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119th out of 1,210 books
—
6,529 voters
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp
by
Stephanie Klein (Goodreads Author)
With her signature acerbic wit and captivating insight, the author of the wildly popular "Straight Up and Dirty" offers a powerful and beautifully stark portrait of adolescence
While she is pregnant with twins, one sentence uttered by her doctor sends Stephanie Klein reeling: "You need to gain fifty pounds." Instantly, an adolescence filled with insecurity and embarrassment...more
While she is pregnant with twins, one sentence uttered by her doctor sends Stephanie Klein reeling: "You need to gain fifty pounds." Instantly, an adolescence filled with insecurity and embarrassment...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
May 1st 2008
by William Morrow
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I have so many thoughts on this book that I cannot decide where to begin. There’s the subject matter, there’s how the subject matter struck a cord with me personally, there’s the writing style itself, and there’s my thoughts on Stephanie Klein. I suppose I’ll start by saying that, although there were things about the book that I didn’t love, or things that made me uncomfortable, I still enjoyed it immensely and gave it four stars.
The thing for me that was so interesting about the book was the lo...more
The thing for me that was so interesting about the book was the lo...more
Based on a compilation of several years at "Fat Camp", school and her family relationships, Moose is quite the story by Stephanie Klein. I would be very interested to know what "thin" people think of it. Having always been one of the fat kids and now fat adults, I could relate to much of the story.
Her tales of dieting starting at a young age (nutritionist, Weight Watchers, diuretics, etc.), trying to find attractive clothes, wanting to be one of the cool kids, dealing with helpful comments that...more
Her tales of dieting starting at a young age (nutritionist, Weight Watchers, diuretics, etc.), trying to find attractive clothes, wanting to be one of the cool kids, dealing with helpful comments that...more
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I'm not a reader of Stephanie Klein's blog, Greek Tragedy, so I don't know how much of Moose is contained within it's pages. I knew going into it that this might not be the book for me. It's about Klein's experiences at "fat camp" as a young teen-ager and as a fat camp counselor as an older teen-ager. I really dislike when someone's whole life is wrapped up in their weight and food. It's just so boring and pointless. But I was hoping that perhaps Klein had a larger message to share and had manag...more
It wasn't quite as spot on as Straight Up and Dirty, but I'm wondering, in retrospect, if that is because her honesty was oftentimes infuriating. But that's the point, I assume: to admit that when a friend addresses the question of weight (that of your twins in the NICU), to assume she is questioning yours; to admit to never being completely healthy once you've had disordered eating... ever; to be honest about being your most miserable at your skinniest, and your happiest when fat. While reading...more
Being an adolescent girl is hard, being a fat adolescent girl is even harder...
There are few things in life as embarassing as being the fat kid. Everyone sees the class pictures, the lonely lunches and the sweat stained t-shirts in gym class. However, though as zoftig as she may be at home, she's one of the hot girls at fat camp, dozens of pounds lighter than most of the other campers.
But all is not well at fat camp. There are social and sexual fumblings, as well as firsthand, backstabbing and b...more
There are few things in life as embarassing as being the fat kid. Everyone sees the class pictures, the lonely lunches and the sweat stained t-shirts in gym class. However, though as zoftig as she may be at home, she's one of the hot girls at fat camp, dozens of pounds lighter than most of the other campers.
But all is not well at fat camp. There are social and sexual fumblings, as well as firsthand, backstabbing and b...more
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I'm not a big reader of memoirs. But I what I do like about the genre is that it exposes the reader to subcultures and worlds (both inner and outer) that may be totally unfamiliar.
"Moose" did this for me. Like all white girls in the suburbs, I was exposed to eating disorders and warped body image in elementary school. That part of her story was all too familiar.
But for me, all of those experiences were background noise to adolescence. For Stephanie Klein, they were front and center. I can't imag...more
"Moose" did this for me. Like all white girls in the suburbs, I was exposed to eating disorders and warped body image in elementary school. That part of her story was all too familiar.
