friend thinks he is the second coming of the rat pack, he was over weight, and just never fit in. Now after ‘fat camp’ Charlie is 30 pounds lighter and hopes to have a good senior year. But as the title says, there is a downside to be Charlie. Things just never really seem to go his way. His mother runs away for months at a time, his father is always busy working and he has to share his locker with the nerdiest girl in school. The only bright spot for Charlie is in the form of the new girl Charlotte. But even when Charlotte starts to show interest Charlie can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop.
One of the things I really liked about this book was Charlie himself. Here he was this poor kid that got the short end of the stick every time. His best friend was the only person he could count on and the great thing about Charlie was that he did. He leaned on Ahmed and told him how he was feeling about things. What Charlie didn’t have was strong parental units. This mother was mentally ill and would walk out on the family more often then not and his dad was never really home. It kind of made me sad that Charlie was all alone. Because of this I wasn’t surprised at all by his extremely low self-esteem. He didn’t have many people that were there to show him he was worth it. It was really sad. But like always Charlie persevered and figured out who he was and who to rely on.
With that said there was a couple of things I didn’t like. First I wasn’t a fan of Charlotte at all. I thought she played games and strung Charlie along. I was never convinced that she really liked him. He was there to pass time for her when she wasn’t with the ‘cool people’. I just found her phony and annoying. I also didn’t like the eating disorder aspect. It felt contrived and it was never dealt with. Eating disorders are very serious and I feel like if you are going to go there, then you need to deliver a solution. You can’t just leave something like that hanging.
With that said The Downside of Being Charlie was a good book with a message of self discovery. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I would say to definitely give it a shot.
The Downside of Being Charlie is the story of well, Charlie, a high school senior that has been anything but poplar this whole life. His best friend thinks he is the second coming of the rat pack, he was over weight, and just never fit in. Now after ‘fat camp’ Charlie is 30 pounds lighter and hopes to have a good senior year. But as the title says, there is a downside to be Charlie. Things just never really seem to go his way. His mother runs away for months at a time, his father is always busy working and he has to share his locker with the nerdiest girl in school. The only bright spot for Charlie is in the form of the new girl Charlotte. But even when Charlotte starts to show interest Charlie can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop.
One of the things I really liked about this book was Charlie himself. Here he was this poor kid that got the short end of the stick every time. His best friend was the only person he could count on and the great thing about Charlie was that he did. He leaned on Ahmed and told him how he was feeling about things. What Charlie didn’t have was strong parental units. This mother was mentally ill and would walk out on the family more often then not and his dad was never really home. It kind of made me sad that Charlie was all alone. Because of this I wasn’t surprised at all by his extremely low self-esteem. He didn’t have many people that were there to show him he was worth it. It was really sad. But like always Charlie persevered and figured out who he was and who to rely on.
With that said there was a couple of things I didn’t like. First I wasn’t a fan of Charlotte at all. I thought she played games and strung Charlie along. I was never convinced that she really liked him. He was there to pass time for her when she wasn’t with the ‘cool people’. I just found her phony and annoying. I also didn’t like the eating disorder aspect. It felt contrived and it was never dealt with. Eating disorders are very serious and I feel like if you are going to go there, then you need to deliver a solution. You can’t just leave something like that hanging.
With that said The Downside of Being Charlie was a good book with a message of self discovery. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I would say to definitely give it a shot.
ironi's review
3.0
Gosh, I haven't read some realistic ya for ages. I forgot how I'm fond of this genre, despite everything.
I struggled with giving this book a rating. I'll start by saying it's a very average book and that's my rating. It's another ya, there are bullies, a crush, an odd best friend, art, family issues, the whole deal.
That's okay. Not every book needs to be super original and I did have a nice time reading this, even if it wasn't particularly beaconing.
There were plenty of good things about this book. As someone who's overweight, in a way, that's one of my worst nightmares. I've grown to understand losing weight doesn't equal a healthy self esteem, that you need to work separately on them. I felt like Charlie's struggle was reasonably realistic, even if he was kind of passive about it.
I also liked how it just worked. It's a book build that works. I was happy by the end. Everything was wrapped up nicely, everything was happy by the end. That's why ya is so great. I suppose I'm slowly outgrowing this.
I hated how the dialogues were unrealistic, dammit, why is it hard to write teenagers that speak like normal people. So unbelievable. Chickies? Who says that? And, as usual, I hated how women are shown here and it's ridiculous as the author is a woman.
what I'm taking with me
• Maybe all my life problems will also be magically solved in 15 pages.
• Charlie will always be the guy from Perks of Being a Wallflower.
• Apparently I don't really like ya anymore.
I struggled with giving this book a rating. I'll start by saying it's a very average book and that's my rating. It's another ya, there are bullies, a crush, an odd best friend, art, family issues, the whole deal.
That's okay. Not every book needs to be super original and I did have a nice time reading this, even if it wasn't particularly beaconing.
There were plenty of good things about this book. As someone who's overweight, in a way, that's one of my worst nightmares. I've grown to understand losing weight doesn't equal a healthy self esteem, that you need to work separately on them. I felt like Charlie's struggle was reasonably realistic, even if he was kind of passive about it.
I also liked how it just worked. It's a book build that works. I was happy by the end. Everything was wrapped up nicely, everything was happy by the end. That's why ya is so great. I suppose I'm slowly outgrowing this.
I hated how the dialogues were unrealistic, dammit, why is it hard to write teenagers that speak like normal people. So unbelievable. Chickies? Who says that? And, as usual, I hated how women are shown here and it's ridiculous as the author is a woman.
what I'm taking with me
• Maybe all my life problems will also be magically solved in 15 pages.
• Charlie will always be the guy from Perks of Being a Wallflower.
• Apparently I don't really like ya anymore.
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