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    The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
    The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
    The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

    Written by Carolyn Mackler

    Narrated by Laura Knight Keating

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Carolyn Mackler's Printz Honor book--starring the unforgettably funny, body-conscious Virginia Shreves--returns in this 15th anniversary edition featuring text updates and never-before-seen material from the author. Fifteen-year-old Virginia feels like a plus-sized black sheep in her family, especially next to her perfect big brother Byron. Not to mention her best friend has moved, leaving Virginia to navigate an awkward relationship with a boy alone. He might like her now . . . but she has her doubts about how he'll react if he ever looks under all her layers of clothes. In order to survive, Virginia decides to follow a "Fat Girl Code of Conduct," which works, until the unthinkable causes her family's facade to crumble. As her world spins out of orbit, she realizes that being true to herself might be the only way back. Told in a perfect blend of humor and heart, this acclaimed Printz Honor winner resonates as much today as it did when it first published, and now features a new author foreword, text updates, and other bonus content.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 4, 2018
    ISBN9781980007678
    The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
    Author

    Carolyn Mackler

    Carolyn Mackler is the acclaimed author of the YA novels The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (A Michael L. Printz Honor Book); The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I; Infinite in Between; and Love and Other Four-Letter Words; and the middle grade novel, Best Friend Next Door. Carolyn’s award-winning books have appeared on bestseller lists and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Carolyn lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. The Wife App is her first adult novel.

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    Reviews for The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

    4/5

    597 ratings58 reviews

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    • 4/5
      At first, I thought the book to be trite and a tad corny. But, as I progressed, I thought the author had a good way of describing the feelings of self loathing and sadness that accompany those who make comments regarding weight. Fourteen is a tough age, especially when a group of well-liked and top of the popular list take great pride when intentionally making very rude, nasty, bullying comments regarding weight.Virginia lives with a brother who is good looking, popular and well-loved by all girls who enter his orbit. He is at the top of the list smart, and girls flock to him. Her sister is also popular and thin. As a child, her mother reminds her that she was also "fat" and knows how her daughter feels (but she truly doesn't.) Her father makes unfeeling comments about Virginia's weight.While her brother and sister are rewarding for their intelligence, Virginia is reminded she would be rewarded IF she lost weight -- a lot of it!.Virginia likes a boy whom she brings home so she can seek attention by his grouping of her. Though, in her mind, he would not want to acknowledge her in the school atmosphere.Her mother takes her to a doctor with the goal of helping her lose a lot of weight. Much surprised, Virginia's mother doesn't agree with the doctor who reminds her and Virginia that healthy eating is a goal, not the issue of weight for the only sake of losing it!This is an insightful book of the list of things that must be accomplished to literally FIT in.I read this in one sitting.Three Stars
    • 5/5
      Summary: Virginia feels isolated from her family. They are thin, beautiful over-achievers; she feels like a chubby under-achiever. When her rugby star brother is found guilty of something terrible, she needs to rearrange her views of who her family is, and ultimately who she is.My Thoughts: This was an excellent stotry, I see why it’s an award-winner. Although I’m not from an over-acheiving family, nor was I chubby, I could still relate to a lot of her experiences and feelings. This was a touching story.
    • 4/5
      Carolyn Mackler dives right in to the mass of emotions that 14-year-old Virginia deals with. The youngest of 3 children, one a BMOC at Columbia University, another in the Peace Corps, she feels lost within her family and a social outcast at school. She is a list person - one of the more disturbing is the list of Fat Girl Code of Conduct, one item of which is never asking a boy to acknowledge her in public. Her mom is an adolescent psychologist, but hardly interacts with Virginia except to comment on her weight. Once her brother falls from his pedestal, Virginia begins to re-evaluate her opinion of herself, her family and her possibilities. It is a believable, albeit quick, turn around when Virginia takes control of her own self.
    • 4/5
      This is a reissue of Carolyn Mackler's well received book, updated for the technological age. I read it because she has recently issued a sequel. Having forgotten pretty much what the subject of the book is, I thoroughly enjoyed it a second time. Virginia is overweight, although not obese. Her parents, especially her thin mother who was overweight as a child, won't let her forget her weight. But as her new doctor says, she should look at herself, not her weight. However, it will take a long time and a lot of family 'issues' in order for Virginia to come to terms with herself and take steps to change the way she looks and feels.I won't discuss the date rape portion of the book, in case you haven't read it. But Mackler tackles topics that are still relevant as pencil thin models distort our sense of what is pretty.A well written, enjoyable book that makes me want to read the sequel. Have fun.
    • 4/5
      I think this is a good YA novel about being confident, although expressing that confidence as teenage rebellion could have used more development. I also enjoy that it addresses the realization that life is never ideal or perfect but everything can still be okay.
    • 4/5
      So I actually read this entire book on my 6.5 hour flight to Madrid over two weeks ago. Due to limited internet time I am just reviewing it now.

