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Thursday, December 09, 2021
Body-Positive YA Horror Novel Hilarious and Powerful
7:24 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Vivian Ellenshaw knows she's overweight. She also knows it doesn't matter. The teen is comfortable with who she is—a smart, funny, athletic soccer star—and with how she looks (even if her plus-size body bothers her mother and her new stepdad). Vee is not exactly thrilled, then, when her parents decide she needs to spend her winter break at a weight-loss camp. She's even less enthusiastic when she realizes who's going to be accompanying her on the van ride to Flagstaff: Allison DuMonde, her former BFF. Although the camp van driver is a hot college student, a definite plus, Vee is not happy about the situation, which seems to be getting worse by the second.
Things get sketchier the closer they get to Camp Featherlite. Not only is a severe storm warning in place for northern Arizona, but also the campers are forced to give up their phones and computers. Then, they're pushed to eat disgusting diet bars that are supposed to be a miracle cure for obesity and they're put into lockdown immediately upon arrival because someone got lost in the forest. Speaking of the woods, there's something out there and it is most certainly not a bear. When Vee realizes what it is—thin, athletic camper-zombies—she's horrified. Suddenly, fat camp survival has taken on a whole new meaning. Can Vee, Allison, and their motley crew of new friends take on a horde of skinny, slavering zombies, despite their weighty limitations? Chances of getting out of Camp Featherlite alive may be slim, but Vee knows she and her squad are much more—stronger, smarter, abler—than they seem. It will take all that and more to defeat the monsters that prey on them, both inside and outside of camp.
I've been looking forward to reading Eat Your Heart Out, the newest YA novel from local Arizona author Kelly deVos, ever since I heard about it. It's got a fun premise (with a hard-core message behind it) that just makes me laugh. The set-up is unique, the characters are likable, and the action is pretty much non-stop from the get-go. Although the book is gory and sad (in places), it's also surprisingly upbeat and funny. Most of all, it's an empowering, body-positive novel that smashes stereotypes and reminds us all that everyone is more than what their outward appearances might suggest. I could have done without the constant F-bombs blasting all over the place, but otherwise, I enjoyed this entertaining read and its many powerful messages.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of Starfish by Lisa Fipps [sans zombies])
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