Anna Mainwaring

Literary Merit: Fair
Characterization: Fair
Recommended: Yes
Level: High School

Middle child, Jesobel, struggles with her weight and body image and sees the contradication between the pressure to be thin and the need to be healthy. She is sassy and independent. Jess loves to cook, creating gourmet-level meals, but her mom and older sister fail to appreciate her talent and pressure her (along with her peers from prep school) about her weight. Jess strives to please but loses it one day when a bully says horrible things about her weight. In response, Jess leaves school that day and begins a blog, "The Girl Who Ate the World" expressing her distaste for the invisible rules that are imposed upon young women. The blog gets the attention of her mother and a classmate, Matt, a dreamy guy who is a fan of Jesobel's father's music. When Matt expresses interest in Jesobel, she gives into the pressure from her mom and sister to lose weight in order to gain Matt's attention.

Her blog also attracts the attention of a successful blogger and Jess begins to believe that she can fit in and get the guy, although things don't pan out as she hopes. Her relationship with her family becomes stronger, though, and she begins to fully embrace her best self.

This novel realistically portrays the struggle that young people go through with weight, namely the pressure to be thin from society, family, and peers. Jess demonstrates a strong feminist lean which encourages her to speak her truth and be authentic in the face of this pressure. The author uses "Invisible Rules" as a way to lead into chapters that reflect the contradictions between unspoken societal rules and the struggle to yourself, such as, "Observation #45: Guys work out to get bigger. Girls work out to be smaller. Go figure." (p. 101). Recommended.… (plus d'informations)