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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I was kinda bored while reading this book, partly because I read the sequel first so I kind of knew what was going to happen. But also because barely anything happened.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
I think this is a good YA novel about being confident, although expressing that confidence as teenage rebellion could have used more development. I also enjoy that it addresses the realization that life is never ideal or perfect but everything can still be okay.
I think this is the book that I re-read the most in my life. Re-reading it in 2020 and in my big age of 26, I still really love it. But now I can see more issues in this book, like how the book talk about eating disorder. I feel like the book looks down on it and doesn't really adress clearly that Virginia's mom has eating disorder, when I think it could do more by making people aware of what eating disorder actually is, the symptoms/behaviors, etc, and that even though these people have done terrible things to Virginia, they're actually also victims of this fatphobic society.
I see some reviews here saying that this book is sooo 2003, no one is fatphobic anymore in 2020. Hmmm... are you sure? Sadly I still see internalized fatphobia in this world, and all of us still have a lot to learn and unlearn about this. And also, sadly, rapist with privilege almost always getting away with it. I'm so so angry about it.
But now I can see the ending is kind of unbelievable, like, suddenly everything changes and runs smoothly so fast, when in real life changes takes time, especially with issues like deep self-hatred included with self-harm. I hope the sequel will address this (yes I haven't read it).
I see some reviews here saying that this book is sooo 2003, no one is fatphobic anymore in 2020. Hmmm... are you sure? Sadly I still see internalized fatphobia in this world, and all of us still have a lot to learn and unlearn about this. And also, sadly, rapist with privilege almost always getting away with it. I'm so so angry about it.
But now I can see the ending is kind of unbelievable, like, suddenly everything changes and runs smoothly so fast, when in real life changes takes time, especially with issues like deep self-hatred included with self-harm. I hope the sequel will address this (yes I haven't read it).
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Book Review
Title: The Earth, my butt and other big round things
Author: Carolyn Mackler
Genre: YA/Family/Contemporary
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to The Earth, my butt and other big round things was, we are introduced to Virginia Shreves as she explores her sexuality with Froggy Welsh the 4th. The layout and style of this novel immediately reminded me of the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series which I loved and since I got an e-arc of the long-awaited sequel I decided it was time to read this book. From the offset we can see the Virginia is self-conscious about her weight and when she and Froggy are making out she is constantly thinking about how she looks. I can’t tell yet whether she actually likes Froggy or whether he is just an easy option for Virginia. Despite her poor self-esteem and very absent family, Virginia does follow the Fat Girl’s code of conduct religiously, which states:
1. Any sexual activity is a secret. No public displays of affection. No air kisses blown across the cafeteria. No carefully folded notes passed in the hall. No riding the moped in public.
2. Don't discuss your weight with him. Let's face it. You both know it's there, so don't start bemoaning your body and pressure him into lying, i.e., "What are you talking about? You don't look fat at all."
3. Go further than skinny girls. Find ways to alert him to this, such as slutty comments peppered into the conversation. If you can't sell him on your body, you'd better overcompensate with sexual perks.
4. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever push the relationship thing. Everybody knows that guys hate discussing relationships, so make it easy on him. Same goes for dates to movies and school dances. Bottom line: Let him get the milk without having to buy the cow.
