Book Review
Title: The Earth, my butt and other big round things
Author: Carolyn Mackler
Genre: YA/Family/Contemporary
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to The Earth, my butt and other big round things was, we are introduced to Virginia Shreves as she explores her sexuality with Froggy Welsh the 4th. The layout and style of this novel immediately reminded me of the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series which I loved and since I got an e-arc of the long-awaited sequel I decided it was time to read this book. From the offset, we can see that Virginia is self-conscious about her weight and when she and Froggy are making out she is constantly thinking about how she looks. I can’t tell yet whether she actually likes Froggy or whether he is just an easy option for Virginia.
Despite her poor self-esteem and very absent family, Virginia does follow the Fat Girl’s code of conduct religiously, which states:
Any sexual activity is a secret. No public displays of affection. No air kisses blown across the cafeteria. No carefully folded notes passed in the hall. No riding the moped in public.
Don’t discuss your weight with him. Let’s face it. You both know it’s there, so don’t start bemoaning your body and pressure him into lying, i.e., “What are you talking about? You don’t look fat at all.”
Go further than skinny girls. Find ways to alert him to this, such as slutty comments peppered into the conversation. If you can’t sell him on your body, you’d better overcompensate with sexual perks.
Never, ever, ever, ever, ever push the relationship thing. Everybody knows that guys hate discussing relationships, so make it easy on him. Same goes for dates to movies and school dances. Bottom line: Let him get the milk without having to buy the cow.
While I agree with the pressuring of relationship point, I really believe that Virginia is really selling herself short and she could find someone to be happy with if she just gave herself the chance, but she can’t because she is anxious about the way she looks.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, this book is actually reminding me more of Mean girls especially when we meet Brie Newhart, Brinna Livingston, and Briar Schwartz who take pride in picking on Virginia although not to her face. Virginia doesn’t even get any support at home, her sister is in the peace corps, her brother constantly comments on her weight, her dad’s idea of the perfect woman is a size 2 swimwear model and her mother used to be fat, so she should be supportive, but she is constantly taking Virginia to different doctors about her “nutrition”. While she is trying to classify her relationship with Froggy especially since they are becoming more intimate, Virginia sees Dr. Benjamin Love with her mother and she decides she wants to be slimmer. But I think she isn’t doing it for herself but for those around her to make herself fit in with everyone else
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As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Virginia starts to diet but not in a healthy way, she begins starving herself for almost a week and she is definitely feeling the side effects from it. However, because her parents seem so proud of her for doing it she continues even though it is having a very negative effect on her emotionally and physically. Virginia’s life seems to be getting better despite her dieting until her brother is accused of date raping a girl at a party and is suspended from school, throwing her whole life up into the air. Virginia doesn’t believe her brother would be capable of something like that but at the same time, she has to admit he has changed a lot from the Byron she used to know.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Virginia can’t understand how her family is acting so normal despite what her brother has been accused of and finds herself no coping well with it. However, she does give up temporarily on her diet and I applauded her for it. However, she is slipping into a depression that nobody sees or even tries to help her with because she has always been the invisible child. Her relationship with her brother is now non-existent and she feels she can’t voice how she feels to anyone and her wild imagination isn’t helping the situation.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Virginia gets the chance to visit her best friend in Seattle, but her parents won’t let her go. Her situation is made worse when Byron is allowed to go to the baseball game her dad was supposed to be taking her to and allowed to go to Paris on top of that. In her anger and depression, she begins harming herself although minor at first it seems to be escalating. However, she takes a lesson from her sister and stands up to her parents especially her mother and eventually despite a lot of trying on her mother’s part is allowed to visit Shannon is Seattle. With Shannon she realises her she is accepted and not pressured into doing anything or being someone, she isn’t. This makes the reality of returning home even more bleak for Virginia, especially since she broke it off with Froggy she doesn’t have another person she can talk to.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Virginia is struggling with everything but with the help of people outside of her family she is truly coming into her own. However, the most beautiful scene is when she visits Annie Mills, the girl her brother date raped, and this girl helps Virginia in a way no one else has throughout the entire novel and she even finds the true meaning of empowerment. All these steps, the new attitude, clothes, piercings and hair dye finally make her parents realise that Virginia is her own person not a clone of her mother, but she hasn’t been able to make things up with her brother who is now making mean comments about her weight.
As we cross into the final section of the novel there was so much love for Virginia, she finally figures out what she wants and who she is and while her life isn’t perfect it is her life and she is content with that. My favourite scene by far was how she made up with Froggy and I can’t wait to jump into the sequel The Universe is Expanding and so am I because I am so in love with Mackler’s writing. Highly recommended.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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