Go Figure

by Jo Edwards, Tamaye Perry (Designer)

Ryan is not obsessing....

But she does want to lose weight. Ever since she was outted as a "fat girl" at chearleading camp in fifth grade, Ryan's been on a mission to shed more than a few pounds.

Lately she's also on the hunt for a new relationship. Now that her ex- boyfriend is a rock star - currently posing on the cover of Rolling Stone - Ryan seriously needs to move on. They haven't spoken in months, but in the magazine Noah's wearing the bracelet Ryan gave him. She can't help wondering what that means...Not that she wants him back or anything.

No, Ryan's plan is to make the most of senior year. After all, she's popular, funny, a talented photographer...she's got a lot going for her. So it's not all about losing weight or gaining a boyfriend. It's about getting what she wants. And it's about time.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Teen, Chick Lit

271 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2007

About the author

Jo Edwards also writes under the name Johanna Edwards.

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like the author, Jo Edwards, lived inside my head during my high school years. The main character, Ryan, is so believable and authentic. As a person who had to deal with not being the thinnest person in her circle of friends, I can say that the thoughts and emotions of Ryan were right on.



Ryan Burke is overweight. She completely understands that she is too heavy, but like so many other "chubby" people out there, it is very difficult for her to do anything about it. Diets never last, exercise isn't a pleasant experience, and it is too easy to fall into the trap of food when she gets stressed or depressed. Ryan has a best friend that seems to be pulling away from her for no reason (although it will seem obvious to the reader why), she is on medication for depression, and has a weekly visit with a psychologist/psychiatrist.



Ryan isn't an unpopular girl; in fact, she has been extremely popular ever since her ex-boyfriend hit it big in the music business. Noah is on the cover of the most recent issue of Rolling Stone and awaiting the release of a new album and word has it, he has written a song inspired by her. Everyone wants to know what it was like being Noah's girlfriend and she is sick of that monopolizing every conversation see has.



The one thing she feels good about is her photography and she has been chosen for a special, weekend course with a well-known photographer. Her next-door neighbor and ex-best friend, Josh, was also accepted for this class which allowes her to reconnect with him.



One scene in the book that rings completely true is when Ryan attends a party with her friend Kimberlee. She meets Jared, a super hot college guy that seems to be interested in her. She doesn't feel secure, but after drinking a few beers she loosens up enough to agree to go outside with Jared. After some spectacular kissing she begins to really enjoy herself - until Jared's phone rings - AND he answers it. Ashley is on the phone, the girl he has a total crush on, and he agrees to pick her up to bring her back to the party. Ryan knows the reason Jared left the party to go get another girl is because of her weight. She thinks that if she'd been skinny he would have stayed with her.



This book had me in tears several times. I sympathized with Ryan when she had to deal with her changing friendship with her best friend, watched others enjoy relationships when she had none, and feared she made a fool out of herself with Josh. Even though it ends with pretty much a fairy-tale ending, it still is a great novel for anyone to read, especially girls that have issues with food.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

very very good

[Jada · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was Great!

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by coollibrarianchick for TeensReadToo.com

Sometimes we need to read chick lit. Chick lit books are so much fun to read. Especially the ones where the girl goes from ugly duckling to swan metaphorically or meets Prince Charming after round after round of bad luck with other men. Pair a read like that with a lounge chair and a pool and your day is made. If you are looking for good chick lit, you should try Jo Edwards. She writes chick lit for both teens and adults.

I just finished her newest book for teens, GO FIGURE. It was easy to read - I finished it in just a couple of hours. It was an entertaining romp about a fat girl named Ryan Burke who, despite the extra baggage she carries, is a great girl who deserves to have everything that “skinny” girls get. Jo Edwards shows us through Ryan's voice what it means it to be
overweight in the world today.

In 6th grade she weighed 128 pounds • not the ideal weight for being a cheerleader. She was constantly teased, which really made her self-esteem plummet. Instead of doing something positive about her weight, nipping it in the bud, she let it spiral upward and out of control. It is so easy to hide behind the fat, which Ryan does throughout high school. Insecurities can do you in. Yet she still sits at the popular table at lunch. This just goes to show that fat girls can be popular; fat girls can have lots of friends.

