The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

I didn't care for this book. It seemed to me that the overall message was trying for "your weight isn't everything" (which is a great message that I firmly believe in) but really missed the mark for me. It seemed to me that the message of loving yourself for who you are got lost in the numerous scenes where Virginia broke her toe in anger or burned her finger on a candle on purpose or yelled at her family members or otherwise demonstrated really unhealthy behaviors. She didn't truly acknowledge or seek help for her actual unhealthy behaviors. Yeah, she got away from them eventually, but most teens are not so lucky. If you want to check out a better book about dealing with issues like this, try Wintergirls or Speak. Also, no conclusion on Brie the bulimic? Virginia is perfectly aware that Brie is bulimic and getting worse and literally does nothing about it. As little help as she's getting, she's giving even less of it. Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes and everyone is deserving of help, love, and compassion.

Ok, this book is a little pat in some places. Turning your life around is probably not as easy as Carolyn Mackler would make it out to be. That being said, this is a really good book. Virginia (or Ginny) is a believable, sympathetic, likable character. Her problems are real, and her solutions to them are fun, if not entirely realistic. But they work for her, and I, at least, was willing to go along for the ride.

A good read aside, Mackler also deals with some serious issues in the book, including date rape and eating disorders (no, neither apply directly to Ginny). These I thought she dealt with very well, and very realistically, showing that not everything wraps up in a neat package at the end, and not every problem can always be solved.

Overall, this is just a good story about a girl who manages to find ways to empower herself despite not always (or usually) getting a lot of support from her family. But she has help from other people around her and figures out how to be herself, and, more importantly, how to be comfortable being herself.