But for me, all of those experiences were background noise to adolescence. For Stephanie Klein, they were front and center. I can't imag...more
Stephanie Klein's memoir of fat camp and beyond starts with her pregnancy with twins. She is told she needs to gain weight but all she can think about is her struggle with being overweight. I liked Klein's honesty. She shows every flaw along with every roll of fat. I learned what it is like to be "weight challenged". I've never had a weight problem beyond my own false perceptions that the mirror is lying. I have friends and loved ones who do struggle and this book really made me think about some...more
After reading SUAD, Stephanie's first book, which was so honest and at times shocking, and checking out her blog over the years, I was excited to read Moose. She hasn't changed...she is still as honest as ever. I found myself asking at times..."If I were writing this book, would I include this? What would my mom say??" Anyway, the topic of this book being the lifelong battle/struggle with weight, I could totally relate. I have never been to fat camp, and I was never made fun of for my issues wit...more
I was intrigued by this title.
As one who was always a little chubby, I was always curious as to what went on at those fat camps. I had read Jelly Belly as a child, and wondered how it measured up. Instead of kids finding ways to sneak food all the time, the majority of kids at the fat camp attended by Stephanie Klein really worked hard to shed their weight so they wouldn't be picked on at school.
Klein has a great voice - witty and sharp, and totally self-deprecating. She spared no embarrassing d...more
As one who was always a little chubby, I was always curious as to what went on at those fat camps. I had read Jelly Belly as a child, and wondered how it measured up. Instead of kids finding ways to sneak food all the time, the majority of kids at the fat camp attended by Stephanie Klein really worked hard to shed their weight so they wouldn't be picked on at school.
Klein has a great voice - witty and sharp, and totally self-deprecating. She spared no embarrassing d...more
I really wanted to like this book. I read Stephanie Klein's blog and find her writing very interesting. This book should have been something I could really relate to, having been an overweight child who grew into an overweight adult. Yet I didn't like this book much at all.
I kept reading it, hoping to find something redeeming, but was left disappointed. Klein shares so much of herself and her secret habits that you feel as if you've read someone's diary. And it wasn't pleasant. I keep wondering...more
I kept reading it, hoping to find something redeeming, but was left disappointed. Klein shares so much of herself and her secret habits that you feel as if you've read someone's diary. And it wasn't pleasant. I keep wondering...more
This is exactly the way a memoir ought to be: honest but edited, painful but entertaining. I related to the author's f-ed up relationship with food and self-hatred, and simultaneously took comfort in (a) her ability to maintain perspective while (b) admitting that part of her would never overcome Fat. I also loved the book for taking me back to my summer camp, with all of its rituals and routines: hauling myself out of bed in the morning in order to encircle the flagpole. Paddling out to the flo...more
Stephanie Klein suffered from obesity when she was a girl, earning her the nickname “Moose”. (She found no support from her Poppa, whose only advice was that she lose the fat.) Determined to get rid of the weight, she went on a strict diet and slimmed herself down to the beauty she wanted to be. So this is not going to be another book about accepting who you are. It’s about getting over—or around—yourself.
The memoir is bizarre, to say the least. In fat camp, she writes candidly about the others...more
The memoir is bizarre, to say the least. In fat camp, she writes candidly about the others...more
Moose a memoir of fat camp is a very good book that talks and examines through a person what it is like to be over weight or feeling that they are over weight. Stephanie the main character is an adolescence who struggles with weight loss. She attends a support group with a nutrionist who helps them build self esttem and help encourage weight loss. Yet she deals with peers, family and her own self image. This book is written narrative style in which she is talking through out hte book which I enj...more
"Moose" really took me for a loop.
At first (when I found the book on the library shelf) I wanted a funny (to even snarky) look at fat camps (think a combination of those young adult books, like "Pistachio Prescription" and David Sedaris with his bitchy on). But then I made the mistake of looking at the author's bio pic. And she was NOT fat. In fact, she was SKINNY. And I went from open minded to judgemental in one head spinning second.
