Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad

60 reviews

justreads93's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I don’t know if I liked this book or not. It felt more like a car crash I couldn’t look away from. I think the title is misleading, instead of 13 distinct ways of looking at Elizabeth the fat main character, all but two of the vignettes are told from her POV and all of the vignettes depict Elizabeth as a deeply unhappy and insecure person. I think if maybe we had the POV from her friend Mel, her mom, her dad, and maybe the nail lady we could have those more distinct “ways” of looking at a fat girl. I also feel like this story just ended and I feel like there’s a lot more of Elizabeth to explore but instead the book just ends. 

As someone who was a fat teen and is now a fat woman I could really relate to Elizabeth’s struggles with low self esteem and body image but at points this got uncomfortable to keep reading. The way that fat people are constantly depicted as gross and disgusting just felt over the top at some points, like we get it Beth hates that she is fat and is reflecting that on others as well but Christ.
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abigailkokitus's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As someone who has been overweight since puberty, this hit hard. The reviews calling it “hilarious” confused me because while there were some funny bits here and there, this book was mostly strikingly sad. It was also very well written, in ways that seemed to sneak up on me if that makes sense. I’ll definitely be thinking about this book for a long time.
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mjbooknerd's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kek513's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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siriface's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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katieb1034's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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wperdue92's review against another edition

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challenging sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I couldn’t stop reading this although I wasn’t particularly enjoying it. I’m not even sure what the point of it was. Elizabeth, Liz, Beth; all various stages of a “fat girl,” and all of the baggage that comes with it. It depressed me and the ending was empty. 
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emilieeisenberg's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I can’t wait to see what comes next from Awad, who is a hugely diverse author. This was funny and sad. Would recommend it to anyone. 
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senpai_no_lie's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A series of short stories where just about every woman character is fat or struggling with their self-image regardless of their weight. No one is truly happy. I didn't enjoy reading this, but it wasn't bad. Just not really my type of story. 
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withlivjones's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A series of vignettes depicting moments in a fat girl’s life from her teens to her late twenties or so.

Let me preface this review by saying that this rating has nothing to do with the quality of the writing in this book. I love how Awad’s writing feels psychedelic, like a fever dream, I can only describe it as wading through something thick and fluid. And I also love how she creates complex, flawed characters, the tone of her writing is quite apathetic so there’s a little bit of disgust felt for each character, but at the same time you still feel some sympathy for Lizzie, our protagonist, because although she’s a pretty awful person, you can see how her complicated relationship with her mother and the way she was taken advantage of by older men as a teen has shaped her into the adult she is. A lot of her experiences are so relatable as a fat girl - not wanting to look in the mirror for fear of ruining how you think you look in the outfit you picked out; subconsciously scrutinising other people’s bodies because you’re so used to picking out the flaws in your own; feeling frustration and despair in a clothing store changing room; the hideousness of plus size fashion!!

So, the writing is definitely five stars. It’s a good book. But it’s not an enjoyable book. I felt a deep sense of discomfort and despair the whole time I was reading this book. It explores some difficult and potentially very triggering topics in a lot of detail. It’s message seems to be that if you’re fat and you’re not content with the way you look (or even if you’re thin and not content), you’re never going to live a fulfilling life, but at the same time if you don’t do anything about your weight people will look down on you and you’ll die of diabetes or heart failure - you can’t win! It’s depressing. Maybe I would have liked it more if there was more of a resolution at the end. 

So overall, five stars for writing, two stars for personal enjoyment. I’m glad I read it, but I’m not going to be reaching for it again any time soon, nor would I recommend it to someone else. 
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