While I agree with the pressuring of relationship point, I really believe that Virginia is really selling herself short and she could find someone to be happy with if she just gave herself the chance, but she can’t because she is anxious about the way she looks.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, this book is actually reminding me more of Mean girls especially when we meet Brie Newhart, Brinna Livingston, and Briar Schwartz who take pride in picking on Virginia although not to her face. Virginia doesn’t even get any support at home, her sister is in the peace corps, her brother constantly comments on her weight, her dad’s idea of the perfect woman is a size 2 swimwear model and her mother used to be fat, so she should be supportive, but she is constantly taking Virginia to different doctors about her “nutrition”. While she is trying to classify her relationship with Froggy especially since they are becoming more intimate, Virginia sees Dr. Benjamin Love with her mother and she decides she wants to be slimmer. But I think she isn’t doing it for herself but for those around her to make herself fit in with everyone else.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Virginia starts to diet but not in a healthy way, she begins starving herself for almost a week and she is definitely feeling the side effects from it. However, because her parents seem so proud of her for doing it she continues even though it is having a very negative effect on her emotionally and physically. Virginia’s life seems to be getting better despite her dieting until her brother is accused of date raping a girl at a party and is suspended from school, throwing her whole life up into the air. Virginia doesn’t believe her brother would be capable of something like that but at the same time she has to admit he has changed a lot from the Byron she used to know.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Virginia can’t understand how her family is acting so normal despite what her brother has been accused of and finds herself no coping well with it. However, she does give up on temporarily on her diet and I applauded her for it. However, she is slipping into a depression that nobody sees or even tries to help her with because she has always been the invisible child. Her relationship with her brother is now non-existent and she feels she can’t voice how she feels to anyone and her wild imagination isn’t helping the situation.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Virginia gets the chance to visit her best friend in Seattle, but her parents won’t let her go. Her situation is made worse when Byron is allowed to go to the baseball game her dad was supposed to be taking her to and allowed to go to Paris on top of that. In her anger and depression, she begins harming herself although minor at first it seems to be escalating. However, she takes a lesson from her sister and stand sup to her parents especially her mother and eventually despite a lot of trying on her mother’s part is allowed to visit Shannon is Seattle. With Shannon she realises her she is accepted and not pressured into doing anything or being someone, she isn’t. This makes the reality of returning home even more bleak for Virginia, especially since she broke it off with Froggy she doesn’t have another person she can talk to.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Virginia is struggling with everything but with the help of people outside of her family she is truly coming into her own. However, the most beautiful scene is when she visits Annie Mills, the girl her brother date raped, and this girl helps Virginia in a way no one else has throughout the entire novel and she even finds the true meaning of empowerment. All these steps, the new attitude, clothes, piercings and hair dye finally make her parents realise that Virginia is her own person not a clone of her mother, but she hasn’t been able to make things up with her brother who is now making mean comments about her weight.
As we cross into the final section of the novel there was so much love for Virginia, she finally figures out what she wants and who she is and while her life isn’t perfect it is her life and she is content with that. My favourite scene by far was how she made up with Froggy and I can’t wait to jump into the sequel The Universe is Expanding and so am I because I am so in love with Mackler’s writing. Highly recommended.
Title: The Earth, my butt and other big round things
Author: Carolyn Mackler
Genre: YA/Family/Contemporary
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to The Earth, my butt and other big round things was, we are introduced to Virginia Shreves as she explores her sexuality with Froggy Welsh the 4th. The layout and style of this novel immediately reminded me of the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series which I loved and since I got an e-arc of the long-awaited sequel I decided it was time to read this book. From the offset we can see the Virginia is self-conscious about her weight and when she and Froggy are making out she is constantly thinking about how she looks. I can’t tell yet whether she actually likes Froggy or whether he is just an easy option for Virginia. Despite her poor self-esteem and very absent family, Virginia does follow the Fat Girl’s code of conduct religiously, which states:
1. Any sexual activity is a secret. No public displays of affection. No air kisses blown across the cafeteria. No carefully folded notes passed in the hall. No riding the moped in public.
2. Don't discuss your weight with him. Let's face it. You both know it's there, so don't start bemoaning your body and pressure him into lying, i.e., "What are you talking about? You don't look fat at all."
3. Go further than skinny girls. Find ways to alert him to this, such as slutty comments peppered into the conversation. If you can't sell him on your body, you'd better overcompensate with sexual perks.
4. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever push the relationship thing. Everybody knows that guys hate discussing relationships, so make it easy on him. Same goes for dates to movies and school dances. Bottom line: Let him get the milk without having to buy the cow.
