Libby, outrora a rapariga mais gorda da América, conseguiu finalmente ultrapassar o desgosto causado pela morte da mãe e está pronta para voltar a viver.
Jack é o típico rapaz popular do liceu, no entanto tem prosopagnosia e não consegue reconhecer caras.
Quando o destino os une a solidão que cada um sente dá lugar a sentimentos muito diferentes… Uma história de superação e de um amor verdadeiro e invulgar que nos devolve a esperança no mundo, em nós e no outro. O Universo nos Teus Olhos
“Maybe no boy will love me or want to touch me ever, even in a dark room, even after an apocalypse when all the skinny girls have been wiped off the earth by some horrible plague. Maybe one day I can be thinner than I am now and have a boyfriend who loves me, but I’ll still be a liar.”
I was going to give this book two stars because, honestly, it started well. It was compelling and didn't seem as offensive as the blurb had been, but the more I think about it, the more that doesn't seem to be enough of an excuse for the book as a whole. Yet another book that insensitively uses its characters to create an angsty romance.
If anything, I feel more secure in my assessment of All the Bright Places after reading this book. I got the impression in AtBP that the author was using suicide as a vehicle for romantic angst, and I received a lot of backlash for writing that review. But this just seems to confirm it. I feel like Niven has given very little thought to what it means to portray an obese character and a character with a cognitive disorder. I feel like little thought has been given to any readers who might relate to these characters. I can't help but imagine the author sitting there and simply thinking “how can I make this romance super angsty?
I don't necessarily care that Libby Strout (Libby as in Lb and Strout as in Stout?!) was called America's Fattest Teen or that a major plot point is a game called Fat Girl Rodeo. These things are gross and offensive, but showing the horrible effects of labels and cruel bullying does not seem like a bad thing to me. No, the bigger problem is that this book actually isn't about bullying, or fat-shaming, or living with mental illness, it's about high school love. That's it. The rest is just window dressing.
The author throws together two teens who are solely characterized by their weight and prosopagnosia (the inability to recognize faces) and, despite having zero chemistry, they fall in lurrrve. They are defined by these singular differences - i.e. being the fat girl and being unable to recognize anyone, never once feeling like human beings.
I'm sure some readers will see the decision to have such different protagonists as an indication of depth, but I truly feel like this is a very shallow book. Stereotypes and cliches abound. Dress it up however you want, but this book is about an unpopular girl who sees herself as unattractive, and a popular good-looking guy who comes to see how said girl is so much better than all those hot, evil cheerleaders he's been dating. His hot, evil girlfriend constantly fat-shames and bullies Libby, obviously, because we all know pretty popular girls are mean, shallow and have no feelings.
Also - and this is way more offensive to me than the blurb was - Libby's journey to self-love seems to entirely revolve around finding a guy who will actually like her. I was hoping this would be addressed as the novel wore on, but the small rushed steps toward it at the end were dissatisfying.
“Somewhere in this school could be a boy I fall in love with. One of these fine young men might be the one who at long last claims my heart and my body. I’m looking at all the boys going by. It could be that guy or maybe this one.
Or she could learn to love herself without a guy? Also, what teenager says fine young men?
The pacing also slows down as the story moves forward. I remember feeling at one point like the book should be coming to an end, and yet there were almost another hundred pages to go. You knew the characters had feelings for one another, you knew they were going to end up together, but the narrative was dawdling.
Then there's my disbelief that Jack has managed to hide face-blindness from his family for years. That seems impossible to me, but I guess this book never was about the reality of the issues it offered up.
And, finally, nauseating prose like this:
The way I feel when I’m with her. Like I just swallowed the sun and it’s shooting out of every pore.
And Libby's eyes...
They are like lying in the grass under the sky on a summer day. You’re blinded by the sun, but you can feel the ground beneath you, so as much as you think you could go flying off, you know you won’t.
There's not a single guy in the world who could tell me I make them feel like they swallowed the sun and it's shooting out of every pore without me bursting into hysterical laughter. But, let's be honest, that's the least of this book's problems.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Store Paperback You know I don't care what anyone thinks, I just loved the hell out of this book! I happy cried so many times in this book. And there will probably be some *SPOILERS* I don't know, my feels right now are out of control.
This review is going to be all over the place because I'm crazy and that's just the way it is.
I love Libby so much! In this book she has so much courage. Even when she was low and things hurt her, she had courage like no one I know. Those hateful, horrible kids said some of the most horrible things to her. I just can't fathom.