      Virginia feels like the imperfect link in a perfect family. Her mom is a successful psychologist, her father is an executive and her siblings are skinny and hugely successful and popular in school. Virginia is chubby and while not friendless, not miss popularity either. Then Virginia's brother is accused of date rape and Virginia's world tilts while her family tries to deal and she tries to figure out how she feels about everything.

      I loved watching Virginia stop listening to her mother and become her own person. I appreciated watching her develop a relationship with both her sister and her father. I also liked that not everything was entirely worked out for her brother at the end of the story. This was a great read for my plane ride.
    • 3/5
      Virginia is the "ugly duckling" of her family. Her two older siblings are virtually perfect, and her parents tend to ignore Virginia, except to put her down. Virginia herself seems to be consumed in a self-hate spiral, living according to the "Fat Girls' Code of Conduct," which includes such rules as not acknowledging the boy she's fooling around with in public and to never discuss her relationship with said boy - even though Froggy, her sort-of "boyfriend," seems to like Virginia a lot more than she believes.It all changes when Virginia's perfect older brother, Byron, does something horrific at college. After going to a party, he rapes his date when they are both drunk. She doesn't press criminal charges, but she does take the matter to the school, which suspends Byron for a semester - a pretty light punishment, even though Byron seems to act like it is the end of the world. I thought that this book was just okay, and I wavered between giving it two and three stars. Some of what Virginia goes through rings very true to me - I was overweight in high school (and still am), and I remember ducking out of lunch to hide in the bathroom because I didn't have any friends to sit with during lunch (until my band teacher saved me and wrote me a pass to come to the band room every lunch period for the rest of the year - thanks Mr. L.!). And shopping was always a nightmare.Virginia's parents drove me up a wall. Her mother is an adolescent psychologist, and yet she is almost completely inept as a parent. She doesn't listen to Virginia, and most of their interaction with one another is Virginia's mother putting down her weight or telling her that she needs to lose some pounds. Virginia's dad is mildly better, but he's still ogling women on television in front of his wife and children. Nice. And there's obvious favoritism geared toward Virginia's two older siblings.I also felt that Byron raping his date wasn't dealt with particularly well. Virginia eventually meets Annie, the college student Byron raped, and they bond over an Ani DeFranco song. Really? Okay... But Byron and Virginia never really discussed what happened - in fact, NO ONE in that family really discussed what happened - and it was shoved under a rug for the most part. I really would have liked Virginia sitting down and talking with her brother about this - maybe Byron would have learned something from the ordeal. As it stands, he seemed to think that he "made a mistake" and that he didn't want to suffer from that "mistake" the rest of his life - nevermind what Annie will deal with for the rest of HER life. I did like, however, that Annie told Virginia that she would not let Byron destroy her life.I also didn't like that going to Seattle against your parents' wishes (like that would really happen with most families?), getting an eyebrow piercing, and dying your purple are cure-alls. Sure, I believe in expressing yourself, but I've done most of those things and then some, and they didn't FIX anything. It's fine to get pierced - I am - and to dye your hair to express yourself - I did - but I don't think that will change your inside all that much or make other people, who didn't talk to you, suddenly think you're cool enough to talk to at school now.Altogether, I found this book to be rather superficial. It could have really been a good book, but in the end, I was left wanting more.
    • 1/5
      I hate when authors have a curvy character but remind you every five pages in case you forget. OK,WE GET IT!
    • 3/5
      ...not bad. Not amazing, either. Virginia's actually a decent YA character, though she falls a little flat at times. I appreciated Mackler's willingness to tackle the subject of overweight as a teenager, and thought she handled it well. The emotional aspects of Virginia's self-acceptance and -expression were fairly dead-on, but things wrapped up just a little too neatly, and in the final chapters the "girl power" button got pushed a little overhard.
    • 3/5
      First off, Virginia is a great character. She’s got a fun attitude and sense of humor, and while she does feel bad about herself, she doesn’t really wallow. It’s painful at times to read the undercurrent of disapproval from Virginia’s family as well as her own self-loathing. And I must say that her brother’s problem and how that affects her and her family is interesting and sets the book apart. My favorite part of the book was seeing Virginia go to Seattle—seeing her come alive again in a less oppressive environment. I thought that was very true to life. But realistically, I don’t think problems are resolved that quickly or easily in real life. It’s a bit of a whirlwind at the end: hair color, clothes, kickboxing, webzine, bam-bam-bam everything fixed! It was a nice ending—a positive message, etc, but maybe not totally realistic. Oh, and it’s frank almost to the point of crassness at times.
    • 1/5
      If I have to hear Virginia's whinging narrative just once more, I think I'll slam my head against a brick wall.