While I agree with the pressuring of relationship point, I really believe that Virginia is really selling herself short and she could find someone to be happy with if she just gave herself the chance, but she can’t because she is anxious about the way she looks.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, this book is actually reminding me more of Mean girls especially when we meet Brie Newhart, Brinna Livingston, and Briar Schwartz who take pride in picking on Virginia although not to her face. Virginia doesn’t even get any support at home, her sister is in the peace corps, her brother constantly comments on her weight, her dad’s idea of the perfect woman is a size 2 swimwear model and her mother used to be fat, so she should be supportive, but she is constantly taking Virginia to different doctors about her “nutrition”. While she is trying to classify her relationship with Froggy especially since they are becoming more intimate, Virginia sees Dr. Benjamin Love with her mother and she decides she wants to be slimmer. But I think she isn’t doing it for herself but for those around her to make herself fit in with everyone else.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Virginia starts to diet but not in a healthy way, she begins starving herself for almost a week and she is definitely feeling the side effects from it. However, because her parents seem so proud of her for doing it she continues even though it is having a very negative effect on her emotionally and physically. Virginia’s life seems to be getting better despite her dieting until her brother is accused of date raping a girl at a party and is suspended from school, throwing her whole life up into the air. Virginia doesn’t believe her brother would be capable of something like that but at the same time she has to admit he has changed a lot from the Byron she used to know.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Virginia can’t understand how her family is acting so normal despite what her brother has been accused of and finds herself no coping well with it. However, she does give up on temporarily on her diet and I applauded her for it. However, she is slipping into a depression that nobody sees or even tries to help her with because she has always been the invisible child. Her relationship with her brother is now non-existent and she feels she can’t voice how she feels to anyone and her wild imagination isn’t helping the situation.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Virginia gets the chance to visit her best friend in Seattle, but her parents won’t let her go. Her situation is made worse when Byron is allowed to go to the baseball game her dad was supposed to be taking her to and allowed to go to Paris on top of that. In her anger and depression, she begins harming herself although minor at first it seems to be escalating. However, she takes a lesson from her sister and stand sup to her parents especially her mother and eventually despite a lot of trying on her mother’s part is allowed to visit Shannon is Seattle. With Shannon she realises her she is accepted and not pressured into doing anything or being someone, she isn’t. This makes the reality of returning home even more bleak for Virginia, especially since she broke it off with Froggy she doesn’t have another person she can talk to.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Virginia is struggling with everything but with the help of people outside of her family she is truly coming into her own. However, the most beautiful scene is when she visits Annie Mills, the girl her brother date raped, and this girl helps Virginia in a way no one else has throughout the entire novel and she even finds the true meaning of empowerment. All these steps, the new attitude, clothes, piercings and hair dye finally make her parents realise that Virginia is her own person not a clone of her mother, but she hasn’t been able to make things up with her brother who is now making mean comments about her weight.
As we cross into the final section of the novel there was so much love for Virginia, she finally figures out what she wants and who she is and while her life isn’t perfect it is her life and she is content with that. My favourite scene by far was how she made up with Froggy and I can’t wait to jump into the sequel The Universe is Expanding and so am I because I am so in love with Mackler’s writing. Highly recommended.
Virginia Shreves has a "larger-than-average" body and a medium-sized inferiority complex. Her mum is an exercise fiend, her dad whistles at skinny women, and her siblings are gorgeous, clever, and impossible to live up to. They're all people Virginia thinks the world of. In fact, Virginia thinks the world of everyone but herself. Then, a phone call changes everything... From Amazon UK
I was really surprised with the route The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things took. I've read a few books about being over weight now, and each there are similar themes - comfort eating, remarks from peers, pressure from family. This book has all those elements, plus more. The phone call mentioned in the blurb leads to a huge change for everyone in the family, and it's not directly anything to do with Virginia herself, but it effects her like everyone else.
Virginia is a big girl in an otherwise slim, beautiful, "perfect" family. Her parents adore their two older children, but Virginia feels like they're disappointed with her, the family's one flaw. I cannot tell you how mad Virginia's mother made me! An adolescent psychologist who deals with teen problems on a regular basis, she should know how to approach things with Virginia. But for wanting a perfect family, the slightest remark is belittling to Virginia. Her mother is a hypocrital cow, and I really disliked her.
'Mom has a hard time talking about my body. Her shrink side wants to reassure me that I'm fine the way I am, accept myself, all that self-esteem stuff. But her Mom side wants me to be thin and perfect, like the rest of the Shreves. The end result is she can barely say the word "fat" around me. She uses euphemisms such as "heavy" and "like I used to be."' (p45)
With her self-esteem pretty low anyway, this doesn't help. Nor does the words and actions of most other people she comes across. You can just feel her sadness pour through the pages.
'Not fat fat. More like chubby.
Enough so I'm picked last in gym for any activity has anything to do with running, climbing ropes, or propelling oneself over a horse. Enough so I've hears people refer to me as plump, as if being lickened to a vine-ripe tomato is some kind of compliment. Enough so family friends, upon comparing me to my skinny siblings, raise their eyebrows as high as McDonald's golden arches.' (p24)
'"Virginia Shreves," says Briar, crcking up. "That chubby girl."
"No way!" Brie shrieks. "I never knew they were related."
"Of course they are," says Briar. "It's not like Shreves is a common name."
I bite down hard on the insides of my cheeks. That chubby girl.
After a moment Brie says, "All I can say is, if I were that fat, I'd kill myself."' (p36)
'Dad piks a bit of cashew nut out of his teeth. "You've got a great face, Ginny. Think how prettier you could be if you lost twenty or thirty pounds."
