Search This Blog








2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (4)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (2)
- Canada (2)
- England (4)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- South Korea (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Saturday, January 18, 2014
"Weighty" Novel Entertaining, Relatable
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Being a plus-sized teen is no fun. No fun at all. Just ask 16-year-old Ann Galardi. Her weight makes it tough to fit into the cute fashions everyone else is wearing, let alone a swimsuit that doesn't make her look like a whale. And forget about attracting a hot guy. They don't even glance her way. It doesn't help that Ann lives with her petite, perfectly-disciplined stepmother. Nope, that just makes everything worse.
When her favorite aunt asks Ann to be a bridesmaid at her upcoming wedding, Ann panics. The thought of trying to squeeze her size 17 body into some hideous gown is enough to make her break out in hives. There's only one solution: get rid of the excess pounds. Ann's only got 10 weeks to melt off 45 of them, so she needs a diet that's fast, easy and guaranteed to work. When she sees an infomercial for a miracle weight loss plan, Ann's sold. It's a spendy little diet, but she's committed. Vowing to tell no one what she's doing, Ann starts the program. As she struggles to stick with it, she makes some huge discoveries—not just about herself, but also about friendship, acceptance and her not-as-perfect-as-she-seems stepmom. Armed with this new knowledge, can Ann reach her goal in time? What if she can't do it? What if she can?
So, I've noticed a lot of "weighty" fiction on the market lately. It's an interesting issue (genre?), one that's increasingly relevant, even in the teen world. These books appeal to me, especially when they're all about learning to accept yourself no matter what size you are (which most of them are). I have no problem empathizing with a heroine like Ann—anyone who's ever been swimsuit shopping or gotten stuck in a too-small garment in a too-public dressing room can feel her pain. And yet, I felt like she didn't struggle quite enough to learn her lesson about self-acceptance. Does that sound heartless? Probably, but I felt like her attitude shifted too suddenly to feel realistic. Other than that, I enjoyed 45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. Barson. It's not going to make my favorites list, but the novel's entertaining, funny, relatable and sends an important message that women of all ages need to hear.
(Readalikes: Um, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (no F-bomb), depictions of underage drinking/partying, and sexual innuendo
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)




Reading
Murder Off the Books by Tamara Berry

Listening
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country in the World by Sarah Smarsh



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
61. The Book Spy2 hours ago
-
-
Now You See Me byDK Hood3 hours ago
-
Pelican Point4 hours ago
-
-
Time Travel Thursday7 hours ago
-
-
#ThrowbackThursday. Swords of Ice7 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
A Review of The Gift12 hours ago
-
The Bone Shard War13 hours ago
-
-
-
Review: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney23 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
My Road Trip with Thor1 day ago
-
-
Warrior Girl Unearthed2 days ago
-
Bookshelf Bounty4 days ago
-
I have been reading...5 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Book Blogger Hop #61 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Books Read in 20232 months ago
-
-
Nonfiction November 2022: New to My TBR3 months ago
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?5 months ago
-
-
HEARTS OF BRIARWALL by Krista Jensen7 months ago
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ▼ 2014 (133)