      Good concept, but not executed well at all.

      Virginia, the plus size protagonist, complained about every aspect of her life but did nothing about it - except for a dodgy crash-diet - until the last few pages.

      And leaky plot with the whole Annie Mills fiasco, I mean, really?

      Overall this was a frustrating read that I didn't really enjoy.

      Dear Virginia, get over yourself.
    • 5/5
      4Q 4PPart of me wishes that I had read this in high school, but part of me knows that the old me might have been turned away from the minor sexual incidents (I was, let's just say, a little more prudish than now). Virginia's sarcastic dialogue and emotional struggles at home, at school, and within herself are what drew me in and kept me; her story holds many similarities to my own, and undoubtedly to that of many teen girls - especially those with issues of body image and subsequent sense of inferiority, eating disorders, family members with terrible secrets, and general loneliness or disconnect with others.This book was challenged for sexual content, offensive language, being "anti-family," and inappropriate for teens. I would argue that for the most part, this IS the teen experience; they are going through adolescence and their sexuality is going to start waking up, they're going to start deviating from family expectations, including using harsher language and having more difficulty connecting with parents. A story with loving, supportive, constantly-present parents might be appropriate for younger children so they develop strong feelings of being cared for and having someone to fall back on and talk to, but when it's your freshman year in high school social communication is just harder all across the board and your parents are supposed to detach a little; Virginia's story echoes real-life fact in that parents tend to be less supportive of overweight children, especially daughters. When the family crisis occurs, it shows each person's personal reaction to the event and, to be honest, I think those are very realistic reactions.Personally, this was a book I needed to read (that I wouldn't have found if it weren't for the title and its presence on a Banned Books list) and am glad that I did; the topics are extremely relevant to teens and people who grew up with similar stories, and gives you one of those characters you really want to love and root for.
    • 3/5
      Summary: A bigger than average tenth grader by the name of Virginia Shreves is on the path of "finding herself." She has to battle her "perfect" family and peers, while she worries about her far from perfect body. With the help of her best friend and new physician, she finally chooses a path that works just for her. Teacher Response: This book can be used on middle and high school levels. It can be used for an example of morals and values activity/lesson.Response: I enjoyed this book. It was relateable. Teens and young adults have problems similar to hers very often.
    • 3/5
      There were not a lot of likable characters in this book, save for the protagonist and perhaps her best friend. Even with that handicap, this book was involving and pretty funny in spots. I enjoyed watching Virginia mature a lot in a very believable way over the course of the story.
    • 3/5
      Meh. Neither great nor bad, a typical novel of teenage angst.
    • 4/5
      On the whole, I liked this--Virginia's voice rings true, especially as a teen with a massive inferiority complex thanks to her outwardly-perfect family. I really liked seeing Virginia come into her own and really start accepting herself, doing things that make HER happy instead of her mom.

      But I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a complaint or two--in this case, the first focuses on the stereotypically Ironically Bad Parenting. Her mom is an adolescent psychiatrist and yet leaves Virginia home alone every weekend and doesn't go out of her way to talk to her? Doesn't try to talk to her in the wake of What Byron Did, or understand that, with everything going on, Virginia really needs to visit her best (and pretty much only) friend? Lady, that's Bad Parenting 101, and also kind of lazy to force that sort of IRONY into the book. At least if Mom TRIED, or wasn't a psychiatrist--but the combination is just absurd. Complaint #2 is the clumsy self-injury talk, particularly when Virginia thinks about cutting herself--the thoughts she expresses sound like the author read a book about cutters and crammed in the textbook signs and reasons, without worrying about making it seem natural to the character. (Insert argument about Virginia trying out new roles and maybe "cutter" will be one of them, but I didn't get the impression that's what was going on.)

