Customer Reviews

The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I was perusing Amazon one night last week, I stumbled upon Carolyn Mackler's new novel, "The Earth, my butt, and other big round things." I took a 'look inside', and feel in love with Virginia Shreves, its' main character.
I've never related so well to a fictional character so vividly before. All those feelings of no self worth or confidence came flooding back to me, and it was very real to me.

Chapter one has Virginia lip locked with Froggy, a boy from school who has an hour to kill before his trombone lesson. They spend an hour in her bedroom kissing every Monday. When his hands start roaming, she pretty much sends him packing.
Being overweight, Virginia feels very uncomfortable with the idea of someone of the opposite sex seeing her body. She doesn't even look in the mirror, at least not yet.

I am not one to give much away in my reviews. I will tell you that you will laugh alot, most likely cry(i did), smile, and just love reading it. I am very happy I bought my own copy.

As Virginia's story progresses and the 'perfect' shell of a family shatters, she is transformed. I loved this 'coming of age story'....

I promise you, once you pick up this book you will not want to put it down. Virginia is a girl all teenage girls can easily relate to. She feels she isn't good enough and that she HAD to of been switched at birth. Virginia begins to rebel, and goes against her parent's rules. All teenagers, well girls at least, should read this book and know that to be loved, you have to be who you are.

This book was humorous and surprisingly had a lot of depth to the story. The story tackles many realistic and relatable teen issues and will leave teen readers with a positive message.

The story is about Virginia who has always felt out of place in her seemingly perfect family. She's the overweight member of the family and strictly follows the Fat Girl Code of Conduct. It's been a rough couple of months for Virginia, with her best friend moving to the other side of the country and her mother always pressuring her to lose the weight.

Even though her mother is an adolescent psychologist, there is very little communication in the Shreves household. Many of the family issues are not openly discussed. Also because Virginia's mother had weight issues when she was younger, she is especially critical with Virginia's weight.

This is Virginia's coming of age story as she finds her identity and realizes that her perfect family might not be so perfect after all.

I currently read this book, and would definitely put it under one of my favorite re-reads. It is a combined book that teaches you many different lessons like don't compare your body to other people, never compare your self to other family members, and so many well taught lessons.
Virginia Shreves is not you "skinny as a pencil" kind of person. She isn't like other teenagers, she wouldn't know what to do without the web, eats junk food like it is good for her, and lives by the "Fat Girl Code of Conduct". She also isn't your "most popular" person in the world, even if fact the school, but she will live.
Virginia's bff just moved to Walla Walla, Washington for a year, and just like her computer, she doesn't know what to do without her. Since she is on the "lager-than-average" size, she doesn't have friends. Her only friend is Shannon, and now she is gone. Virginia thinks that her life is ruined but maybe not....
I think that Carolyn Mackler did a fantastic job on the plot and this book deserves a medal. You can relate to Virginia, she is like your average teenager, except with some problems. You can understand how she feels in the book, or at least I know I did. I felt that I was right next to Virginia, and feeling and seeing what she did.
This is a great book, and I recommend it to everyone. Why? It is written extremely well, a great plot, and you can relate. Now that is some pain points that I look for in a great book, and this is one of them.

Virginia Shreeves' journey of self-acceptance and self-discovery is sure to become a favorite novel for any teen, whether they have confidence or lack in that area. Mackler has created a real character with real feelings who deals with the real problems and questions of a real life. THE EARTH, MY BUTT... strays from the usual teenage fluff I'm often drawn to in the Borders/Barnes YA section.

Virginia is insecure for being "larger than average." A so-called romance is heating up between her and Froggy Welsh IV, yet he refuses to acknowledge her outside the Shreeves' apartment, which is where in-between or after-class rendezvous take place. Virginia does not have the self-esteem to realize she deserves a happy and sincere relationship. In fact, sadly enough, she doesn't think she deserves one at all.

