Big Fat Manifesto

I found this very typical of a YA novel. Some of the points were predictable, but it did have a fresh spin with the main character being a fat girl. The humor and Jamie's column are two of the things that really make this novel shine. I also love how real statistics and facts are woven into the story.

Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught is a book that's full of spunk, sass, and the spirit of teen rebellion. Jamie is a senior in her high school who writes a column in the school newspaper every week. The column sheds some light on her experience as the "fat girl" of her grade. Yeah, she's Fat with a capital "F", and she flaunts it like it's her job. But underneath all the self confidence and attitude, we discover a girl who's really not as sure of herself as she'd like to believe. The column shares her overweight boyfriend's experience with gastric bypass surgery, her own experience with losing weight, and even her love life as she stumbles through the school year. It's funny and original, and it really puts things into perspective as to show more what it's like to have a body type different than your own. show less

Thoroughly enjoyed this journey into the heart and mind of an overweight high school senior named Jaime Carcaterra. Vaught did a great job with the characters in this story--especially Jaime and her parents. The way Jaime seems so forceful in her convictions, until you see that she is in reality torn up by them. This book does a great job of talking about how difficult it is to be ourselves and even moreso to love ourselves, and that, even if we appear to do so to the rest of the world, it may be just an illusion. Awesome awesome book.

Jamie is a goal-oriented high school senior. She writes for the school paper. She's in the school play. She has a couple of caring, passionate best friends. She has a loving boyfriend. She wants to go to Northwestern. Oh, yeah. And Jamie's fat. Determined to win a journalism scholarship, Jamie starts writing a new column for the school paper: Fat Girl. She wants to educate the community about what it's like living in a world that doesn't fit you, in a country that is so sensitive about racial discrimination but constantly discriminates based on size. And Jamie's column gets more attention than she ever thought it would.

When Jamie's boyfriend Burke decides to get bariatric surgery to help him lose weight, Jamie's world is turned upside show more down. She worries about his health, about the risks of the surgery, and about what role she will play once he's slim and trim. I found Jamie's voice to be compelling and raw and I couldn't put this book down. Graphic descriptions of bariatric surgery and its least desirable side effects may be off-putting for some. show less

I had so much hope for this big, because I felt it would tackle some difficult subjects like gastric bypass surgery, interracial relationships, and body image in teens. I could tell from the research on gastric bypass surgery that the author really did do a lot of research. However, her characters were shallow, badly developed, and generally unpleasant. Protaganists do not have to be pleasant or even morally good, but anti-heros should, at the very least, be likable. Jamie, the protaganist in this book, is wholly unlikable that you can't believe she has a boyfriend and two best friends. Even worse, her editorials are badly written and researched, and I can't see any of them being worthy of a journalism scholarship.

Jamie is determined to go to college and wants to win a writing fellowship. She writes a column called the Fat Girl Manifesto. She rants and rails about the trials and tribulations of being fat in our society. Within the column she also explores her boyfriend's weight loss surgery. In her personal life, she feels overextended and torn between her boyfriend and a good friend, Heath, fellow editor of the school paper.
Some of the characters are a little flat and the tone of the book is a little preachy at times. Although I did enjoy Jamie's exploration of what and who she is and wants to be.

This is a book about being fat. And living in a society that worships thin.

Making people aware of the unfairness suffered by overweight people is her goal. She is also hoping her top-notch journalistic efforts will help her win the National Feature Award which could earn her a fully paid college education.

From the word go, the main character 'Fat Girl' aka Jamie, proudly shines her 'fatness' at the reader like a blinding sunbeam inviting you to accept her for what she is. My sister commented that she found the main character arrogant, I did as well. I found myself agreeing with everything she said, arguging with her, debating the things she threw at me, feeling her distress, being impressed by her interlect and wondering how I would be show more if I were her size.

The story is divided into Jamie's POV and her FAT GIRL news snipits, where she candidly reveals her throughts on unfairness suffered by overweight people.

This story would not have been so stunning if it weren't for the main character's large (pardon the pun) personlity. Jamie is bubbling with energy, wit, sharpness and emotion--not just her but the characters surronding her as well.

This book also taught me a lot about Gastric Bypass surgery. Before of which I knew nothing. Vital reading. show less