      But--I liked it, and I can see the appeal. I probably won't run right out and grab another Carolyn Mackler book right away, but this was enjoyble enough.
    • 5/5
      Amazing. Wonderfully written. Realistic. Funny.
    • 4/5
      Virginia's fat and, since her best friend moved to Walla Walla Washington, friendless. Initially Virginia tries to improve her situation, but after her perfect brother is accused of date rape, she finds it impossible to deal.Virginia's straight-talking, pessimistically honest tone brings readers right into her life and her problems. Though readers may not have experienced everything Virginia faces-- body image issues, loneliness, trouble relating to parents, etc.-- they will likely connect on some level. While providing a full character and driving story, Mackler also demonstrates how teens can healthily (and unhealthily) react to their issues. And even though the book covers serious subject matter, Virginia's wry voice brings a bit of levity without dismissing the importance of the challenges.Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Review by: yeah ---hint . . . movie . . . hint . . .movie . . .hint hint hint. Review by: em so i just finished re-reading this book and remembered why i liked it so much. at the end you're left with a feeling of self appreciation. Review by: someone good book Review by: ~ano-mous This was a book that I can relate to! If I am Virginia or one of the Brie girl(s) at one point! She learned as she goes through she believes in herself. Their more to it than just looks. You can be fat, but still be pretty!!! Review by: 2shooz i thought it wuz an awsum book. i wanna no abowt the movi but every time i reserch it on google it wont tel me... help!
    • 3/5
      I had to think on this one for a bit after reading. It's a coming of age book of sorts, and gives a nice message in that "perfect" is not always what it seems, so find your own perfection. I also like that the main character is a "full figured" girl, and that she doesn't win friends and admiration by suddenly becoming thin and beautiful. But at the same time, there are some points that I really was uncomfortable with (and if you don't want spoilers, cease reading now.)I understand the fall from grace Virginia's brother Byron takes, and it's place in the story, but was really astonished that the whole subject of date-rape, once included, was rather glossed over. If your target audience is teenage girls, this could have been a great teaching tool to help in the prevention of violation by someone trusted. As it is, only the family lawyer seems to get that maybe Byron taking a trip to Paris while he's out on probation might not seem like sincere remorse.The other thing that bothered me was not that Virginia went to visit her pal on the west coast, but that all concerned seemed to think it no big deal that she got her eyebrow pierced without parental permission (being underage at all). Even more annoying was the take home message that you can be big and the butt of scorn in your high school, but if you get your eyebrow pierced, suddenly you are appreciated as cool and life gets good.I know the book won awards. I guess I just remember what it's like to parent adolescents and the curmudgeon in me is responding.
    • 5/5
      The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler is the winner of many awards, including the Michael L. Printz Honor for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, and Best Book for Young Adults from the American Library Association.I went into this book with a little trepidation, but I think the Chicago Tribune sums up exactly how I felt when I finished it: "Body image problems, family discord, a teenage contrarian narrating - is this anything new? Yes, because 15-year-old Virginia Shreves is so well-constructed a character that we like spending time with her". Perfect. Virginia is an extremely well written character. She's a little overweight, so she writes what she calls the "fat girl code of conduct". She feels out of place in her skinny, gorgeous, successful, perfect family and wonders if she's been switched at birth. Her best friend has gone away for a year and she's all alone at school. The popular girls would rather die than look like her. There's a boy interested in her, but of course she can't been seen in public with him (her idea, not his). Then an unexpected event turns her life upside down. What does all this add up too? A character that will surprise her audience by making her life sound realistic and relatable, instead of the moany "nobody loooooves me" that we may expect when we pick up this type of book. This is a truly relatable and heartwarming book that women 15 and older, at any shape or size, will love!
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book, and it is the first I've read that touches on how date rape might affect the family of the rapist as well as the victim. But overall, the story wasn't terribly memorable.
    • 4/5
