Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have Book

Sometimes when I read "fat kid" stories, they kind of bug me. They tend to follow a pattern - fat kid hates him/herself, decides to make a change, then either ends up changing and feels great or accepts him/herself for who he/she is. And although there is definitely some of the "acceptance" theme here, it's done in a very cool way. Andy, the main character, doesn't really hate himself. Maybe he hates himself a little, but no more than the average teenager. He doesn't like the way he looks, but his food is his comfort and he has so much going on that he needs that in his life to cradle him. The point is, while Andy might dislike himself, he needs food more. And we see him take comfort in food in this way that I can SO identify with.

Andy has a sense of humor about himself and the rest of the school that is just killer. The narrative voice in this book is awesome - it really was like being inside a teenage boy's head, which was pretty disturbing but also awesome (fortunately Andy is smart and sometimes sweet so it wasn't a bad head to be stuck in). But the funny lines were also mixed in with some heartbreak - stuff happens to him and you're just like, "REALLY? Did you really just do that to Andy? Jerk!"

And the other characters, as seen through Andy's eyes, are fully developed and have stories of their own. The football coach is kind of a riot. April, the girl Andy has a crush on and spends the novel trying to impress...well, I won't say anything about April because I don't want to spoil it, but I will say that some of the things you find out about April make for an intriguing commentary about the people we choose to be. I also adored the character development in Andy's family - they all interact with each other (and food) in such a crazy way that it's kind of fascinating.