TWO ROOMATES.
ONE GOAL.
BIG PROBLEM.
April's been saving all year to afford Wellness Canyon (aka Fat Camp) and she can'... read full description
reviews
Jan 21, 2008
Zoe
rated it: 
What I liked: Um... I had to think really hard about this. I realized that Paley has some well-written dialogue (like when Wil's mother, musing on a good before picture for a commercial says, "Remember that picture of you on our vacation to Cabo? I've never seen a more miserable human being. It's perfect."), but I couldn't think of anything else.
What I didn't like: I felt like I was reading the YA fat camp version of The Price is Right. Paley uses over 140 brand references in More...
What I didn't like: I felt like I was reading the YA fat camp version of The Price is Right. Paley uses over 140 brand references in More...
Jun 28, 2011
Kristen
rated it: 
Fatties at camp — while not a new idea, an interesting one all the same. Sasha Paley’s “Huge” first caught my attention with the great cover art and title — I mean, come on, a huge so-more and “Welcome to fat camp” makes it a definite must read for fatties everywhere.
Upon opening the book, two very one-dimensional characters greet me: Wil — a rich teen that is forced to go to camp by her parents and April — a poor, fat teen that has saved all her money to go away to camp with no suppor More...
Upon opening the book, two very one-dimensional characters greet me: Wil — a rich teen that is forced to go to camp by her parents and April — a poor, fat teen that has saved all her money to go away to camp with no suppor More...
Mar 23, 2011
BAYA
rated it:
Wealthy Wil's parents are fitness freaks and gym owners who so want their overweight daughter to lose weight they send her to Wellness Canyon (a weight loss camp for teens) against her will for the whole summer. There she shares a room with April who has scraped together money for over a year to come to camp to lose her extra weight in the hopes of joining the popular crowd at school. The two could not be more different. Negative Wil is convinced her parents don't love and accept her and is try
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Feb 05, 2011
Samantha
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 25, 2010
Shanyn
rated it: 
I really love summer camp. I went to one for 14 years (!!!) including working on staff for a few summers. Unfortunately I don't see many books written in this setting - but was very excited to get a copy of Huge on an outing to a bookstore.
Huge is based at a weight loss camp, which kind of reminded me of Heavyweights (the movie). Unlike Heavyweights, I had a bit of a problem choosing which character to root for - because, quite frankly, I didn't like Wil OR April, the two roommates w More...
Huge is based at a weight loss camp, which kind of reminded me of Heavyweights (the movie). Unlike Heavyweights, I had a bit of a problem choosing which character to root for - because, quite frankly, I didn't like Wil OR April, the two roommates w More...
Sep 17, 2009
I really enjoyed reading Huge. It was a light and sometimes funny read. I found it to be thoroughly enteratining.
I really liked the plot of Huge, it was light and easy-going and didn't take on a very serious tone. It was a really fun novel to read and I really enjoyed sharing in the antics of Wil and April. My only complaint is that it was slightly slow-going at the beginning but it soon became a really interesting book and I fond myself sucked into reading it non-stop wanting to know More...
I really liked the plot of Huge, it was light and easy-going and didn't take on a very serious tone. It was a really fun novel to read and I really enjoyed sharing in the antics of Wil and April. My only complaint is that it was slightly slow-going at the beginning but it soon became a really interesting book and I fond myself sucked into reading it non-stop wanting to know More...
Oct 15, 2011
Mirkat
rated it:
I came upon this book in sort of a backward way. First, I found the DVD set of the short-lived (one season) TV series based on the book. I'd never heard of the series OR the book, but I enjoyed the show and became curious about the book, which is listed in the credits.
Unlike the series, the book presents its story through the point of view of two characters: Wilhemina "Wil" Hopkins and April Adams, who are roommates at Wellness Canyon, an expensive, spa-like fat camp. A More...
Unlike the series, the book presents its story through the point of view of two characters: Wilhemina "Wil" Hopkins and April Adams, who are roommates at Wellness Canyon, an expensive, spa-like fat camp. A More...