My name is Libby Strout. You've probably heard of me. You've probably watched the video of me being rescued from my own house. At last count, 6,345,981 people have watched it, so there's a good chance you're one of them. Three years ago, I was American's Fattest Teen. I weighed 653 pounds at my heaviest, which means I was approximately 500 pounds overweight. I haven't always been fat. The short version of the story is that my mom died and I got fat, but somehow I'm still here. This is no way my father's fault.
Two months after I was rescued, we moved to a different neighborhood on the other side of town. These days I can leave the house on my own. I've lost 302 pounds. The size of two entire people. I have around 190 left to go, and I'm fine with that. I like who I am. For one thing, I can run now. And ride in the car. And buy clothes at the mall instead of special-ordering them. And I can twirl. Aside from no longer being afraid of organ failure, that may be the best thing about now versus then.
Tomorrow is my first day of school since fifth grade. My new title will be high school junior, which, let's face it, sounds a lot better than America's Fattest Teen. But it's hard to be anything but TERRIFIED OUT OF MY SKULL.
I wait for the panic attack to come.
And of course we all know when she gets to school the jerkholes start bullying her! I hate them so much I could just scream!
But Libby is a force of nature. She don't take too much shite from anyone! She ignores it or in case of boys, she just knocks them on their arse! She my hero!
This is the way she meets the other main character, Jack. I love him too. I will get to him in a minute. He's going to do something to Libby that is a horrible prank for the big girls. He puts a note in her bag before talking about it and apologizing, but he gets what he deserves =)
I'm lying on the cafeteria floor, and the girl is standing over me. My jaw feels knocked loose, it's over somewhere in Ohio. I give it a rub to make sure it's still attached, and my hand comes away covered in blood.
I say, What the hell? My words are garbled. Jesus, I think she broke my voice box. Why did you punch me?
WHY DID YOU GRAB ME?
My eyes go to her backpack, to the letter sticking out of the pocket I just managed to shove it into. I want to say You'll understand later, but I can't speak because I'm wiping the blood from my mouth.
Jack is popular dude at the school, but he has a big problem. He has prosopagnosia.
PROSOPAGNOSIA: 1. An inability to recognize the faces of familiar people, typically as a result of damage to the brain. 2. when everyone is a stranger.
Jack has figured this out for himself by research. He has never told his family or friends. He gets away with it by other means. You can read the book and find out.
When Libby was little she lived across the street from three boys and I loved it because she called them Sam, Dean and Cas =) She loved the show Supernatural too. They were her only friends, well friends in her head. Until that day she was taken from her home by crane and moved away.
The story goes back and forth to things that happened in the past to the present. And, it wasn't confusing at all. I'm surprised because I get confused easy!
It turns out that Libby and Jack are pushed together by being in a group after school for being bad. Then they start to get to know each other and it's so fun and it's so wonderful. They help each other. And yeah, some sad stuff happens but it all works out in the end.
And let me tell you, there is one part where Libby stands up to the whole school in such a way that I cried my eyes out. I wish I could add the excerpt like the other ones but it's one you should read for yourself. I just love her. Did I say that already? This book makes me feel sad, mad and good. Libby makes me feel good for so many reasons and that's enough for me. I will read this many times and get some inspiration from Libby. I wish I had a friend like her. The saddest part is, I almost didn't read this book because of so many negative reviews. It does have a lot of good reviews but now I don't care what people think, I read what I want and I'm glad. I found a gem that works for ME! ♥
*I got this print book through the BloggingForBooks Program*
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
Paperback 05/05/2016: WE HAVE A COVER <3!!!!
UPDATE:
My reaction to everyone saying this book is offensive....
At first I wasn't going to say anything but then the comments and review updates on here and Twitter started to really hit a nerve with me. So HERE WE GO.
To everyone saying that this book/synopsis is offensive, how about we stop and take a moment to consider the fact that A) Maybe she didn't write the synopsis B) Maybe it's how the character feels about herself C) Maybe, just maybe this is someone's story who wants to share it with everyone or D) ALL OF THE ABOVE.
Everyone is so quick to point and blame Jennifer Niven for being offensive, for romanizing mental illness, for not understanding fatness. How about YOU consider the fact that YOU are taking everything out of context, or that YOU are making this into something it's not. In no way, shape, or form is Jennifer Niven trying to discriminate against being fat or implying that your not human. THIS IS HOW THE CHARACTER FEELS!! But you know what, if you don't want to read this, fine, DON'T READ IT!! But don't you dare make others feel uncomfortable or put them down because they actually want to READ THE BOOK FIRST BEFORE JUDGING IT, because WE actually have the decency to not be biased and go into a book with an open mind instead of making assumptions.
