Hardcover, 304 pages
Release Date: October 6, 2015Published by: HarperTeeenStand-aloneSource: LibraryFor fans of: Diversity FTW, Contemporary, Chick-lit, YA
Every year on her birthday, Ashley Perkins gets a card from her grandmother—a card that always contains a promise: lose enough weight, and I will buy your happiness.
Ashley doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with the way she looks, but no amount of arguing can persuade her grandmother that “fat” isn’t a dirty word—that Ashley is happy with her life, and her body, as it is.
But Ashley wasn’t counting on having her dreams served up on a silver platter at her latest birthday party. She falters when Grandmother offers the one thing she’s always wanted: tuition to attend Harvard University—in exchange for undergoing weight loss surgery.
As Ashley grapples with the choice that little white card has given her, she feels pressured by her friends, her family, even administrators at school. But what’s a girl to do when the reflection in her mirror seems to bother everyone but her?
Through her indecisions and doubts, Ashley’s story is a liberating one—a tale of one girl, who knows that weight is just a number, and that no one is completely perfect.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This review hurt so much to write. I was looking forward to this book so much. But when I finally got it in my hands, it turns out, it was not what I was expecting it to be.
This book is all about what her grandmother deems to be the perfect body image and how Ashley feels she is wrong. Her grandmother says she’s only trying to help, but she does it in a way that makes Ashley feel terrible. What kind of grandmother of all people would do that to their grandchild?
The main reason I wanted to read this was because of the diversity. I’ve made it a point this year to read as many diverse reads as I could this year, so when I saw this one I immediately added it to my TBR. I made it to about page 178, but by then, even the diversity in this book wasn’t enough to make me want to continue reading it.
The reason I couldn’t continue reading this one was because I was so bored. The plot was all about Ashley and her grandmother, but the things happening in the story did nothing to further the plot along for me. It was over 300 pages and it just seemed way too long for this story. I decided multiple times that I wanted to DNF, but because it was a diverse read I kept pushing. But finally, I just couldn’t take it anymore.
So, because of this, I will not be writing a complete review. I will only be giving a small snippet of why I wasn’t a fan of this book. But as usual, don’t forget: Just because it wasn’t my favorite, doesn’t mean you won’t like it. It just means this book wasn’t for me particularly.
Overall, I give this
