Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?

Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?

3.56 of 5 stars 3.56  ·  rating details  ·  178 ratings  ·  40 reviews
How often do you find yourself looking in the mirror? And smiling at what you see?
More likely, you're thinking what you see is: Fat, Ugly, Skinny, Round, Stacked or Flat, Bad or Good. From reality television to tabloid headlines, we're all surrounded by weight and discussion of weight. In this collection, a stellar lineup of YA writers sound off on body image., self-estee...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published December 29th 2008 by Clarion Books
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Wintergirls by Laurie Halse AndersonPerfect by Natasha FriendJust Listen by Sarah DessenWasted by Marya HornbacherIdentical by Ellen Hopkins
YA Eating Disorder Fiction
40th out of 105 books — 247 voters
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5th out of 22 books — 11 voters


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K  Nolfi
Very hit and miss. What's with the red, white, and blue? I liked the Sara Zarr and Daniel Pinkwater stories. He seems fun like an old fashioned wit. I would've preferred short memoirs instead or short boring stories.
The Supplementary section is awful.
Jennifer Wardrip
Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com

With fourteen stories and personal essays written by popular authors such as Sara Zarr, Carolyn Mackler, Ellen Hopkins, and more, this book is quite amazing. The stories all focus on the weight and body image issues that most everyone has at one point in their life.

Whether it's feeling overweight or thinking you're too skinny, how you feel that your breasts are either way too small or way too big, everyone has issues with their bodies.

Not much else I...more
Brianna Bizzaro
Name: Brianna Bizzaro
APA citation: Walsh, M. (2008). Does this book make me look fat?. New York: Clarion Books.
Genre: Short Stories
Format: Print
Selection process: School Library Reading List

This book is a re-telling of life events from YA writers that have helped shape a more positive perspective on body image. It includes everything from family struggles, to person struggles, and triumphs. People’s stories are told in a poignant and emotion tale that is sometimes full of tears, while other tim...more
Laurie
Loved it. I was very big from about 3rd grade until the end of 8th grade. My sister called me beached whale. You get the picture. It's a tough thing to live with, and it stays with you even if you get thin. I liked all the perspectives shown though the short stories in this book. Some of my favorite authors contributed.
Hallie
Mar 01, 2010 Hallie added it
Shelves: ya
From my 2009 books LJ:

Finally, The Best-Intentioned Book that Manages To Be Much Less Than Its Highlights Suggest It Should Be:

- Does This Book Make Me Look Fat? ed. by Marissa Walsh. Also possibly winner of worst title ever. The highlights for me were Daniel Pinkwater's cheerful and self-accepting essay about being the F-word. Fat. Indeed he writes 10 'fat's in a row, in the midst of explaining that it's the one word you can't say. The other was Sara Zarr's 'It Is Good', which tells with great...more
CJ
I liked many of the essays in this book. Some of them were a little too fantasy-world, but most of them made me think. When I finished it, I went to my mother and put the book in her hands. She's had body image issues her whole life - thinking she isn't thin enough - so I told her to put down anything else she was reading and read this. It goes to my teenage daughter next.
Glenda
Again, I'm a big fan of the short story genre, and I think that all teen girls should be required to read this one. We lose them. They think that they are too fat, too skinny, too stupid, too shy, pick your adjective. And these beautiful, funny, clever and wonderful girls get lost. Oh, honey! You are so much better than what you know.
Erin
Thinking a lot about body image lately, especially in the health at any size/self acceptance sort of way. This book of short stories traverses all the uncomfortable bits and arrives in various self accepting places. A good one for teens, probably mostly girls, though there are stories about boys here, too.
Maria
A lot of the stories in the book are very well written. Some really got me thinking about how people actually sometimes see their body. All of the stories are very grabbing and all different in so many ways! This book is something everyone should read or atleast try. There's a story in the book for everyone!
Kelli
The school librarian asked me to read this book to preview if it's appropriate for our middle school library. I'd say no, but there are some good stories in it. My favorite story from the book is "Circumferentially Challenged" by Daniel Pinkwater.
Julie (julie37619)
Not phenomenal or life-changing or anything, but a fun, quick read. Cute short stories, maybe they would have seemed deeper to me as a teenager, but for the most part they seemed to be fun, lighthearted looks at body issues faced by teenagers. I'd give more stars, but it's only been a week since I read it and I have no good memory of any of the stories.
Valerie
I really like this book.

