A review by opinionhaver69
Clean by Juno Dawson

3.0

2.5 out of 5, aka: how many stars can i realistically dock from an otherwise genuinely exceptional novel for having its one fat girl be a chronic overeater whose body ‘seems to hold her back’ and makes the protagonist ‘sad for her’ (but not disgusted! magnanimous!) - these initial judgements are only ever reinforced, not challenged (there are even sections where comments about food made by ruby - the fat girl - are described as being uncomfortable because of how they might make an anorexic patient feel; there’s - perhaps rightly - never any acknowledgement of how the anorexic girl’s internalised fatphobia might make ruby feel, why isn’t this courtesy extended both ways????)

i’m not saying there aren’t fat people irl with food addictions, or that these people aren’t ~valid~ bc they might have negative relationships with their bodies, but having this be the only fat representation in your book is not unlike only writing gay characters with hiv/aids & a gloomy ending - it’s overdone and isolating and contributes to the pervasive social idea that marginalised people are inevitably bound to lead a miserable life without happiness or confidence in who they are, unless they change. from a writer who’s otherwise excellent about including diversity and positive minority representation, i found this to be really disappointing.