Then, before even plowing into the text, I made the mistake o...more
At first (when I found the book on the library shelf) I wanted a funny (to even snarky) look at fat camps (think a combination of those young adult books, like "Pistachio Prescription" and David Sedaris with his bitchy on). But then I made the mistake of looking at the author's bio pic. And she was NOT fat. In fact, she was SKINNY. And I went from open minded to judgemental in one head spinning second.
Then, before even plowing into the text, I made the mistake o...more
I waited a long time with this one on my wishlist at Paperbackswap. I finally got a copy, and tried to let it sit on my shelf for awhile (since I had other books that should have had their turn next), but I ended up reading it almost right away.
I was most excited about the camp aspect, because I was a big camp person in my youth. I spent many, many years at a youth camp, and really wanted to hear a story from a camp aspect. What I found instead was a camp story with mostly narratives and monolog...more
I was most excited about the camp aspect, because I was a big camp person in my youth. I spent many, many years at a youth camp, and really wanted to hear a story from a camp aspect. What I found instead was a camp story with mostly narratives and monolog...more
Less than a page into "Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp," I knew I had discovered a new favorite writer "voice." Author Stephanie Klein is hysterical - she writes with a self-depricating, slightly baudy humor that really reeled me in. The story -- a composite of Klein's own teen experiences at five years worth of fat camps -- may not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I wasn't an overweight kid, but I was a camper, and Klein's recounting of "chunky dunking", sneaking out after lights out to vi...more
When I started this book, I thought it would be a quick, easy read to get me out of the reading slump I've been in. I like memoirs, especially when the author has overcome some hard times and learned valuable lessons to pass on to me, the reader. That's what I thought I'd be reading. I thought there would be interesting camp stories-funny ones, painful ones, but entertaining. Well, it wasn't even all about her 4 years at "fat camp" really. She compiled some of her experiences and memories into a...more
This girl needs a shrink, not a diet doctor! So totally messed up about her size, both when she's chubby and when she's thin. She agonizes when she has to lose weight and she agonizes when she's pregnant and the Doctor told her to gain weight. She's already anxious about weight issues that her INFANTS might have as they grow up even though they are premature and in the NICU! Enough already! She blames everyone under the sun for her weight issues: Mom and Dad, Diet Doctors,popular kids at school,...more
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Jan 22, 2011
Mallory
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who are not afraid of fat or funny
Recommended to Mallory by:
Stephanie Klein's blog
Stephanie Klein is one of those rare memoirists who can write about her own unique experiences and make them feel like they were your experiences. And while I could not relate to the subject material in this novel,
never having attended any camp, let alone a weight-loss camp, Klein manages to make her experiences feel universal. She has a funny, biting, but never mean-spirited sense of humor, and she is able to simultaneously poke fun at herself and point out that it really isn't funny at all. Th...more
never having attended any camp, let alone a weight-loss camp, Klein manages to make her experiences feel universal. She has a funny, biting, but never mean-spirited sense of humor, and she is able to simultaneously poke fun at herself and point out that it really isn't funny at all. Th...more
This book isn't just about being an overweight kid. It's about how anyone gets through adolescence with a shred of self-esteem when it seems like everyone around us is trying to knock us down. I don't even like to repeat out loud the phrase that has been running through my head every day since JS said it to me way back in 5th grade - the fact that Klein could put all of her life out there for anyone to read about is amazing to me. Very brave.
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Moose is a very contemporary memoir: the narrator faces a contemporary dilemma (childhood obesity), goes through a contemporary solution (fat camp), and tells it all in very contemporary language (i.e. informal). Despite the fact that the first and last portions of the book are written from Klein's "adult perspective," the whole memoir reads as though a kid in junior high school were narrating. This is not necessarily a bad thing, considering most of the book is spent during those very years in...more
I'm still kicking myself for not taking the job at Camp Shane last summer. I just have this strong feeling that I NEED to help kids struggling with their body image... but I keep cutting myself down, thinking 'who are you to think you can help? what qualifications do you have? what credentials do you have?' none.
So, maybe that mentality makes me a terrible example to help people with low self esteem. Le sigh.