Ellen Hopkins, Sara Zarr, Carolyn Mackler, and the title quickly drew me to this book. While some of the essays and short stories seemed ...blah, most of them were AMAZING.
Stephanie
This is a collection of short stories about body image. Some are fictional and some are personal accounts. There's even a poem and a comic. It is consistently checked out from the book display.
Jenny
May 27, 2011 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: ya
The awesome author of this sent a copy to me before it even came out and I somewhat just realized over 2 years later that I haven't reviewed the book yet. Oops! I apologize. I did read it shortly after receiving it. One of the best (if not the best) title of all time. Body image is one of the main topics of this book but I have to admit that I actually did feel fat while reading this b/c to me all of the authors sounded very skinny (they listed their shirt sizes). I don't have the book handy but...more
Chris
Book of short stories about weight and body image. A lot of thought provoking stuff. A good YA book. Lots of different styles-comic strip, verse, author memoirs, fiction.
Elizabeth Scott
A collection of essays and stories from authors like Ellen Hopkins, Sarra Manning, and Barry Lyga. This book is sad and funny and smart and wise--in short--So. Good.
Rachael
Funny, dark, intelligent writing by people who know what it's like to be unhappy with their bodies and how to grow into them. Includes boss recommended reading, viewing and listening. Totally worth the time.
Lisa
Such fluffy mind candy! The title was so funny I couldn't resist it at the library. Complete chic-lit, but the message was soothing and good. I enjoyed it.
Suzi
I didn't read all the essays/stories, but the ones I did were great, esp. the one by Sara Zarr, called "It is Good."
Regina
I only read a few of these essays, including the one by Sara Zarr. Insightful and definitely worth reading.
Karen
Not the book for me. It had that mix of fiction and non-fiction stories which I don't appreciate, and almost all were aimed at a younger audience than I am.
Amber
Very good book. I think every women should read this book. It doesn't matter how old you are. It brings up issues that every women deal with body image.
Annie Oosterwyk
Terrific short pieces by many well-known authors about body image and self-esteem issues.
Anina Ertel
Just typical, but if I were a teenage girl with fatness issues though, this would be nice comedic read. The Daniel Pinkwater one was amusing.



Kristi
I enjoyed the last story by Coe Booth. Ellen Hopkins didn't live up to her full lenght novels, but I did enjoy it.
Eva Mitnick
These 14 contributions by various writers, mostly YA, vary wildly in tone and length. Some are short stories, some are essays, and some are semiautobiographical. Coe Booth's How to Tame a Wild Booty is fabulous, but most of the others I found only mildly entertaining to slightly dull. Fatness (or perceived fatness) seemed to be the predominating body image problem, although some contributions (such as Jaclyn Moriarty's surreal The Day Before Waterlily Arrived) explore other issues. All in all, I...more
Julia Di Piazza
An enjoyable collection of short stories about weight and self-image issues from both male and female authors. A good read for anyone struggling with their body or low self-esteem. It's not a self-help book filled with techniques to cure your problems, but the stories are nice reminders that you're not alone.
Edward Sullivan
Great short story collection about an excellent topic.
Tara
Jan 13, 2010 Tara rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teenage Girls With Low Self Esteem
I enjoyed this book. It was nice to see life from different perspectives on different body types. It is sad in a sense. I think teenage girl would enjoy this book
bekah
I love the chapter from the perspective of the mirror.
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Marissa Walsh is a former children's book editor. She is a graduate of Smith College, home to many former, current, and future Girls with Glasses. She lives in New York City and wears a lot of black.
More about Marissa Walsh...
A Field Guide to High School Girl with Glasses: My Optic History Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything: The Jealousy Book American Idol: The Search for a Superstar--The Official Book Tipsy in Madras: A complete guide to 80s preppy drinking, including *proper attire *cocktails for

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