At first, I thought the mc was too much of a pushover. But the story was funny and in the end, Andy did get some confidence and some perspective. I really liked that! ( )

At first, I thought the mc was too much of a pushover. But the story was funny and in the end, Andy did get some confidence and some perspective. I really liked that! ( )

Andrew Zansky is having a tough time as he enters his sophomore year in high school. His parents are getting divorced; he can’t stop eating though he already weighs 306.4 pounds; his mother buys him jeans that have his waist size (48!) printed on the outside label; he met the love of his life at a wedding and will never see her again. But all is not lost. He does have his friend Eytan, a fellow geek who is on the model UN team (this year they get Estonia … a step up from last year), and together they try their best to avoid the bullies and work out a plan to get great girlfriends. When he discovers that the girl he’s been dreaming of is the new girl in school, things being to look up. And they get even better when his size becomes an advantage – snagging him a place on the varsity football team. Suddenly he’s one of the “popular” kids.

Andy does a lot of growing up in that fall semester of sophomore year. He discovers inner resources he never knew he possessed and learns some hard lessons along the way. I love how Zadoff lets the reader into the mind of this sensitive teenager – a young person who struggles with the same things most of us struggled with: insecurity, body image, unrequited love, betrayal, disappointment, and fear. But Andy is also a champion; he reminds us that we each have talents and dreams that are no less important for being different from the talents and dreams of others around us.
( )

Contemporary teen fiction with a male protagonist. Well-written. ( )

It's been awhile since I read a book that I enjoyed as much as this one. Andy is a supremely likeable protagonist dealing with typical high school problems (the popular kids, a crush on a girl, divorcing parents). Solid contemporary fiction from an author who's now one I will be watching. ( )