Review: 45 Pounds

45 Pounds (More or Less)

Author: K. A. Barson
Pages: 272
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Publication Date: July 11, 2013
Read: June 30-July 2, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:

She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her Aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks, and wants Ann to be her bridesmaid.
So Ann makes up her mind: Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less) in 2 1/2 months.

Welcome to the world of infomercial diet plans, wedding dance lessons, embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—-and some surprises about her NOT-so-perfect mother.

And there’s one more thing. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin-—no matter how you add it up!

First Sentence: "I long for the roof to cave in at Keehn's department store."

Review:

Weight issues in YA are generally really poorly handled. In fact, I can only think of a couple of heroines who aren't very skinny. Considering what a big issue weight is in American society, it's rather startling how few books there are that take that perspective and deal with it in an open, feeling, non-shaming way, and the only book I can think of aside from 45 Pounds is The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, which isn't remotely our society. Though I know there are some others I haven't read, 45 Pounds is still a much-needed book that takes a heartbreaking look at insecurities, where they come from, and what to do about them.

K. A. Barson's debut novel has incredibly strong characterization. From page one, Ann's personality shines through. She's rather funny and intelligent, but, more than anything, she's a mound of insecurities and self-hatred. If, like me, you hated pretty much everything about yourself at some point in your life, you will feel for Ann; I ached and part of me was right back in that place. If you never went through that, I suspect it will be really hard to really comprehend how Ann could think that way about herself. From my own experiences, Ann's thought patterns are wholly accurate. They are also frustrating. She makes so many bad choices, but not for the sake of the plot, the sort of well meaning bad choices that are a part of growing up.

Ann really does have a problem with food, and Barson shows this very well. The root of Ann's dietary issues stem from her family. Any stressful situation sends her to the food, a response programmed into her from childhood, one she can't quit, though she wants to. Unhappy with the way she looks, Ann tries fad diet after fad diet, losing a few pounds and then falling off the wagon. These diets aren't sustainable, so she can never stick to them. I've seen this same issue with friends who try to follow this or that diet. They work, but they're so strict that they're not manageable long term.

With regards to weight, Barson's messages are very positive, if slightly preachy. She promotes health above all, and happiness. Ultimately, the most successful diets will be ones of moderation, but of real, day-to-day food. Also, when Ann really comes to dieting, she comes at it from both a personal and a psychological standpoint, rather than just the desire to look better, which tends to be outweighed by the deliciousness of burgers and the ease of not exercising. Barson emphasizes that a person cannot be forced to change their thinking, and that putting too much pressure, one way or another, on someone's diet is liable to make things worse rather than better. What's great too is that, though Ann does want to lose weight and be skinny and pretty, her goal weight is actually always set a couple of pounds above the high end of "healthy weights" for her height, showing that those are just numbers and that varies from person to person.

For readers who have been disappointed by the lack of familiar focus in young adult fiction, 45 Pounds has a very strong focus on that. Ann's parents are divorced, and she lives with her mother, step-father, and twin siblings. Her brother, Tony, fought with both sets of parents and has been a no-show since he left for college. Ann has huge issues with her mother. Though her mother really does care, she ends up being a really unhealthy influence on Ann and the kids. It's a great example of how even loving families and good intentions can come out skewed. The resolution between Ann and her mother was really satisfyingly handled.

On top of that, there's also a wonderful aspect that deals with friendship. First of all, I am happy to inform you that Ann isn't a social outcast because she's a size 17. In fact, most people are really nice to her and like her; she's not popular, but she can sit at just about any lunch table she wants. So many authors make the fat kid an outcast, but that's really not always the case, and not a healthy attitude to model. Anyway, Ann's best friend, Cassie, changed schools, which has led to them growing apart. At her summer job, Ann has befriend Raynee, a much more popular girl. Watching those two form a bond as they realized just how terribly their supposed best friends treated them was touching.