I'm done.
------------------------------------------------
GUYS!!!!
She has another book coming out!!
EEEKK!!!!
I have a feeling Holding Up the Universe will break my heart just like ATBP did o.O
OMG. NOW. NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!! I NEED IT <3!!!!
Please?!
Me waiting for October 4th 2016
Paperback TIME FOR THE ROAST
I read All the Bright Places last year and ended up dnfing it because I had huge problems with basically every aspect of it. I’m actually really proud of myself for finishing this even though I did skim read the last 25% of it. Honestly, when this book first came out I saw the authors name and instantly avoided this book. However, after seeing a lot of people give it 5 stars – despite all of the problematic aspects I had seen – I decided to pick this book up for the roast.
Honestly, you can read the blurb and be offended. I sure was. The blurb is a joke, just like the rest of the book. I’m honestly so sick of contemporaries in the present day that are just based around putting 2 characters in the worst possible situation and then forcing them to fall in love – I say forcing because there is 0 chemistry between these characters. I swear some authors just have a big long list of mental illnesses, diseases or unfortunate scenarios that they scroll down and eeny, meeny, miny, moe which ones they will choose. Dead parent for you, random illness for you, a bit of anxiety on the side as well as extreme obesity and we’ve got our perfect story!!!! Everyone will definitely love it!!!!! I strongly question the motives behind writing a novel such as this one.
I’m trying to decide whether I hate Libby or Jack more. I think it must be Libby because dammit she’s annoying as all hell. I actually sent my friends 14 different video rants and then another couple text rants about how annoying this bitch is. In case you forgot
Also, let’s not forget that on her first day of school she walked in and said this to herself:
Somewhere in this school could be a boy I fall in love with. One of these fine young men might be the one who at long last claims my heart and my body. I am the Pauline Potter of Martin Van Buren High School. I am going to sex the rest of this weight right off me.”
Let’s also not forget that when she describes her bed, she has to clarify that this is NOT the bed she had when she was trapped in her house because she was so fat:
“I lie on my bed—not the same bed I spent twenty-four hours a day on, back when I couldn’t leave the house, but a new one we bought after I lost some weight.
Jack was just a straight up annoying douche and the only thing I liked about this entire book is that he told his little brother that it’s okay if he takes a purse to school because he can do whatever he wants. I appreciate that. I think Jack says it best when he describes himself by saying he really looks like an asshole. I agree, Jack. I agree. But then a few chapters later he says that the song “Sexy Back” is something that should be played when he walks somewhere. For the love of God please shut up Jack.
Also every other character in this story, like in All the Bright Places, offers absolutely nothing to the storyline and they only add to that awful stereotype that “everyone in high school is an asshole” and “the world is against me because everyone hates me in school”.
A major problem I have with this authors work in general is that the characters are incredibly one dimensional. Hell, I think it'd be too complex for them to even have a favourite colour - that's how much depth they have. Like in All the Bright Places, these characters are only their physical traits or illnesses and that is extremely harmful. I know that these things can be all consuming but there's a HUGE difference between it being all consuming and it being your entire personality and story.
If you ignore all of the above problems, this book is still crappy. It’s just a badly written “love story” where 2 characters act like idiots and then “fall in love” despite there being no chemistry. Also, don’t forget that Jack can’t recognise anyone’s face. Ever. BUT DON’T WORRY BECAUSE AT LEAST HE CAN RECOGNISE LIBBY. I mean isn’t that just an amazing loophole. I honestly am not entirely sure if that is a legit thing that could happen. I tried googling it but I couldn’t find anything decent about whether there are actually loopholes. Never forget guys, love can cure everything - including mental illnesses, obesity and MOST IMPORTANTLY RANDOM BRAIN ILLNESSES THAT MAKE YOU FORGET EVERYONES FACE!!!!!!! Just fall in love and you're fixed.
These are not the type of books we need in our lives and I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Paperback Welcome to the internet in the year 2016. Where a simple book blurb broke the internet for a few days. A teenage girl who was rescued from her house because her weight kept her a prisoner. Then through in a statement about how she is returning to high school aka..the real world after being homeschooled.
I KNOW!! Let's all run and one star and bash the book.
Not.
And all you guys thought I was the biggest bully on here didn't you?