May 22, 2011
Caroline
rated it:
I thought this book was nice. It was an easy read, but I learned a few lessons from it. This book is about Wil, and April, two girls who are overweight and are sent to "Wellness Canyon" to "get better" or in other words, lose weight. These two are paired up to be roommates, and the main difference between them is that April wants to be there, and Wil doesn't. Wil's parents own a large gym company, and are extremely embarrassed by their daughter. April, comes from a family whi
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Aug 10, 2010
jess
rated it:
I decided to read this because there's a new show on ABC FAMILY about kids at fat camp, starring the girl from Hairspray (the movie version of the musical version of the John Waters movie). I have long been obsessed with John Waters. Consequently, this book is about 4 degrees from anything I'm actually interested in. But I was flying across the country on a non-stop screaming babies flight and this book was enough to distract me and also quick enough that I was finished before we landed in Seatt
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Oct 26, 2011
Anna
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 24, 2010
Andrea Jean
rated it:
Maybe 2.5 stars because I like the concept and love the ABC Family series that's based on the book. Here's what I wrote on my blog:
The only things it has in common with the TV show are (a) a fat girl named Wil and (b) a fat camp that she was sent to against her wishes. Book Wil is rich and spoiled and almost completely unlikable. She shares a room with April, the perky poor girl who saved up thousands of dollars on her own to go to Wellness Canyon. April is determined to lose weight More...
The only things it has in common with the TV show are (a) a fat girl named Wil and (b) a fat camp that she was sent to against her wishes. Book Wil is rich and spoiled and almost completely unlikable. She shares a room with April, the perky poor girl who saved up thousands of dollars on her own to go to Wellness Canyon. April is determined to lose weight More...
Feb 24, 2011
Christianne
rated it:
Draft review for BAYA
Wealthy Wil's parents are fitness freaks and gym owners who so want their overweight daughter to lose weight they send her to Wellness Canyon ( a weight loss camp for teens) against her will for the whole summer. There she shares a room with April who has scraped together money for over a year to come to camp to lose her extra weight in the hopes of joining the popular crowd at school. The two could not be more different. Negative Wil is convinced her parents don More...
Wealthy Wil's parents are fitness freaks and gym owners who so want their overweight daughter to lose weight they send her to Wellness Canyon ( a weight loss camp for teens) against her will for the whole summer. There she shares a room with April who has scraped together money for over a year to come to camp to lose her extra weight in the hopes of joining the popular crowd at school. The two could not be more different. Negative Wil is convinced her parents don More...
Jan 10, 2011
10-11 Jenna
rated it: 
How I found out about this book or actually the tv show was one night at my house my sister was in our game room watching tv and so I asked her what she was watching and she said "'Huge' on 'ABC Family'" and so I sat down and watched a episode with her and I hadn't seen any of the others and realized what a good show it was so I asked my dad if we could go to Barnes and Noble to look at book ideas for me for Christmas and I saw that book and I told him about it and so on Christmas day
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Jan 04, 2009
Huge is a novel about two roommates who become best friends at fat camp. I really enjoyed this book and I give it five stars. There were many conflicts, internal and external,that made this book so interesting. This, in turn, created a lot of irony. Sasha Paley also took time to deeply describe her characters. Each had a different personality and some of them I really disliked. The author used characters' own thoughts more so than dialogue to guide the story or explain something. This way, I fe
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Jun 29, 2010
laaaaames
rated it:
What I learned from this book is you only get pretty if you lose weight.
I learned that your mom's so fat she sends you cookies at fat camp. HA HA. Fat people! They're so stupid!
I learned apparently my track pants from Target are not the hot brand.
I learned the only reason anyone could be happy with their weight is to spite someone.
I learned there is a shameful lack of kissing and making out and sexual experimentation even with kids in the wildernes More...
I learned that your mom's so fat she sends you cookies at fat camp. HA HA. Fat people! They're so stupid!
I learned apparently my track pants from Target are not the hot brand.
I learned the only reason anyone could be happy with their weight is to spite someone.
I learned there is a shameful lack of kissing and making out and sexual experimentation even with kids in the wildernes More...
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Aug 04, 2011
Emma
rated it:
Huge follows the stories of two girls, Will and April.
