I should say I love a smart, sarcastic fat girl protagonist. I am happy she exists. I remember thinking many of the things she thinks about herself, and hearing the things her family says about weight, pointedly within her earshot. But I don’t remember thinking the mean-spirited things she thinks about other women’s bodies. I remember wishing that I had them, but not defining them by it. If a girl was a bitch, she was a bitch because of her personality, not because she was skinny. In fact, I never thought about weight until someone else mentioned it. And it was mentioned to me a lot.
“Sixteen-year-old Virginia Shreves’ life is finally back on course: she’s accepted who she is inside and out and is rebuilding her relationship with brother Byron, whose date-rape charge shattered everything. But just as she adjusts to her new normal, her world turns upside down again. Sparks with boyfriend Froggy fade, her best friend bombshells bad news, and then the police arrest Byron. As Virginia struggles to cope, she meets Sebastian, an artist with his own baggage. The pair vow not to share personal drama. But secrets have a way of coming out, and theirs could ruin everything.”
At 17, I was living in a dorm room on campus with 2 part-time jobs and a full-time course load. I like to think I wasn’t thinking the way this character is less than a year before - she’s written like she’s 14. That being said, the topics the book dares to address are heavy, and for much of it, Virginia is torn between loyalty to her family, her love/hate for her brother, who sexually assaulted a classmate in college and is now reaping the consequences, and her own happiness.
Having a family member commit a heinous act does not make your love for them any less real, and Virginia portrays this accurately. The hundreds of thousands of family members who suffer because of a loved one’s poor actions need to be brought to the table when we are having conversations about criminal justice and rehabilitation. This book was a good introduction to this line of thinking, even though it is clear that Virginia’s family is rich enough to not feel most of the ramifications. Victim rights are brought up as well, but that is a major spoiler so I will pass on commenting on that. I appreciated the appearance of a character to highlight that other side of the story, but I think it could’ve been… more. The sentence that struck me the most in the whole novel was about Virginia and her brother’s mom. She ends up talking to his victim’s mom. They remind each other that they’re both human, and both mothers. Yet another thing to remember. We are all only human. At 16, I began to notice that about my parents. Not Virginia - her head is still up her butt.
This was a fast read, but not my favourite. For all its potential, I believe it lacked depth. Or maybe I read it too fast to let it sink in. Either way, it’s been 2 days since I read it and I’m still thinking about the book I read before it. You win some, you lose some.
2.5 stars. Meh.
Happy reading,
Holly
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