Because I had (for once) stopped to think about what the book meant..and it made me drool all over myself.
I didn't jump on the bandwagon. I wanted the book even more.
Because I've been a bit on the fat side many times in my life. I lose some weight and then I gain some weight. Big dang deal. (I can say that now-I couldn't when I was this character's age.) I home-school my kid. AND YES sometimes we talk about him joining the 'real world' again. Does that mean he is socially awkward? Hell no.
This book is something that if I had it in high-school I would have highlighted ever stinking line of it. It would have became my Shelby bible of how to deal with all the assholes that dwell in high-school. (and real life)
These characters:
Libby Stout, she is the girl that was taken from her house. By a crane. Because her mom had died suddenly and she could not cope. Food became her crutch, her dad didn't know how to deal with it and tried..he did try. But when someone is bent on self destruction-sometimes that path can't be detoured. She does finally reach that point (when the crane is brought out) that her dad knows that help is needed. He wants to save his daughter. He gets her help.
Then comes to the point in the story where she is going back to school. She has lost some weight, she is still overweight by public opinion. BUT this girl totally knows who she is.
For example..on the first day back at school.
Hey, he says.
Hey.
Is it true fat girls give better blow jobs?
I don't know. I've never gotten a blow job from a fat girl..
Jack Masselin: This kid hides the fact that he recognizes no one's face. Not even his own family. He once screamed that his mom was kidnapping him because she had gotten a haircut and he didn't have the familiar markers to place her in his mind.
He plays the cool guy at school but he lives in fear that someone will discover his secret.
Then they end up in group counseling together. This is not a boy rescue the fat girl story. This is a story of two people realizing who exactly they are..and owning it.
People are shitty for a lot of reasons. Sometimes they're just shitty people. Sometimes people have been shitty to them and, even though they don't realize it, they take that shitty upbringing and go out into the world and treat others the same way. Sometimes they're shitty because they're afraid. Sometimes they choose to be shitty to others before others can be shitty to them. So it's like self-defensive shittiness.
Books like this are exactly why I read young adult.
Jennifer Nevin, I hope you pat yourself on the back. And the haters?
Paperback
SUMMARY ☆ WWW.TEXASBEERGUIDE.COM ´ Jennifer Niven
Español - English
La historia está narrada desde los puntos de vista de Libby y Jack.
Libby hace varios años y siendo una niña sufrió una pérdida muy grande en su vida, lo que la llevó a comer para llenar el vacío de su corazón. Llegó a ser La chica más gorda de América y después de muchas terapias y de años estudiando desde la casa vuelve a la escuela. Tendrá que probar muchas veces que es mucho más que su peso.
Jack desde hace años sufre una terrible condición que lo obliga a estar todo el tiempo en alerta y a tener por amigos y novia a las personas menos indicadas. Pero cuando el destino lo une a Libby comenzará a ver todo de manera diferente y aceptar lo inimaginable.
Adoré este libro, me hizo llorar algunas veces, pero fueron lágrimas de felicidad. Libby siendo aún una adolescente te puede enseñar unas cuantas reglas para aplicar en tu vida y Jack es el mejor ejemplo.
✨✨✨
The story is told from the points of view of Libby and Jack.
Libby several years ago and being a little girl suffered a very great loss in her life, which led her to eat to fill the emptiness of her heart. She became The fattest girl in America and after many therapies and several years of studying from home she goes back to school. She will have to prove many times that she is much more than her weight.
Jack has for years suffered a terrible condition that forces him to be on alert all the time and to have for friends and girlfriend the people less indicated. But when destiny unites him to Libby he will begin to see everything differently and accept the unimaginable.
I loved this book, it made me cry sometimes, but it was tears of happiness. Libby being still a teenager can teach you a few rules to apply in your life and Jack is the best example. Paperback Edit: Looks like they updated the synopsis.
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I hope this book is less offensive than the synopsis. Paperback ah, yes. so here we are again. the classic case of ‘i can appreciate this book for the story that it is, but it definitely didnt live up to its potential.’
and i wonder if thats mainly my own fault, and not the books. ‘all the bright places’ is one my favourite novels ever. its emotionally compelling, lovingly tender, and naturally raw - everything this book is not. so is it fair to judge a different book by the same author when you know they are capable of doing better?
i mean, i really like the idea of the story and how wholesome it could have been - i think diverse representation is something that can always be appreciated. but instead of seeing libby as this strong woman, i saw a whiny brat. and the connection between her and jack didnt feel convincing to me. it was just a lot of superficial high school drama. maybe im getting too old, but i know jennifer niven is capable of writing honest and relatable teen characters, so im not sure why this particular story didnt quite meet the mark for me.
