Dnf'd
Because
It
Wasn't
I N T E R E S T I N G
or
Well
Written. ( )

I really liked the cover of this book but I couldn't get 5 pages into this book. The way the lines were broken up made absolutely no sense and distracted from the story being told. And I'm saying that from the perspective of a poet. I also didn't like what I saw of the main character so far. Anyone who thinks everyone is out to get her because they want her to be healthy is not the sort of person I am interested in reading about. She seems like she's going to be a brat. ( )

Using a mixture of free verse and text messages, this book does an excellent job sharing what a young woman experiences both at home and at school after the loss of her father. Shay Summers isn't like everyone else at her school--or so she thinks. She carries extra weight, although she has a pretty face. Her stepmother seems to remind her of this in not so subtle ways every day. Some of the kids at school are outright cruel to her. But, she has her best friends Dash and Boots to help see her through. When she meets a mysterious young man online and builds an online relationship with him, she struggles to let herself meet him. Between this struggle, problems with the kids at school, problems with events occurring in her best friends' lives, and problems at home, Shay has a lot to face, yet she does so, arriving at greater self-love and hope in the end.

Shay Summers feels that most people judge her by her weight. She is in high school and living with her step mom (her father died the previous year). She has 2 good friends that make high school bearable, but she also has an annoying popular girl as her enemy. Shay meets a boy online that she has a lot in common with. She doesn't want to meet him in person because she thinks he can't possibly like her because of her weight. This story is told in poetry and IM form. The author does a great job with the poetry. She is very quotable. ( )

Using a poetic style of writing, along with text messages, St. Vil tells the story of Shay, a lonely, overweight 15-year-old girl. Shay has learned to constantly eat to cope with the pain of bullying and missing her dead father, as it helps her forget she’s fat and alone with her evil stepmother. Her gay best friend Dash, and her dying-of-cancer friend Boots assure her she is beautiful and funny, but even they can’t give her the help and support she finds from eating.

A chance encounter with a boy in a chat room leads to days spent laughing and chatting online. Soon her humor and his wit combine to form love, but is it possible to fall for someone you’ve never met? Shay believes staying online is enough, and resists all attempts for them to meet in person. She is certain that once he meets her he will run away, so is willing to settle for second best. Can she learn to overcome her fear and stand up for herself?

“Girls like me” tells Shay’s, Dash’s and Boot’s stories of loneliness, friendship and heartache, along with the ups and downs that come with being seen as “different” by their peers. It is a story every teen should, hopefully, learn from as they read.

Highly recommended for ages 13 and older.

Book review link: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2016/12/23/girls-like-me-lola-st-vil/ ( )