After reading 'Moose', I feel so fortunate that I had a pretty decent childhood, that my...more
So, maybe that mentality makes me a terrible example to help people with low self esteem. Le sigh.
After reading 'Moose', I feel so fortunate that I had a pretty decent childhood, that my...more
Sep 02, 2010
Sara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Carly Dougherty
Recommended to Sara by:
Samantha
Shelves:
library-book,
sara-s-favs
This book was fantastic! So good, in fact, that it was a one-sitting read. I kept thinking, "I'll just read one more chapter," and before I knew it, I was done.
The fact that this book was all true really enlightened me. I appreciated Klein's matter-of-fact tone and the fact that she didn't seem to leave anything out. No matter how difficult some parts of the book were to read (that she DOES loose weight but still isn't very happy because it seems there could be a few more pounds to loose, that f...more
The fact that this book was all true really enlightened me. I appreciated Klein's matter-of-fact tone and the fact that she didn't seem to leave anything out. No matter how difficult some parts of the book were to read (that she DOES loose weight but still isn't very happy because it seems there could be a few more pounds to loose, that f...more
I don't recommend this to anyone who's actively struggling with an eating disorder whether it's anorexia, binge eating, bulimia, etc.. There are far too many 'trigger's as well as instructions for how to purge. The author did not set this up as a 'how-to' guide but I can see how one struggling may pick up this book just to feel less alone. I learned things I'd never heard of and I thought I had a good handle on these food rituals due to my own adolescent/teen struggle. I'm now attempting to dep...more
Don’t get me wrong, I like Stephanie Klein's writing- but this book was a little too much for me. The book starts off with Klein at her OBGYN since she is now pregnant with twins. (I read her previous book in 2008). She is told by her doctors that she has to gain 50lbs since she is pregnant with twins. Instead of answering, “of course, anything for the safety of my babies!” she reacts unnaturally and thinks only of herself and past weight struggles. Now, I’ve never been pregnant, and I’ve never...more
unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations. if anything, growing up as a fat kid myself, there was very few tidbits i could actually relate too. this gal made me want to slit my wrists. it makes me wonder, maybe there can be fat kids with positive self image. i had my issues (like so many other teenagers), but never in my life did i have her issues.
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I had trouble not judging the people as I read this memoir. I found teenage Stephanie really difficult to take. She had such an edge to her. I wanted to feel sympathy towards her situation - kids teasing her, wanting to fit in and be liked, wanting to like herself, but the walls that she built around her made it difficult for me to like her. I found adult Stephanie more likable. Maybe the connection to adult Stephanie was easier for me because I have struggled with my weight as an adult (both we...more
Who could resist a good fat camp memoir? The thing is, she was one of the skinnier kids at fat camp, making her more of a Plastic. And she helped teach some other fat kids to make themselves throw up.
Somehow I picked up this book at the Dollar Store because I was out of town, finished the book I brought with me, and wanted something else for the plane ride back to DC. This book is based on the real life of the author: an overweight/obese girl and her life-long battle with weight and weight loss--hilariously set at fat camp. The bigger and more serious message is somber and will resonate with anyone who has fought with extra pounds. At one point near the end of the book, the author is trying...more
When wildly popular blogger Stephanie Klein became pregnant with twins, her doctor recommended that she gain fifty pounds--advice that set the fit mother-to-be reeling and bombarded her with unpleasant memories of her overweight childhood. Called "Moose" by the kids at school and constantly put down by her parents, Klein was finally sent to a "fat camp" at the age of 13. There, she experienced a sense of camaraderie among her fellow campers, and the lessons she learned (though most didn't come f...more
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A foodie who sometimes abuses hair care products, Stephanie Klein is an acclaimed writer and photographer with a cult-like following. Her work has been published internationally, and her blog, Greek Tragedy, was recently ranked the 26th most powerful blog in the world by The Observer in the UK. Klein's photography is on permanent exhibit in New York's Hotel Gansevoort. Her first memoir, Straight U...more
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Hey, do you have any funny pictures of Crash? she'll be 50 in December we're having a big bash fo...more
Nov 14, 2008 04:49pm