It is the boyfriend area that Ryan doesn't excel in. Most of the relationships that she has been in, not that there were that many, the fat issue hindered things from progressing. Unfortunately, fat girls don't get the hot guys. Maybe in a fairy tale it does but not in real life. The longest relationship she had was with a guy who is now a big shot celebrity. He went from geek to sheik. He's been on the cover of Rolling Stone and you can read about him in the celebrity gossip columns.

Whether fat or thin, Ryan is going to make the most of her senior year. She has a lot going for her; besides being funny, smart, and popular, Ryan just got accepted into a prestigious photography class with a famous photographer. Interestingly, the “boy next door” turned “hunk when he got to high school” is in the same class. Eons ago, they used to be best friends but now move in different circles.

Can this class turn two old friends into something more? Can she make peace with her size and live her life to the fullest? You will have to read the book to find out.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could really relate to Ryan (a girl with a boy's name) and all the things she felt and thought about her weight, but nothing much else happened in the book. Pretty much the entire thing consisted of her talking about how she felt about being fat and how it affected her life, which *I* found interesting but I don't think many others would. And the whole thing with Chelsea was a bit annoying because I could tell from her first email that she had gotten skinny and wasn't telling Ryan about it but for the whole book Ryan was puzzled about why she was being so weird.
The ending was a bit too fairytale-perfect, but at the same time I felt like Ryan never really got the point: that being overweight doesn't cancel out being smart, talented, nice, interesting etc - and that some guys (the good ones) really genuinely care more about those things than about how you look.
Still. I quite enjoyed it. In fact I think I shall copy out this quote, which is so true:

"My recollection of eating the boring foods is so vivid - choking down celery sticks, suffering through cups of low-sodium veggie soup - that it feels like I must have eaten that way 24/7. But it was probably only half the time, at best. I also remember exercising all the damn time... It felt like I was going four of five times a week, but it was probably closer to one or two. This is what I hate about losing weight. It takes approximately a billion years to see results. If I ate a lean meal and then dropped a dress size overnight, I could stick to it so much better. But that's not how it works. You eat right over and over again, and then you (maybe) see some results. Sigh."

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryan has always been a "big girl". When she was ten she was called out by an instructor at cheer camp as fat. Everything has been downhill since. Ryan's one claim to fame is that her high school ex-boyfriend Noah has recently graced the cover of Rolling Stones magazine. Other than that her life pretty much sucks according to her. She has her mom who doesn't need a man (that's what sperm banks are for), her brother who had leukemia and is now a pot head, two best friends (one is a "big girl" like Ryan and the other is a gorgeous skinny girl who is kind of promiscuous), then she has her photography. The boy next door and her long ago friend is in her new prestigious photography class. She can’t help but think why would he want to be seen hanging out with the fat girl.
She believes that her weight has held her back in almost every aspect of her life... her relationships with her family and friends, her romantic relationships, even the college she will choose. Will Ryan be able to come to terms with her weight problem or will she become the ideal girl she has always wanted to be?
Jo Edwards did a good job. This book was really good!(and on a personal level I found it to be somewhat true). I loved the characters, especially Ryan. The ending was completely unexpected and the way everything turns out made this book that much more special. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a body image issue or to anyone who has ever picked on someone about their body. I give this book 4 Stars.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Go Figure by Jo Edwards which is a fictional story about life right now. The main character Ryan is overweight and it makes her very self-conscious of everything. She blames all of her problems on her weight and she thinks that if she were thinner and prettier, she would be happier and that she would never get rejected by a boy. I thought the book made sense with the fact that several people struggle with their weight today. But I didn’t think it was written very well. The author didn’t vary her word choice and it was really easy to read and got boring at parts. During the story, Ryan goes to a doctor once a week to talk about her weight and her depression, so several pages in the book are hand-written notes from her doctor. I thought they were boring to read and never changed.
Ryan reminds me of the main character Stacey, in the White is for magic series. They both have a problem that interferes with their lives everyday and they blame everything on it. For Stacey and Ryan it causes problems in their friendships with their best friends and their boyfriends. In the end of the books Ryan overcomes her trouble with her weight and lives with it. And Stacey figures out her nightmares and conquers them but in the sequels to White is for Magic Stacey’s nightmares come back. I would not recommend this book because I thought it was boring and uninteresting. Nothing dramatic happened in the plot and I don’t think many people will enjoy reading it.

