Starstruck

May 15, 2011

It takes dark magic to make attractive people love fat girls. 

Gwendolyn ("Dough") is fat —and lest readers think she might have other characteristics, Gwen speaks of nothing else. Her "cheeks look like two fat red balloons" or "two giant pimples on the verge of popping." For four years, Gwen's been carrying on an e-mail relationship with her childhood best friend, Wish, who moved to California at 12. Now Wish—whose Facebook photos all depict a tanned surfer god— is returning home, horrifying Gwen. Yet inexplicably, the boy who's been her BFF since first grade still likes her, despite being rich, popular and attractive! There must be something creepy afoot, and indeed there is. Through defeating the devastating magic that would destroy her home, Gwen learns to love her body (more or less), but not before regaling readers with overwhelming self-loathing: "I cringe as I force away the mental image of him ... Touching the folds of flesh that weren't there all those years ago." Final messages about inner beauty are drowned in waves of fat hate and eating-as-disorder.

Skip this one, and try Charles Butler's The Fetch of Mardy Watt (2004) instead, a far superior fantasy about a self-loathing fat heroine and her male best friend. Readers who are looking for high-school pettiness should go for Nico Medina's Fat Hoochie Prom Queen (2008). (Paranormal romance. 12-16)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

December 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-Gwendolyn "Dough" Reilly and Philip "Wish" Wishman have been best friends since they were kids. But everything changed when Wish professed his love for her right before moving to California. After four years of successfully managing their long-distance relationship, he is moving back to Dough's New Jersey beach town. Wish is eager to resume their romance in person but Dough is horrified at the prospect. Not only has she gained a lot of weight while working in her family's bakery, but she is also the social pariah of her high school. Certain that the newly tanned and buff Wish will want nothing to do with her, Dough prepares herself for the inevitable heartbreak. However, he appears to be completely blind to her weight gain. At the same time, the students who previously shunned her are inexplicably including her in their social events. To add to the mystery, Wish's appearance seems to be too perfect and his skin is always hot to the touch. Without warning, the weather becomes violent and unpredictable. A strange new employee in the bakery, Christian, warns that Wish is part of a cult that worships the stars and is responsible for all the mysterious events. The plot moves along at a steady pace and the suspense builds appropriately. Though the characters are two dimensional and the ending is oversimplified, Dough's witty voice keeps the narration entertaining. Fans of fairy-tale romances will like it.-Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.