Even more exciting on some levels, Ann actually gets a boy! A cute one, at least to her, though I suspect from a couple of hints that he's likely not model hot or anything like that. He sounds like a sweet, average boy to me. She meets the boy on her first day at work when she messes up his pretzel, and he's so polite and kind about that. He never looks down on Ann for her weight, but he's also not a manicpixiedreamboy, because he's sort of awkward and really takes his time about things. Their romance is kept on the backburner to the rest of the plot, but I found it convincing and really liked the moral that there's someone for everyone. All guys aren't attracted to thin girls, and I say this as someone who has sat in on guy talk on multiple occasions. Though generally I don't think romance needs to be in every book, I'm very glad there was one here.

My one reservation with 45 Pounds is that some plot elements did seem to disappear or not get as fully resolved as I would have liked. For example, there was a big build up of stuff with Ann's brother, but very little actually happens with that. Similarly, Ann's father and his step-family comes up a couple of times, but I felt like there should have been more to it. These are very minor issues and were not huge detractors.

K. A. Barson's debut is full of heart and encourages both healthy diets and relationships. Barson tackles weight issues in a sympathetic way, while also covering themes of friendship and family. 45 Pounds is an excellent novel for young adults, both well-written and well-characterized.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote:

"I change the channel to another movie. An old one, but new to me. And, ironically, a thin, gorgeous blonde—Meg Ryan, maybe—rides her bike on a country road. She smiles like she has no cares in the world. Like no one ever judges her. Like her life is perfect. Wind through her hair and sunshine on her face. The only thing missing are the rainbows and butterflies and cartoon birds singing on her shoulder.
     Maybe I should grab my bike and try to catch up with Mom, Mike, and the kids. They can't be going very fast. I would love to feel like that, even if it's just for a second—free and peaceful and normal.
     Suddenly, there's a truck. It can't be headed toward Meg Ryan. Could it? Yes. Oh my God. No! Meg Ryan just got hit by that truck.
     Figures. See what happens when you exercise?"

The Beauty in Ugly - Jason Mraz

Ugly Duckling's Love Revolution

Author: Yuuki Fujinari
Volumes: 4
Publisher: Yen Press

Brief Summary:
Hitomi's brother takes care of her and he does a pretty good job, because he loves her so much. Still, his love causes him to overlook her unhealthy habits. This enables her to put on a lot of weight. The weight doesn't stop her from making friends, even really hot ones, but she's worried about her health. Will Hitomi's diet succeed? Will one of the hot guys in the apartment complex her brother runs fall in love with her?

Review:
This was one weird manga, and believe me I know. What's weird is that it's a shoujo manga with no romance. It's hinted at, but never goes anywhere. Hitomi loses the weight and, Bam!, that's the end of the story. Shoujo is all about romance, so it's very strange for it not to be included. Stranger yet, this is a reverse harem manga, and she still doesn't get to have one of the like eight bishounen surrounding her.

What was cool, if not incredibly realistic, was how popular Hitomi was, regardless of her appearance. All of the hottest guys in school were friends with her and wanted to spend time with her. One of them even seemed to have a crush on her. Everyone in the manga was pretty nice, even the ones that were gruff on the surface. It would be nice if people really were this encouraging and focused on internal beauty.

Of course, I do think it undoes some of that message that Hitomi was depicted as a chibi character a lot, like on the cover of volume one. Also, she didn't get to have the typical large pretty eyes of a manga character. Fat people get little dots for eyes. Umm, what is that about? People's eyes stay the same size no matter their weight, but, sure enough, when she got skinny, she got pretty girl eyes. Uncool.

If this manga does anything at all, it endorses working out and staying healthy, perhaps suggesting that you will get yourself a bunch of sexy friends if you do so. I will not be revisiting this one, but it was interesting enough, so long as you know what to expect from it.

"She's so big hearted,
But not so remarkable
Just an ordinary humble girl"

Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog

Hunger
Riders of the Apocalypse, Book 1

Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Genre: fantasy
Pages: 177
ARC Acquired From: Houghton Mifflin booth at ALA 2010

Brief Summary:
Lisabeth Lewis thinks she is too fat. She exercises constantly, counts calories and envies the self-control of her bulimic best friend Tammy. Lisabeth is anorexic, although she will not admit it; she does not believe someone as fat as she is could be anorexic. Her friendship with Tammy arose when her previous best friend accused her of being anorexic. Tammy understands her in a way Suzanne never did. Her eating disorder becomes more severe all the time and her boyfriend and parents are starting to take notice, which is causing arguments and tension. When Death shows up at her doorstep, stopping a suicide attempt, to give her the scales of Famine, she thinks she has imagined it. Until he shows up again and she goes for a ride on the invisible (to everyone else) horse on the lawn. Performing the role of a Horseman of the Apocalypse may just provide some much needed perspective on Lisabeth's life.

