The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

CITATION: Mackler, C. The earth, my butt, and other big round things. (2005). Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
IDENTIFYING #: ISBN 0763620912
CLASSIFICATION:FICTION
GENRE: REALISTIC FICTION
CALL #: FIC MACKLER
RECOMMENDED AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: Young Adult
RATING: 5

Annotation: Virginia Shreves is an outcast in her high school, and even in her own "perfect" family; she's overweight, and lives by the "fat girl code of conduct", but Virginia learns that perfection is often an illusion, and that she is stronger than she thinks.

Summary: If the cover and the title don't, er, grab you, the first page will! Mackler tells a hilarious, yet serious story about a teenage girl’s struggle to find her own sense of identity, and acceptance within her own family. Virginia deals with being overweight in a family of beautiful people, having her best (and only) friend move away, and an ambiguous relationship with “Froggy Welsh the IV” who she makes out with, although they aren’t “boyfriend and girlfriend, or even friends”! Mackler is unflinchingly honest in her portrayal of teen issues with family, friends, teachers, the opposite sex, and self. Chances are, if you haven’t lived all of Virginia’s experiences, you’ve lived some of them, or at least know someone who has.

Notes: Teens will enjoy Virginia’s self-deprecating humor, her unlikely rebellion, and her growth.