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[Navi · Rating 2 out of 5]

While one day I'll write a full review of this book, I figure I'll give some of my thoughts now.

This applies to all books dealing with teenage weight issues. You don't need to keep rubbing in the fact that they are/think they are fat/bigger. It's ridiculous, and this entire book does not shut up about her weight.

It made her a one-dimensional character that became so boring that I found myself skimming the book. The surrounding characters had a lot of potential, but BECAUSE of the focus on Ryan's weight, they never got to shine. Sure, you got a few characters that are given traits, but they're never explored.

Her brother is shown to smoke pot to escape reality, then all of a sudden shifts gears into being a hard working college student. Her friend is described as a 'whore', but never really does much to prove that, it's all just told to us. Ryan's Best Fat Friend Forever (the book's words, not mine) goes through a miraculous change in character without much to justify it.

This book had its moments, but its not enough to be worth buying the book. If you want to read it, just check it out at a library. It's not too terribly good or long.

[Corra Hunter]

The book Go Figure is a 'Teen-Drama'. I liked this book because it covered a lot of problems, drama and relationships that teens go through. I thought it was funny, cute and romantic. At the end I kept saying that I wishit was my life. It takes place in Atlanta(Hotlant) and the main character is a firl named Ryan Burke. When she thought her name couldn't get much worse on the first day of school in first period when her teahcer was taking role, said Ryan Burke? And spent 2 minutes looking for a boy. But a few months prir she dated a boy named Noah Fairbanks, and that relationship lasted about 11 months but ended when he decided he wanted to start a singing carrer. He eventually moved to LA with his family and got signed to a record deal. After ths whole break up Ryan took it rally hard and after a few months she has gained about 150 lbs. in EXTRA weight.

The book goes through talking about how she goes through it and how she over comes it. She eventually finds someone and, her and Noah become closer than ever. You will enjoy this book wether you are 10 or 50. It is mostly for girls but is a good romance and love story(:

I NEED TO OWN THIS BOOK!!!!!!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ryan has a lot of things going on. Her ex-boyfriend just made the cover of Rolling Stone and is all most people can talk to her about. Her family (brother, mom, grandfather) are a bit of an embarrassment. Her sperm donor father is a mystery to her. Her best friend is in California and seems to have cut her out of her life. She just got a great opportunity to be in a special weekend photography class taught by one of her heroes (and the boy next door is in the class, too). She's overwhelmed with college decisions. She's struggling with depression and anxiety and is in therapy and on drugs she's not quite comfortable with. And overwhelmingly through all of this, she's fat. For Ryan, her weight is the core of all her problems, and this book is about her realizing that it doesn't have to be.
I found Ryan to be a really sympathetic character, though others may find her whiny, and I thought her fixation on her weight was realistic and relatable. The ending was sweet and easy, but I didn't get the sense that it was completely "happily ever after" either or that her insecurities had just vanished overnight.

[Maziel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about a girl named Ryan who is very consistant on her weight. She believes that she cant over come her dreams just because of her weight which she thinks is pulling her down. She dated Noah Fairbanks who used to be her boyfriend until he became a famous singer and he felt like they needed to break up. Ryan was a sperm baby which means her mother didnt have any relationships with a guy instead she went to the sperm donation bank and thats how Ryan and Mike(brother) were born. As she started to develop throughout life she began to have feelings for her old friend named Josh who at the time had a snobby girfriend named Meg. But one day finally came and Josh got some sense back into him and started dating Ryan and she lived happliy with friends and family. I really liked this novel because i can really relate to how Ryan feels about her weight and me too, also because its very intersting on how Ryan got boyfriends with her thinking self concious about her self and worried about rejections. She still and will always have game.

