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A review by thereadinghobbit
The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler
5.0
When I got this book** I was so, so excited to be reading it, and it didn’t disappoint. The previous book, The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things, was a favorite of mine when I was a teenager, and honestly I still love it. Virginia is such a cool character who really learns how to become herself and do what she loves to do, not what her family wants her to do. To me it’s especially great because there are so few fat girls in YA literature who do not solve all their problems by losing weight, but decide to live their lives anyway even though the whole world seems against them sometimes. At fifteen it was an amazing role model to have and I wish that there were more of them.
I really love that Virginia gets another book develop as a person. Because the previous book always felt a little bit ‘unresolved’ to me. Her family never really got the chance to develop as people, but they do in The Universe! I especially liked how her parents (especially her mom) finally showed some actual character growth, and actually seemed to learn something new themselves this time. Especially concerning Byron and his ‘ordeal’.
Besides a lovely continuation of a wonderful story, it’s also just a really lovely book about (forbidden) romance, friendship, family and overcoming your own fears and prejudices. It’s a fast read, full of lovely details and I finished it within a day! The only thing that annoyed me was Mackler was ‘telling’ too much instead of showing, especially the background info, which was basically a summery of what happened int he previous book, spread throughout the first few chapters.
If you loved the previous book, you should definitely read this one too, and if you love contemporary YA you should definitely read both of them
I really love that Virginia gets another book develop as a person. Because the previous book always felt a little bit ‘unresolved’ to me. Her family never really got the chance to develop as people, but they do in The Universe! I especially liked how her parents (especially her mom) finally showed some actual character growth, and actually seemed to learn something new themselves this time. Especially concerning Byron and his ‘ordeal’.
Besides a lovely continuation of a wonderful story, it’s also just a really lovely book about (forbidden) romance, friendship, family and overcoming your own fears and prejudices. It’s a fast read, full of lovely details and I finished it within a day! The only thing that annoyed me was Mackler was ‘telling’ too much instead of showing, especially the background info, which was basically a summery of what happened int he previous book, spread throughout the first few chapters.
If you loved the previous book, you should definitely read this one too, and if you love contemporary YA you should definitely read both of them