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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Not really into books that focus on a female protagonist who pushes the idea that are fat-girls only there for guys to have sex with in secret with no chance at public attention or affection simply because they're fat. Not really into this book at all.
I'll admit, the title threw me off. I expected this book to be shallow, but it definitely wasn't. I liked how honest and realistic it was, and a lot of important issues were handled well. I'd recommend this to most teen girls.
I loved this book, it was a fantastic read. It was nice to read about a plus size girl (like me) for once, who was having body/image issues and was dealing with the teasing and bullying that goes along with that in a harsh high school enviroment. I read this book while I was in high school, and it was very one of my absolute favorite books and still is.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I first read this when I was in high school, and I have just finished re-reading this as an adult because I found out there was a sequel. As I remember, it is a very heartfelt novel about a girl trying to develop a good relationship with her body in spite of the fatphobic world she lives in. I remember liking the ending then and I still appreciated it in my rereading. I somehow forgot all of the incidents of self-harm in the book. Those were very alarming and not for the faint of heart. Even so, it creates an important contrast between
I listened to the 15th anniversary version of the audiobook, and I was surprised by the "text edits" that took place. I don't really feel like those helped the narrative. Rather than making the book feel more current, it actually drew more attention to the anachronisms. Specifically, you really can't make a novel that takes place in high school during the 2010s without making some mention of social media. Along those lines, I would imagine that a teenager in the 2010s would at least be aware of the fat positivity/body positivity movements on social media. I understand why the author didn't explore this theme, since that would've meant rewriting the whole book, but if that's the case, it would've been better to simply leave the narrative in the early aughts.
A problem that I had with the book is that BIPOC characters seem pretty peripheral to the protagonist's life, despite the fact that she is living in New York City. The author does that annoying thing where she only mentions a character's race or skin color if they are nonwhite. I was particularly taken aback when the protagonist discussed wanting to take Chinese because she could curse people out and no one outside of chinatown would know what she was saying. That felt rather fetishizing to me. I'm curious to see if that dynamic improves in the second book.
I listened to the 15th anniversary version of the audiobook, and I was surprised by the "text edits" that took place. I don't really feel like those helped the narrative. Rather than making the book feel more current, it actually drew more attention to the anachronisms. Specifically, you really can't make a novel that takes place in high school during the 2010s without making some mention of social media. Along those lines, I would imagine that a teenager in the 2010s would at least be aware of the fat positivity/body positivity movements on social media. I understand why the author didn't explore this theme, since that would've meant rewriting the whole book, but if that's the case, it would've been better to simply leave the narrative in the early aughts.
A problem that I had with the book is that BIPOC characters seem pretty peripheral to the protagonist's life, despite the fact that she is living in New York City. The author does that annoying thing where she only mentions a character's race or skin color if they are nonwhite. I was particularly taken aback when the protagonist discussed wanting to take Chinese because she could curse people out and no one outside of chinatown would know what she was saying. That felt rather fetishizing to me. I'm curious to see if that dynamic improves in the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content
Minor: Genocide, Vomit
This book is everything I love about coming of age stories. Our main character starts off as a flawed individual, but grows as a person by the end of the story. Virginia is the heroine that we sympathize with even when she is at her darkest moments in the novel. What I loved the most about this book is that Virginia ends up doing so much, and yet does it all in her own agency.
I enjoyed reading this book so much that I finished it in one sitting. Review to follow later when I got home from internship. :)
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).
I've seen girls reading this for years, and have always chuckled at the title. It was on the list for the bullying unit we taught this year, and one of my colleagues said it was her favorite of the group, so I figured I'd better read it.
First, the bad: Virginia lives in a world of privilege. Penthouse in NYC and second home in Connecticut. Private school, shopping sprees, and black tie dinners. Wealthy, white, and east coast. Why do I care? Because I teach in a school that is poor, half Latino, and rural west coast. Obviously, good books don't need to reflect the reader's reality (hello, fantasy, sci fi and murder mysteries!), but the setting will make the book more challenging for my struggling readers who won't have a lot of background knowledge about her world, and who possibly won't have a lot of sympathy for her first world problems.
Also, as many others mentioned, Virginia is pathetic and full of self loathing at the beginning of the book, and a proudly independent, confident young woman by the end. It's all a little too perfect.
Those qualities keep it to 4 stars, but there is much more to admire and enjoy. Virginia's transformation only appears too ideal upon reflection; as you read the book, it feels earned. Her humor and voice are strong. As a teacher, I love the quickly sketched personalities of her teachers. Her self hatred and self harm are painfully believable.
Plus, the title rocks.
First, the bad: Virginia lives in a world of privilege. Penthouse in NYC and second home in Connecticut. Private school, shopping sprees, and black tie dinners. Wealthy, white, and east coast. Why do I care? Because I teach in a school that is poor, half Latino, and rural west coast. Obviously, good books don't need to reflect the reader's reality (hello, fantasy, sci fi and murder mysteries!), but the setting will make the book more challenging for my struggling readers who won't have a lot of background knowledge about her world, and who possibly won't have a lot of sympathy for her first world problems.
Also, as many others mentioned, Virginia is pathetic and full of self loathing at the beginning of the book, and a proudly independent, confident young woman by the end. It's all a little too perfect.
Those qualities keep it to 4 stars, but there is much more to admire and enjoy. Virginia's transformation only appears too ideal upon reflection; as you read the book, it feels earned. Her humor and voice are strong. As a teacher, I love the quickly sketched personalities of her teachers. Her self hatred and self harm are painfully believable.
Plus, the title rocks.