[DayZee · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a good, easy read, I found myself enjoying the side characters more than the main character. I understand that being heavy takes a mental toll as well as a physical one but I was turned off by the way her weight was driven into me throughout the entire book. The blurb for the book states that she's popular, funny and a talented photographer but it never really seemed to dwell on those positive characteristics nor did it really feel as if she was actually making "the most of senior year." I continued to feel as if she was merely content to feel sorry for herself while everyone around her tried to help her accept herself. In fact, Kimberlee, the character considered Perfect, was actually more of a like able character to me. Whatever the case, the book was fine but not great. If you're looking for a quick read, this is probably for you.

[Amee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book pretty quickly but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's well written and the main character is likable enough but I just can't say it was a good read. Ryan is an overweight girl who is currently in therapy and on meds to help her figure out why and how she uses her weight as a crutch. She also has this ex who is now famous and on the cover of a magazine. The new romantic interest could have been sweet to read about...but by the end of the book and after reading page after page of Ryan complaining about her weight but not doing anything about it, I found myself saying get over it already and wanting the book to just end already.

[Liliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I did enjoyed this book I finish it very quickly. I initially started reading it because I thought it was a romance which is mostly what I read but its not really a romance even though is does have some just in the last few chapters that's not what the book is about. The book centers around Ryan she's overweight high schooler and trough the book she struggles with it and discover who she is and what she wants in life. I do recommend this book is a fast and easy read I think you would enjoy it. I found all the character relatable and easy to get in to their stories. I was happily surprise with this book. = )

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library and thought it might be good to read a narrative fiction book on the topic of teens/ tweens and body image, but it wasn't that great. There are all the required "characters" in the usual YA book, and the plot is mild and predictable. The voice is great, but over tells and over explains to the extent that I was wondering if they were going for a certain page... I don't think it deals well with body issues either. The narrator is paralyzed to do anything except hate herself and the insight is buried under all the brand names tossed around.

[Olivia Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a cute YA book, had friendships and romance and those general things that you expect with a story about a high schooler. The part I really enjoyed was that the main character was super thin and looking like a model. She was a more real character, she had extra weight and was self conscious about it, as a lot of girls are. I mean, I'm skinny and most people tell me not to complain about my size, but I'll still have moments where I don't think that I'm skinny enough. And I love that she brought that element to the character and the book. It makes it more realistic and relatable.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fantastic in that it had a great romance story, friendship story, and I could relate to how the main character felt about her weight. What I didn't like about the story was how she goes on and on and on about how her weight makes her uncomfortable. I could understand her, but after a while, I was just skipping over those pages. It made her a little less interesting.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I can relate a little bit, being a bigger girl. Although, I wasn't a huge fan of the main character; she was often really annoying at times. I was intrigued to find out what happened to her though, and how things would turn out. Not a very exciting or crazy twist-filled plot, but not horrible either.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast read and pretty cute overall. But, I really felt bad for the main character and her low self confidence and crappy best friend and ex boyfriend. By the end, it was okay, as she figured her life out.

[Melody · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit reading this book. For being a girl of about 15 she talked of being sexually active and the swearing was more than it should be for a "teen" book. The description had such potential, but did not meet expectations.

[Michelle Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I have EVER read! It was soooo cute, and I could definitely relate to how Ryan felt throughout the book. It totally changed my way of thinking about things, and looking at life. DEFINITELY A MUST READ!!!

[Parker Weldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my all time favorites! Some chapters are inspiring to "overweight" people and "Skinny" people. Great for people 12 and up. If you are looking for a book, READ THIS! My only negative comment is that Ryan is always obsessing over her weight.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was good, and had a good message, but... you know nothing particularly special

[Jenny Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really sweet book, very simple very nice. I over-identified with the character which makes me very depressed.

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, this book was TERRIBLE. Pandering and uninformed and whiny and I don't know why I pushed through till the end.

[GRUMPY · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was good! i have read both of her books and they're both pretty good.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was an ok book

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

About a "fat" girl.

[Jourdan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. It was really quick and easy to read. It didn't leave me with overpowering emotions like Stargirl or Traveling Pants or something from Sarah Dessen would. But it was good.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was okay, but I found it predictable and a little formulaic. But it is good for when you want light reading.