The Downside of Being Charlie

May 21, 2012
Charlie went to “Camp Fit” during the summer before his senior year and lost 30 pounds, but he’s still carrying a heavy load. His volatile mother has disappeared again, and Charlie learns that his father is harboring a secret. Adding to his emotional whiplash, a girl is actually interested in Charlie—dreamy Charlotte VanderKleaton—and Charlie is forced to share a locker with the weirdest girl in school, which makes him seem like a freak by association. Peppered with sardonic humor, debut author Sanchez’s confessional-style prose conveys Charlie’s distress and confusion as his family life disintegrates, he turns to binging and purging, and he navigates an uncertain relationship with Charlotte. With the support of his friend Ahmed—a charming throwback who talks like a member of the Rat Pack—and by confronting his relationships with food and his family via a photography project, Charlie begins to learn who he really is. Sanchez explores the psychological underpinnings of eating disorders while creating a complete character in the closet-brilliant but perennially tongue-tied Charlie. Ages 13–up. Agent: Kerry Sparks, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

April 15, 2012
It doesn't take readers long to wonder whether there is any upside to being Charlie. His apparently bipolar mother has taken off--again; his father, who pretends there's nothing wrong, seems to be having an affair; and he's stuck sharing a locker with Tanya Bate, the school pariah. He does have a loyal friend, Rat Pack-wannabe Ahmed, a newly svelte figure courtesy of fat camp and, perhaps, the interest of cute new girl Charlotte. But these positives barely register in his self-hating, depressive narration. And, really, his life does kind of suck. Aside from everything else, he's not the only kid pursuing Charlotte; sadistic bully Mark is also interested in her, and he takes special pleasure in grinding Charlie down. As Charlie sinks further into depression, he begins to binge and purge in a futile attempt at coping. There is much to recommend this novel--not least because it addresses male body image and eating disorders--but it just doesn't hold together. Charlotte's character development is particularly uneven; she often comes across as unendurably shallow, making Charlie's persistent attraction to her baffling. And Ahmed, Turkish-American for no apparent narrative reason beyond his mother's baklava, is utterly unbelievable, if immensely appealing. Readers who make it to the end will cheer Charlie's survival, but they'll also be glad to get out of his company. (Fiction. 14 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-Charlie is a former fat kid. Food has always been a source of comfort, and something his mother provided in abundance. At the end of his junior year, he is packed off to "fat camp," where he loses 30 pounds. When his father picks him up, he learns that his mother has disappeared again. She is usually gone for no more than a couple of weeks, but this time she does not return. As weeks pass, Charlie tries to forget anything is wrong and interests a new neighbor, Charlotte, in dating him. To do so, he hides who he really is and that his life is imploding. As he stuffs down more of what he wants to say, he returns to food as a source of comfort. Instead, it becomes another aspect of self-loathing, and he starts bingeing and purging. When his mother returns, things get worse. For a class assignment that could win a scholarship in photography, Charlie tries to explain and understand his family in a series of starkly emotional portraits that help him deal with his mother's suicide attempt and their upcoming family therapy. While it is refreshing to have a book focusing on a young man's struggle with weight and body issues, this one is too simplistic. Although the novel addresses an important topic, it is unlikely to find an appreciative audience.-Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2012
Grades 9-12 Thirty pounds lighter after summer fat camp, Charlie thinks he might have a chance with his amazing new neighbor, Charlotte. But his dysfunctional family, an eating disorder, and a pariah for a locker partner promise a disastrous senior year. As his social status worsens and family problems intensify, Charlie continues to bottle up his feelings. Both an attentive teacher and his longtime pal, Ahmed, reach out to him, but it is a photography assignment that finally provides a way for him to communicate. Charlie's Turkish American friend is the bright spot in this story: loyal and caring, unique in his clothes and attitudes, while the present-tense, first-person narrative gives a good sense of the problem-plagued boy's reactions to his life. His mother's suicide attempt, which prompts the family to get professional help, comes as a relief. Boys with bulimia are too rare in teen fiction; Charlie comes across as a fully developed character whose depression and hope seem very real.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)