Even sadder is her best friend, who recently moved away to Walla Walla, the only person at school Virginia truly connected with. Her brother Byron was once her hero and seemingly perfect with his rugged good looks - but a phone call from Columbia U changes everything. He's been accused of date rape and he returns home, not necessarily a changed person. Viriginia's just beginning to see his true colors and at times, it's a difficult thing to accept.

Byron isn't the only home life problem. Mr. Shreeves openly prefers skinny women, Mrs. Shreeves incessantly fills her plate with salad and only cares about weight, and the only normal family of the Shreeves clan, Anais, Virginia's sister, is away in another country as part of the Peace Corps. What is so ironic is that Mrs. Shreeves is a renown psychologist who talks to adolescents of their problems, yet she cannot seem to address the problems so clearly present in her own family.

As she battles low self-esteem, imperfections, and a seemingly perfect family, she expands her horizons and realizes people can change, not always for the better, and that those who you know can easily jump out and reveal their true selves. The result of that isn't always pretty. She also comes to see that perfect really never is ideal - and that it doesn't exist, for that matter. Readers will rejoice to find a heroine who is just like them or at least a protagonist, with whom they can indeed relate to. There's a little bit of Virginia in all of us, I do believe.

Virginia Shreeves, a "larger than average" fifteen year-old, lives by the Fat Girl Code of Conduct, part of which entails no romantic relationships. Still, she's aching to be French-kissed. Enter Froggy Welsh IV, her new catch. They "don't score high on the communication front" but he's an a-okay kisser. Plus, he makes adolescent life a tad better for Virginia, who comes from a picture perfect family consisting of a beautiful, skinny sister named Anais, a father who confesses he prefers skinny women, a brother, Byron, currently enrolled at Columbia U, and a fit and trim mother who fills three-quarters of her dinner plate with salad, while advising Virginia to do the same. Virginia contemplates her existence in such a household, one that seemingly would be 100% ideal - without her, that is. High school life isn't much better. A member of the bony clique of "Bri" girls makes a weight comment in the school bathroom that seriously dents Virginia's self-esteem. Virginia's stuttering best friend has moved to Walla Walla (no pun intended). She feels alone. Eventually, however, she expands her horizons, branches out, and chooses to at last spread her wings. She is able to confront Froggy about their secret rendezvous, tell her father to stop commenting about her weight, and accept herself for what she is: beautiful. She comes to understand that numbers on the scale are not significant - physical and mental good health are. And Virginia's admiration for Byron, with his good looks, smarts, and charm, quickly changes with one phone call from Columbia. She also finds that people change, often times into not what you'd want or expect. Still, we all must deal with this or something like that one time or another in life. Mackler has done it again with this fab follow-up to her debut, "Love and Other Four-Letter Words."

at first I just thought that the book was a pretty decent story about a funny girl who is larger than average..... however the book evolves into a wonderful story about a girl who emerges from the ashes of her life and frees herself to become a girl with her own identity, who is proud to be who is she is.... a good rebellion

This book is about a teenage girl who is kind of over heavy and not that pretty,she's not popular and not a lot of guys like her. Her best friend had moved away a few months ago and she was pretty much alone at school. When lunch time came up she ate lunch in the bathroom stall, or went to one of her favorite teacher's classroom. Her mom pressured her a lot to lose weight, but she never really wanted to. Her brother is in college and just got charged with rape, so he had to move back in with his parents and little sister. I recommend this book to girl teens because you'll relate to it in some way.

ni it's not just because i forgot to take my wellbutrin this morning, I thought this book was GREAT, using the phrase of tony The Tiger, OK I did forget to take my wellbutrin this morning, but who gives a flyign FLOPPP this is still a funny read, wooo hooo rfwjgfnw iruopgnjweruio[

I read this in practically one sitting, that's how good it was. Virginia is a hero for any girl who's been to high school and hasn't fit in. It reminded me of "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb and also "An Egg on Three Sticks" by Jackie Fischer.