Review:
While the book does eventually come out on the side of not being anorexic, reading the sections where Lisabeth (what kind of a name is that anyway?) wishes she could be bulimic is (pardon the incredibly awful pun) nauseating. Add to this the constant interruptions of the Thin voice, which constantly reminds Lisabeth that "Anorexics don't have muffin tops," so she is not anorexic. The voice tells her not to eat and mocks her. This may be how it feels to have an eating disorder, as the author reveals at the end that she suffered from bulimia for a time. but it drove me crazy.

Perhaps worst of all are some of the delightful scatalogical scenes that come along with a book centered largely on anorexia and bulimia. After her first night working as Famine, there is a lovely description of Lisabeth's really painful poo. Later, when she spends time with Tammy, the reader is treated to an even more detailed description of vomiting. Certainly this might be off putting to a teen considering throwing up as a method of weight loss, but it also urged me to keep far away from any other books this series may have.

Although this book is technically fantasy (and I marked its genre as fantasy for lack of a better heading), Hunger is far more about eating disorders than about the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In fact, the whole fantasy frame story could easily be read as a dream that motivates Lisabeth to change her ways. The fantasy elements never feel real and are only a vehicle for keeping the book from being preachy.

I do not particularly recommend this book. If you really like books that deal openly with tough teen issues, like Speak does, then this book may interest you. This not being my niche area, I am just glad the book was really short.

"I don't mind stealing bread
From the mouths of decadence
But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already overfilled"

Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen

The D.U.F.F.

Author: Kody Keplinger
Genre: young adult
Pages: 277
ARC Acquired From: Little, Brown and Company

Brief Summary:
Bianca has two best friends, Casey and Jessica, who are both blonde, peppy and gorgeous. Bianca is not those things; she is sarcastic, ginger and a wee bit chubby. This never bothered her until the hot, promiscuous guy at their high school, Wesley Rush, pointed out to her that she was the Duff, the Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Ouch. This, accompanied by some major family drama, drives her to make some rash decisions in an effort to escape her life, while also attempting to reevaluate it.

Review:
To paraphrase one of my favorite movies of all time (The Producers, the original from 1968): I never in a million years thought I'd ever love a book called The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). I was all kinds of prepared to hate this book, through an automatic, knee-jerk sympathetic reaction for the main character. Being the Duff sucks and I feared the book would mock that role.

From the beginning, I identified somewhat with Bianca. The book opens with her, and her two gorgeous, party-loving friends, out at the local teen spot, where they can dance and hook up. Bianca just sits at the 'bar,' drinking cherry coke (the best standard soda choice) and rolling her eyes at the ridiculous teen antics. She is sarcastic and super not interested in dealing with any of the people there. How can I not identify with a sarcastic, cynical main character who has a forbidding aura when in an uncomfortable social situation?

The revelation of being the Duff too, I sympathized with. There are definitely times where I have been the wingman (winglady?), there to give encouragement and be ignored by the menfolk. This can have positive side effects, such as free drinks for you (since the guy wants to show your friend how kind he is). In Ireland, I performed this function quite a bit. But, no matter how much you mostly don't mind, it does where on you. Even a girl like Bianca, who does not believe in young love or really want a relationship, still wants, perhaps needs, to feel desirable.

I imagine this book may upset some parents, given that the kids in it make some unwise sexual decisions (honestly, they have sex, which is the decision that may anger parents of a certain ilk). Still, the book advocates healthy messages, like safe sex and positive self-image. More than that, this book achieved a rare, magical thing: the characters felt like real people and I could hardly put the book down.

Highly recommended! Seriously, do not judge the title, just give it a shot!