The third thing you need to know is this:
Ann comes to realize that her unhealthy attitudes toward food
are having very, very unhealthy effects on her younger siblings.
ANN CHANGES HER APPROACH. BIG TIME.
One day when playing tea-party with her much-younger sister, Ann watches how she interacts with her stuffed animals – when she offers them cake and such (you know how little children do at tea parties, right?). Well, there are statements to the effect of NO, EATING CAKE WILL MAKE ME GAIN WEIGHT* and I CAN’T EAT THAT CAKE BECAUSE…* and Ann nearly freaks out.
This is truly an A-Ha moment for her. And also, in my opinion, a turning point in the story.
Ann realizes that little ears are listening around the house, at mealtimes, at snacktimes, all the time. The things that are coming out of her mouth, her habits, etc are having an absolute direct effect on her younger sister, which could in turn set that little girl up for a lifetime like Ann’s. BUT not only that – so are the comments, actions, etc of Ann’s mother. Her perfectly-sized mother – the one that doesn’t really eat at dinnertime, makes the comments about weight and staying thin, etc. Ann is still freaking out. Also, Ann realizes that her mother is hiding some stuff.
Things change for the better at this point.
I LOVE HOW ANN CHANGES FOR THE BETTER AND WHAT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF IT.
*I’m paraphrasing, m’kay?
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45 Pounds (more or less) by K.A. Barson is a book that is about several things actually, but I saw it mainly about Ann’s journey into trying to lose weight and then trying to find a healthy lifestyle – including seeing herself in a healthy way, which I loved. In the beginning of the book, we meet an Ann that has been put down because of her weight by lots of people – family included – and her self-image is poor. And it is sad. And a little of a downer. But by the end of the book, Ann’s development and transformation made me want to run a marathon. I’m not even joking. I was so happy for this character.
Ann bought that diet system off of television because she does what so many people do and she believed what she heard. She hoped. She bought into the fad diet thing when she could’ve/should’ve maybe changed her eating habits and became more active. Yeah, I said it. And this frustrated me so much about Ann so many times, because she wanted/ended up taking what was the easy way out. Right away after making that phonecall to order, she knew something was up (or she should have) when she website was extremely hard to navigate and she had a difficult time getting an actual person to talk to on the phone. Then there was the food – it didn’t look like it did on TV and it didn’t smell or taste like Ann thought it would. Disappointing. Still, she persevered because she wanted to lose the weight so much.
And you know what? Ann did lose some weight with this system. But was it really worth it? To hate what she was eating that much? To watch her family eat delicious, healthy, well-proportioned meals while she ate something prepackaged that tasted like cardboard? To have her younger sister watching her doing this? These are all questions that Ann has to answer throughout the course of the book and while it takes her a while to arrive at each of these answers, it’s a good and necessary journey for Ann.
About her job? Ann liked the job. She liked having a little paycheck, a little freedom of her own, some money. She liked one of the gals she was working with even though she just knew in her heart of hearts that that same girl had never really liked her before. But Ann learned that she was wrong and a really great friendship was born. I mean, the things that Ann’s friend does for her toward the end of the book nearly made me tear up. I loved it.
And the boy. See, this boy comes to the pretzel place on Ann’s first day. He orders his pretzel and Ann sort-of messes it up. They share a laugh over a well-placed bad joke about it, he takes the pretzel, and off he goes. But he comes back over and over and naturally this makes Ann’s heart pitter-patter because he’s a really good-looking guy. But that’s the end of it, right? – guys never look at the big girls. Eventually Ann wonders if maybe, possibly, could it be that he might actually have a crush on her too??? And this sweet first (lite) romance is so much fun to read because it’s tucked away underneath and in-between what is the main idea of this story, which is all of the stuff that is happening with Ann. It is kind of kept separate, so even though there are a few heavier times (not too many!) this little crush/romance stays just that. It’s lovely and refreshing and never over-powering.
I can’t sing the praises of how this book ends enough. Ann’s family is completely dysfunctional, in my opinion. They are just a mess. I’m not sure if other people will think the same way or not, but to me – well, I could see issues with them a mile away. Ann didn’t really because she was so caught up in her own struggles with her weight and fitting in with her parents and all that, but YOU GUYS WHEN SHE STARTED CHANGING TO MAKE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON HER YOUNGER SISTER…just, YES. Yes! Because even though her reasons were different, the effects were still the same. She was still making healthier changes to her life, still losing weight, and still becoming more well as a person. I just loved it.
I recommend 45 Pounds (more or less) to fans of YA Contemporary with Realistic Fiction. The blurb makes it look like a funny book – and I think that there are some parts that made me chuckle a little bit – but don’t underestimate the messages that are present in this story. It’s a super-quick read, enjoyable, and cute. It’s not too heavy on the issues. And I think it’d be great for the summer. But it wasn’t one that I took to be humorous – rather, I saw it as one that lots of people out there can really get something from, even if it is a little on the lighter side.
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45 Pounds (more or less) will appeal to fans of:
YA Contemporary with some Realistic Fiction
Romance: Lite. Slowly-developing. No Triangle.
(does not overshadow main plot)
Issues: Weight, Self-Image
Stories Incorporating Family/Family Dynamics
45 Pounds (more or less) by K.A. Barson
is currently available for purchase.
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I like when lighter books also make an impact. I haven't seen Spanglish, but this makes me think a little bit about that one girl in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants who has to be in her dad's wedding and the step-mom and sister are skinny white people and she's a beautiful curvy Latina. Anyway, that was random, I like that this girl eventually gains a healthy perspective on herself and that the end message is good. I definitely have friends who have bad body images, and it's exacerbated by their parents "encouragements." Also, love those sweet, quiet romances.
Spanglish is really excellent and the way the two girl are so similar just was uncanny! I've never seen the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but I'm sure it is probably very similar to Spanglish. The end message to this one is really good. This book is such a short read and I think people will fly through this one and think it's really funny, but honesly, L, there's so much in here that I hope people don't just breeze over.
Okay…I would normally overlook a book like this because of ED issues, but I actually think I want to read it now. I had an eating disorder for much of my youth. It was self-induced, but it's interesting to see how these EDs stem from underlying issues in our lives, and it sounds as though Ann is a remarkably intuitive and insightful character that actually grows through the story. I'm sold. Wonderful review, Asheley.
Ann is a remarkable character with amazing growth, and it comes at a fantastic time when she realizes that she can make a really positive impact on her younger siblings. In the beginning I thought I might struggle with how down-on-herself she was, but I stuck with the book and I realize that there is so much more in this book than a comedy. In fact, I don't really like how the book is being marketed because I think it could be more powerful if it was marketed in a different way, or perhaps less of a comedic way. It has funny parts, but there is a lot of real-ness in this book and the end is really fantastic.