April has been saving all year to afford to come to Wellness Canyon Summer Camp (aka Fat Camp), whereas Will's parents are rich, skinny, beautiful and run their own chain of fitness gyms. They have tried almost everything else to help Will lose weight and this seems like their last resort.
Though Will is happy as she is, and is determined to be the first person to actually put on weight at fat camp!
April and Will end up More...
April has been saving all year to afford to come to Wellness Canyon Summer Camp (aka Fat Camp), whereas Will's parents are rich, skinny, beautiful and run their own chain of fitness gyms. They have tried almost everything else to help Will lose weight and this seems like their last resort.
Though Will is happy as she is, and is determined to be the first person to actually put on weight at fat camp!
April and Will end up More...
May 20, 2010
Christine
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. It made me smile and chuckle some, but not like, laugh out loud.
I really liked that this book was sort of...real. There were of course the unrealistic parts, but that's normal. What felt really good to me (aka, real) was that although the girls improved over the summer, and came to their individual realizations, they still realized that they needed to improve themselves. Like, hey, I'm a work in progress, not a perfect person!
Colin totally dese More...
I really liked that this book was sort of...real. There were of course the unrealistic parts, but that's normal. What felt really good to me (aka, real) was that although the girls improved over the summer, and came to their individual realizations, they still realized that they needed to improve themselves. Like, hey, I'm a work in progress, not a perfect person!
Colin totally dese More...
Aug 31, 2010
Joanna
rated it:
Being a big fan of the ABC Family show that was inspired by this book, I wanted to like this novel a lot more than I actually did. There were some good things about it, of course. I enjoyed the way that characters can lose weight, but be no better as people. And it did not engage in any gratuitous body hating, which is certainly a plus.
Unfortunately, the book relies too much on characters that are written as seriously unsympathetic. I realize that teenage girls may be moody, or s More...
Unfortunately, the book relies too much on characters that are written as seriously unsympathetic. I realize that teenage girls may be moody, or s More...
Oct 08, 2010
Morgan
rated it:
If you decided to read this book because you like the TV series on ABC Family, don't. The two have nothing in common besides the title, Wil's name, and the concept of kids at fat camp. These differences don't necessarily mean one is worse than the other. No, there are plenty of more reasons for that. This is one of the few instances that the TV series has actually more plot, heart, and character development than the book.
One of things that really,truly pissed me off was all the More...
One of things that really,truly pissed me off was all the More...
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Apr 16, 2011
di
rated it:
Okay, so I read this book because I got sucked into the mini-series on TV last year, & was a little disappointed when there never was a season two. I just wanted to know what happened to all the characters. But, & this may be the first time I have ever said this, the movie (or in this case, the TV show) was WAY better than the book. True, the TV show was no emmy award winner, but it was a decent script with realistic & even sometimes complex characters. The book was superficial, horribly pre
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Oct 06, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Wil and April are paired as partners at Wellness Canyon (or Fat Camp, as Wil calls it) and the two girls couldn't be more different. April saved for months in order to afford the camp--she's ready to lose weight and learn how to stay healthy. Wil, on the other hand, is the daughter of two fitness club gurus, and sees staying grumpy and chubby as the ultimate rebellion against her wealthy, spandex-wearing parents. The two teens are supposed to support each other and work together to have a positi
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Oct 19, 2010
Kate
rated it:
I read this because I think the TV show based on it is pretty great.
It's a story about teenagers at a weight loss camp which I admit sounds totally shitty. Just what we need, another crap book about how weight loss will make your life amazing. But it isn't like that. The TV show is made by the woman who created My So-Called Life and her daughter. It has characters that question fatphobia and even has a trans/queer person that is not totally pathologized!
UNFORTUNATELY... More...
It's a story about teenagers at a weight loss camp which I admit sounds totally shitty. Just what we need, another crap book about how weight loss will make your life amazing. But it isn't like that. The TV show is made by the woman who created My So-Called Life and her daughter. It has characters that question fatphobia and even has a trans/queer person that is not totally pathologized!
UNFORTUNATELY... More...
Feb 19, 2010
Tara
rated it:
This falls into what I call the Gossip Girl school of books - lots of references to brand names, which will render the story completely outdated within a few years.