      It’s bad enough that Virginia Shreves is just a little too chubby to fit in with the popular crowd at school, but she doesn’t even fit in with her picture perfect New York City family. After all, Mom is a well-known teen psychiatrist, so Virginia should be perfect. Her sister is smart and beautiful (but she got out of town as fast as she could). Her brother, whom she adores, is not only handsome but was a high school hero. Virginia presents the challenges of being chubby with such hilarious and pragmatic humor that she immediately wins over the reader. But the pain Virginia experiences is searing as her family ignores her, classmates demean her and her best friend can only email from thousands of miles away. Donuts are her solution. Then it gets worse. The brother she idolizes shatters the family when he takes a seriously wrong turn. Her mother tries to brush the problem under the rug. Her father drinks. Virginia becomes increasingly self destructive. Fortunately, with a little help from a kind-hearted teacher and a down-to-earth doctor, Virginia figures out there are better solutions to her troubles than binging on food. She stands up to her parents and her problems and finds herself.Overall, this is an excellent choice for 8th grade and older students, especially as part of a program addressing acceptance and tolerance. There is, however, some strong language and sexual references that some students and teachers will find unsuitable or offensive.
    • 4/5
      I’m happy I found a book to love while hosting the Award Winning Read Challenge. I’d heard of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things and initially what really caught my attention was the name. Seriously?! With a title like that you have to pick it up to see what the author is trying to tell you. I’m happy this was the first book I picked up for this challenge, it makes me want to pick up other Prinz and Newberry books to read! Carolyn Mackler made Virginia have her own voice. Being inside Virginia’s head was making me crack up with laughter at the ramblings going on in her head (I think the title was supposed to foretell). Along with the humor of course, Virginia is dealing with serious teenage problems such as weight, boys, and family. Carolyn did a fantastic job at portraying how Virginia may feel as being overweight and how she feels about food and losing the weight. I wasn’t expecting the big shocker to be in the book, from the reading the summary on the back of my copy, I was clueless (which I like being, lol). The characters were realistic and The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things was super-fast paced which I really like. Virginia did a complete 180 by the end of the book, I came to love her and had such pride for the by the last page. I know this review was on the short side, but I enjoyed reading was The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things the entire way through and I recommend it for any and every one to read!
    • 3/5
      Okay well, to clear one thing up: we all know that Wesley Scroggins is the lowest form of humanity to ever ever imply that rape is pornography. I'm not even going to go there, because it makes me scary mad to think about. I am so thrilled that there are books like Speak, both for actual victims and young girls and boys that need to be made aware of the facts and emotions.This book's MC, Virginia, has a lot of issues, God bless her. A lot of them stem from the fact that her whole family has problems. Unfortunately, one of those problems is that no one is really there for her. Even her mother, a psychiatrist, isn't emotionally available to her. Her brother, who she idolizes, turns out to be a total Scroggins-face.So, all her pain is internalized and she has no way to deal, so the issue of cutting/burning/pinching herself comes up. So many people have this issue, and the book really does a better job of actually introducing that fact than dealing with it. But still - it is a great part of the story as far as awareness goes.As far as Froggy goes: I love that guy. I'm so glad he was a part of Virginia's story!This really is a good, well-written book, I enjoyed reading it. It will definitely give teenagers that have dealt with rape, cutting, weight issues and emotionally unavailable parents a "you are not alone" vibe.
    • 5/5
      It was a real surprise when my granddaughter, 16 ,suddenly gave me this book suggesting I could read it in a short time. Afterwards she did not suggest discussing it. I think there was a message there. Kind of telling me this is what life is like. She is not fat, but the "popular kids" issue, finding a first boy friend, having your mother want to chose your clothes, making you stay home for family events when you want to be with your friends. Actually, even at my age I could relate from my own experiences so many years ago.The heroine does have one close friend,though, who has moved out of town for a year, whom she visits for thanksgiving, and the trombone playing boyfriend Froggy is just delightful. Her interactions with these friends and one particular teacher are a pleasure to read about.The author suddenly brought everything to a happy conclusion in not very many pages at the end. A realistic book, suddenly turned unrealistic. Also, a 15 year old with $1,000 balance on an ATM card, able to purchase at will a $500.00 plane ticket. These are well to do people and the author seems to be dropping words like pent house,golf club,trips to Europe as though she is writing for daughters of the rich and famous with low self esteem. I guess this is OK though.I think my granddaughter read it at about 14 when she read it and clearly enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      This book is about a plus-sized girl named Virginia Shreves. She lives in Manhattan with her family. She feels like she does not fit in with her family because all of them are on the thin side. She thinks she has to obey the "Fat Girl Code of Conduct." She thinks her family is impossible to live up to. Virginia's best friend is Shannon, and she has moved to Walla Walla, Washington. Virginia also has a "boyfriend" named Froggy Welsh the Fourth. I think this book is good for high school students. I think it would be good to read this in a Home Economics class. Home economics classes teaches you about life and how to handle the different situations to you encounter. This is a good book because it shows how Virginia has over come many obstacles in her life. I would give this book a rating of a 3. I believe the book is well- written. Also, a concern I have for reading this book would be some of the words that is used in the book. This book is a Printz Honor Book. Virginia's mother is an excerise fiend and a successful adolescent psychologist; Dad when not golfing ogles skinny women on TV; and older siblings Bryon and Anais are impossible to live up to. Anais is in the Peace Corps. Her parents were not to happy when she went into the Peace Corps. Bryon attended college at Columbia University until he date raped a girl. He was released from college and had to move back home with his parents. Virginia gets made fun of at school because of her size. Virginia has a so called boyfriend named Froggy Welsh the Fourth, and her best friend is Shannon. Shannon lives in Walla Wall, Washington. Most days during lunch she hides in the bathroom stalls. Until she overheard the preppy girls talking about her brother. Now, she has been hanging out in Ms. Cowley's office. Virginia's mother suggests she go to see a new doctor. Virginia goes to see the new doctor and they discuss her weight situation. Virginia begans losing weight. Virginia takes up kickboxing.
    • 4/5
      Virginia Shreves is an average high school freshman. Her family is just a modern day "Leave It to Beaver" family until her brother date rapes a girl. Virginia finds ways to rebel and discover her own identity and personality apart from her family so that in turn she can feel like a part of her family. Virginia endures teasing and disappointment but the story ends on a happy note with a romantic possibility. I think this story would be good to use if I wanted to have students look critically at the message the media sends them on a daily basis. It would be a good opportunity to study what beauty really means and I could even discuss what has been considered "beautiful" throughout history. Another teaching idea might be to have students write about what they think is beautiful, they could even create a glog about what beauty really is and this would give students the opportunity to research good quotes etc about the meaning of beauty and what is not beauty.I really liked this book, but I did not like the language. I don't mind a few cuss words for the most part but it's just not really my taste to have cussing in my literature. I think that so many teenagers can relate to Virginia's journey and her feelings of hurt, embarassment, inferiority and self-consciousness. Hopefully students can also learn to relate to her eventualy discovery of a deeper strength. I would recommend this book to my friends for sure.
    • 5/5
      The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things is a great story of how an over-sized high school student tries to fit the mold of her picture perfect family in Manhattan. Virginia has always been larger than her older siblings friends, but it never bothered her until it began to bother her mother. Virginia's exercise-a-holic- mother struggles with Virginia's weight and tries to encourage her to loose weight, but ends up negatively effecting Virginia and forcing her to develop bad eating habits and disorders. All this time, Virginia struggles to keep up with the legend her older brother and sister left at their high school. She feels that she does not fit in any crowd, especially now that he best friend moved across the country to Wala Wala, Washington. Meanwhile, Virginia feels trapped by the "Fat Girl Code of Conduct" and refuses to discuss her Monday make out sessions with Froggy Welsh the Fourth. As Virginia tries to manage her life, it all turns upside with one phone call that ruins her brother's polished image. Will Virginia ever look at or anyone the same again?I feel that this is an inspiring text for students of all ages. If not every student struggles with weight, there is some self-esteem issue they face on a daily basis. All middle school students feel uncomfortable in their own skin and can relate to Virginia's feelings and actions. I would use this class in a sixth or seventh grade classroom. One activity to do with the class would be to have each student find their own stress outlet and write about it. In the text, Virginia writes and practices kick-boxing to help deal with stress. Students could write how they relieve stress and do a class demonstration. I enjoyed reading every page in this text. I identified with Virginia's emotions and related to many of her scenarios. I feel that Mackler did an excellent job of writing a book that related to adolescent readers, hence why it is a Printz Honor Book. I felt that Mackler did a great job with plot and character development and felt that those aspects greatly contributed to the overall enjoyment of the book.
    • 4/5
      I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly want's that I was going to like this book. It started out kind of iffy and I couldn't quite figure out where it was going, but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it. Turns out, well, I was wrong. Mackler's book found the perfect note about halfway through and followed it through strongly. While I might not recommend the book all that highly, I enjoyed the trip.