Size (and other) matters
This is another offering from Hale Library.
I was hesitant to read this for a number of reasons. Books that center around body image seem to intimidate me. The cover is somewhat uninviting - cold and metallic and steely.
Meghan is the most unpopular person at Valley Regional High: quiet and obese, no one seems to notice her at all. This makes it possible for Maghan to go around school collecting gossip and skipping class and try to avoid the egotistical star jock who likes to verbally abuse her. Aimee is the new girl at school, a budding poet who is "allergic" to many foods and who wishes her mother's ex-boyfriend, the cool and intelligent Bill, was still in her life. When Meghan firsts sees Aimee, she thinks they are destined to become friends - what other fate would there be for two outsiders? But Aimee joins the literary magazine and meets picture-prefect Cara Roy, who attaches herself very quickly to Aimee. Meghan knows nothing good can come out of a friendship with Cara, but Aimee is too weirded out by the fat girl's stalking tendencies to listen at first. But when a betrayal does take place, Aimee and Meghan band together, eventually finding assurance in each other's company.
It is no wonder that a certain poem later on is crucial to the book's plot, because George's entire prose feels so poetic. The creative similies and evocative descriptions contrast nicely with the somber tone here. This serves to heighten the growing tensions - between Aimee and her mom, between Meghan and Aimee, and later between Aimee and Cara. The book's summary sets the reader up for a betrayal, but it is a long time coming, meaning there's a lot of time spent on building the foundations of Cara and Aimee's friendship as well as Meghan's odd fascination with Aimee. The pacing felt a little lopsided to me. It is obvious to us, the readers, that both main characters have some kind of eating disorder, but that is not the focus of the book. It is how Aimee and Meghan choose to cope - and later, how they choose to acknowledge one another - that shape the plot. Both of these girls are recognizable, yet completely individual: Aimee is bitter, ready to lash out, as well as blessed with a great ear for poetry; Meghan is an invisible giant, absorbing insults and keeping her sense of self deep inside. The secondary characters offer themselves up for analysis, particularily Bill and Cara (the latter whom has a warped idea of how to treat people, which hints at some inner demons of her own). I wish we saw more of Meghan's home life, which contrasts with her high school life in an unexpected way. Also, not everything is resolved at the end - there is a typical academics vs. athletics debate whose outcome is sure to disappoint, and we are not sure if Aimee visits the doctor as her mother requests. But such issues cannot be expected to be resolved to one's satisfaction, and the ending we do get is a reward in and of itself.
Searing, brutal, lovely, and relieving. Rating: 4.5 acts of Julius Caesar out of 5.