I'm not so big on the message of this one, either. The character who was completely okay with her weight ends up losing some and being happy about it. So much for what I thought was going to be a strong character role model!
There are also far too many references to characters only becoming "pretty" or More...
I'm not so big on the message of this one, either. The character who was completely okay with her weight ends up losing some and being happy about it. So much for what I thought was going to be a strong character role model!
There are also far too many references to characters only becoming "pretty" or More...
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Jul 04, 2009
Paige Y.
rated it:
Wil is being forced to attend Wellness Canyon. Her parents own a number of fitness centers, but Wil is overweight and completely opposed to becoming physically fit. If she has to attend “fat camp,” then she is going to gain weight there just to defy her parents.
April has saved up money all year to be able to go to Wellness Canyon. All she wants is to finally be skinny and popular. She’s so excited about her summer that she’s about to burst.
Somehow these two girls en More...
April has saved up money all year to be able to go to Wellness Canyon. All she wants is to finally be skinny and popular. She’s so excited about her summer that she’s about to burst.
Somehow these two girls en More...
Aug 11, 2010
Bunny
rated it:
Rushed to finish this before leaving for NY tomorrow.
Wow. How did such an incredible show come from a book that isn't?
The only thing the show took from the book was the fat camp and Wil. That's it. At first I thought April would be the book's version of Amber, but she's an entirely different animal.
I expected a lot more from this book. The characters aren't well fleshed out, even during their most vulnerable moments. It's sad, because the two main girls are v More...
Wow. How did such an incredible show come from a book that isn't?
The only thing the show took from the book was the fat camp and Wil. That's it. At first I thought April would be the book's version of Amber, but she's an entirely different animal.
I expected a lot more from this book. The characters aren't well fleshed out, even during their most vulnerable moments. It's sad, because the two main girls are v More...
Oct 26, 2011
Virginia
rated it:
Huge was a great book, also the show was really good. The book talks about a lot more than what the t.v show puts out. I enjoyed reading it and it was interesting. It talks about how this girl April is trying to lose weight and goes to this camp called Wellness Canyon, which she calls it Fat camp. April makes friends, but is a different person when meeting the other girls. April is sorta weird, but has friend that she made and his name is Wil. He was also forced to go by his parents, so he choos
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Jul 28, 2011
The first 2/3rds of this book was really cool, but I have to say that the ending was a complete disappointment. Suddenly well rounded principled Wil became just another fat camp sheep, and April became a total mess. The ending was unbelievable and didn't resolve a lot of the threads left hanging (like April using Dave or Wil's terrible parents). In the end, a book that seemed to have a message of "love yourself at any size" became about how everyone can loose weight and get what the
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Sep 22, 2010
Lizzie
rated it:
I loved ABC Family's adaptation, so I decided to give the book a try. It's a quick, simple read, but unfortunately almost everything that was great about the TV show isn't actually from the book. The author also reinforces some frustrating stereotypes with certain characters--the mean jock is *just* a mean jock, the fat, diabetic mom is portrayed as stupid and lazy, and the campers' emotions are flat and expected.
On the positive side, it was refreshing to read a book written from the More...
On the positive side, it was refreshing to read a book written from the More...
Dec 07, 2010
Tammy
rated it:
I thought this was a good enough read. A student read it multiple times, so I thought I would give it a try. I found the characters to be too steeped in stereotypes, the bitchy rich girl and the overly sweet poor girl, the jerk jock. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it to students, but it isn't horrible. The one aspect I did like was the attempt to illustrate the universal feelings of insecurity and desire to be loved that all teenagers have. However, there are other books that do a
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Jul 20, 2011
-k The Lady Critic
rated it:
Sending your children away to “fat camp” has always intrigued me. I mean, at a regular camp you’re never not busy; there’s always swimming lessons, bike riding, hiking, canoeing, and so many other typical camp activities. Sure, you also have your arts and crafts and other indoor things, but in my experience the counsellors were always making us be outside as much as possible. So exactly what’s the added benefit of a “fat camp”?
Well, this book helped me see the difference while stil More...
Well, this book helped me see the difference while stil More...
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