charlieeeeeeee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Emotionally draining and vicious in a way that’s completely necessary. Awad’s simplistic words are cutting and sharp, they stab at you like little knives of uncomfortable truths. 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl is simultaneously both a delicate character study and a brutally realistic examination of the way society treats women and girls, something only Mona Awad could do in just thirteen vignettes that make up a 214-paged debut. Each slice of Lizzie’s life hits you like a punch, always inevitable in its haunting bluntness and always in a place unexpectedly vulnerable. Lizzie’s voice is muffled, drowning in constant obsessions of her physical self and that of others she idealizes and/or loathes. Not only that, but her endless attempts at perforating beauty consume her, as does her incessant need for validation. Though perhaps not a “likable” character, never is Lizzie not chillingly relatable. Awad’s debut is a portrayal of reality that growls and bites and snaps at you with its plethoric teeth so accurately that it constantly penetrates skin and draws blood, but never too much to allow you to become forgetful of its power.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Emotional abuse
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