↠ 3 stars Paperback 4 stars!
Holding Up the Universe was an interesting and moving read with complex characters and a unique storyline. I listened the the audio version of this book and once I hit play, I didn’t want to stop. When I read All the Bright Places earlier this year, I had the same feeling of being hooked. I’m happy to report the author was able to pull this off not once, but twice.
Our story centers around Libby Strout and Jack Masselin. Libby is formally ‘America’s Fattest Teen’. She’s spent a lot of her young adult life getting healthy and she is nowhere near thin, but she’s happy with herself. She decides to take the plunge, stop homeschooling and go to high school. Libby is a fantastic character. I loved that she’s just herself. She has a great relationship with her dad and meets some good friends throughout this journey for her. She also meets Jack Masselin in a very unconventional way.
Jack’s got it good in high school, or so everything thinks. He’s popular, has a pretty girlfriend and a lot of friends. He’s funny, charming and cool. But he struggles every single moment of every single day. See, Jack has this secret. He can’t recognize faces. I can’t even imagine how that would feel. To wake up each morning, look at my husband and not recognize his face. That’s how it is for Jack. He knows his brother’s hair style, and he can tell his other brother by his ears, but the system is not flawless. Libby is the only one who knows about this and is able to help him. He doesn't always deserve her help, but that's not the point. It's just the way Libby is. I love her for it.
Jack and Libby’s relationship is complicated at first. The way they meet, the reason they’re spending so much time together. Their friendship grew and developed as the story progressed. I loved them both and I loved that they had each others backs. Jack won me over early on, just knowing he was rooting for Libby from the very start warmed my heart. Even though there were some hard to read moments, the story, overall, was a positive one. I felt happy when I finished. I give this one 4 stars!
Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.
Paperback REREAD! I fell in love with this book allll over again! I adore Libby. I adore what she stands for. I love what this book stands for. The hope it instills. How personal it is to the author and how appreciative I am that she shared her story with us. I'm rooting for this book! I'm rooting for myself. I'm rooting for all the readers who have ever felt less than. As Libby would say about herself, ‘I am magic!’, and so, as are you.
Initial review!
I'm sure a lot of you will remember the ton of backlash this book received when the blurb was revealed. I mean, let's not get into that aspect of people having the audacity to judge and write-off a book when they haven't read a single page of it. It's aggravating to the core!
So, having read the book, yes, there is a lot of 'fat-shaming' that's mentioned throughout the book. Fat-shaming that the main character has to deal with, i.e. the bullying she goes through, because of her weight. But also the main character 'fat-shaming' herself, because of her insecurity, as a direct result of the bullies and other factors.
I personally don't see how this is a problem, to bring to light this sort of issue. Yes, it was slightly uncomfortable to read at times, making it real and raw. But we ask for diverse and complex books/characters, then moan when a 'controversial' topic is raised. This is exactly the kind of realistic bullshit some people unfortunately, have to deal with, as ugly as it may seem. As well as the insecurity and the mental-health issues that come alongside it. I don't understand how it was even assumed that the author was ridiculing people who deal with weight and mental-health problems. If perhaps they'd waited a little longer for some clarification, and did their research, they'd have known that this topic is quite personal to the author.
But that's not all that the book is about. Yes, the character struggles with her weight, she's insecure to an extent, but she's absolutely fuckin' strong!!! She's almost sure about who she is. As sure as a teenager can be. She refuses to let her weight define her, stand in her way of her dreams, and fights the fuck back against anyone that dares to ridicule her. And she's happy, dammit!
This element is what made the book for me. She was headstrong to begin with, because she made herself be so! Though there are romantic aspects, her problems didn't magically disappear, because there was a guy in her life. But she refused to hide her true self.
Because of this, I feel that this book is so empowering! A book that those who feel that can relate to Libby, can find strength in. Though Libby encompasses aspects of her personality that may contradict or clash — i.e. being insecure, yet not giving a flying fuck about anyone — it's a great message that one can take away. You're never fully one or the other, anyway.
This is what I personally got from this book. I guess, like every other book, people will interpret it differently, according to their own understanding and worldview. And this is mine.
Initial review:
Okay, wow. It's 4am. Read this book in less than a day. My heart is floating. I'm dying with feels.
I was not expecting to love this book so much. Paperback