I feel as if I've been punched in the stomach. I've always known Dad was absent on the day they handed out tact. And I've always known Dad was a fan of thin women. But he never said it so bluntly - that I'm not tha attractive the way I am.' (p83)
It's just really so sad, and how she deals with her feelings is just heart breaking. Then the phone call comes. I won't spoil the story, but it's the beginning of Virginia realising her family isn't as perfect as she's always thought, or as her Mom has tried to pretend. The pressure to please everyone else slowly lifts off her shoulders. With the help of a few brilliant people - Mrs Crowley, her best mate Shannon, Dr Love - Virginia's attitude changes. It's not about size, it's about being healthy and happy.
Watching Virginia along her journey is sometimes painful, but it's so amazing to see her come through the other side stronger! This is another book where the main character comes to a positive ending through her own doing, rather than with help from diets and make-up, or from guys. It's wonderful! More books like this please! This really is a great story! I really recommend it!
From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog
I was really surprised with the route The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things took. I've read a few books about being over weight now, and each there are similar themes - comfort eating, remarks from peers, pressure from family. This book has all those elements, plus more. The phone call mentioned in the blurb leads to a huge change for everyone in the family, and it's not directly anything to do with Virginia herself, but it effects her like everyone else.
Virginia is a big girl in an otherwise slim, beautiful, "perfect" family. Her parents adore their two older children, but Virginia feels like they're disappointed with her, the family's one flaw. I cannot tell you how mad Virginia's mother made me! An adolescent psychologist who deals with teen problems on a regular basis, she should know how to approach things with Virginia. But for wanting a perfect family, the slightest remark is belittling to Virginia. Her mother is a hypocrital cow, and I really disliked her.
'Mom has a hard time talking about my body. Her shrink side wants to reassure me that I'm fine the way I am, accept myself, all that self-esteem stuff. But her Mom side wants me to be thin and perfect, like the rest of the Shreves. The end result is she can barely say the word "fat" around me. She uses euphemisms such as "heavy" and "like I used to be."' (p45)
With her self-esteem pretty low anyway, this doesn't help. Nor does the words and actions of most other people she comes across. You can just feel her sadness pour through the pages.
'Not fat fat. More like chubby.
Enough so I'm picked last in gym for any activity has anything to do with running, climbing ropes, or propelling oneself over a horse. Enough so I've hears people refer to me as plump, as if being lickened to a vine-ripe tomato is some kind of compliment. Enough so family friends, upon comparing me to my skinny siblings, raise their eyebrows as high as McDonald's golden arches.' (p24)
'"Virginia Shreves," says Briar, crcking up. "That chubby girl."
"No way!" Brie shrieks. "I never knew they were related."
"Of course they are," says Briar. "It's not like Shreves is a common name."
I bite down hard on the insides of my cheeks. That chubby girl.
After a moment Brie says, "All I can say is, if I were that fat, I'd kill myself."' (p36)
'Dad piks a bit of cashew nut out of his teeth. "You've got a great face, Ginny. Think how prettier you could be if you lost twenty or thirty pounds."
I feel as if I've been punched in the stomach. I've always known Dad was absent on the day they handed out tact. And I've always known Dad was a fan of thin women. But he never said it so bluntly - that I'm not tha attractive the way I am.' (p83)
It's just really so sad, and how she deals with her feelings is just heart breaking. Then the phone call comes. I won't spoil the story, but it's the beginning of Virginia realising her family isn't as perfect as she's always thought, or as her Mom has tried to pretend. The pressure to please everyone else slowly lifts off her shoulders. With the help of a few brilliant people - Mrs Crowley, her best mate Shannon, Dr Love - Virginia's attitude changes. It's not about size, it's about being healthy and happy.
Watching Virginia along her journey is sometimes painful, but it's so amazing to see her come through the other side stronger! This is another book where the main character comes to a positive ending through her own doing, rather than with help from diets and make-up, or from guys. It's wonderful! More books like this please! This really is a great story! I really recommend it!
From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog
I enjoyed this book simply because it was entertaining. It made me laugh out loud at some parts, while also being somewhat thought provoking at others. Overall, a good time. (I listened to this on audiobook while at work. Highly recommend)
Although I really enjoyed reading this book, there are a few things about it that left me unsatisfied. Although I understand Virginia's older sister Anais was halfway across the world for a good cause, I wish I could've seen/heard more from her--I think she would've been a great catalyst for a lot of conversations. Conversations including Byron and Virginia's relationship, and how exactly Byron's scandal was absolved so quickly and why. There were so many moments of white privilege in this story (Virginia's easy access to flying across the country to see her best friend, her access to healthcare and the eventual kickboxing classes she takes, etc) that I wish were also touched on. Either way, I enjoyed this novel for it's hilarity, friends like Ms. Crowley, and for Virginia's courage.
A good story, but it offer mixed-messages on body image.