Mod 2 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0-7636-1958-2.

Summary:

The earth, my butt and other big round things is about an overweight 15 year-old girl named Virginia. While her body is not perfect, the rest of her family seems to be. Her older, skinny sister is in the Peace Corps, her older athletic and attractive brother is a freshman at college. Her mother is an exercise fiend and an adolescent psychologist while her executive father loves to manage chaos and travelling. Virginia, however, lives by the Fat Girl Code of Conduct. All Virginia wants is to be accepted for who she is. Virginia feels invisible and out of place in the perfect family until a phone call bursts the “perfect family” bubble.

The Fat Girl Code of Conduct

by Virginia Shreves

1. Any sexual activity is a secret. No public displays of affection. No air-kisses blown across the cafeteria. No carefully folded notes passed in the hall. No riding the moped in public.

2. Don't discuss your weight with him. Let's face it. you both know it's there, so don't start bemoaning your body and pressure him into lying, i.e., "What are you talking about? You don't look fat at all."

3. Go further than the skinny girls. Find ways to alert him to this, such as slutty comments peppered into the conversation. If you can't sell him on your body, you'd better overcompensate with sexual perks.

4. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, push the relationship thing. Everybody knows that guys hate discussing relationships, so make it easy on him. Same goes for dates to movies and school dances. Bottom line: Let him get the milk without having to buy the cow.

Analysis:

Carolyn Mackler does an excellent job developing Virginia’s overweight character in this realistic problem novel. Self-loathing, binge eating, parental pressure to lose weight, negative comments by peers, and self-mutilation are real problems that real teens face everyday. In the novel, some issues are dealt with better than others. The pressure from her parents to be more acceptable is frequently discussed while the self-mutilation is only briefly mentioned.

While watching an interview of her mother, Virginia has an epiphany. Her mother is an adolescent psychologist who does not practice what she preaches. As thoughts click into place, Virginia realizes how dysfunctional her family is. Her attitude changes, and so does her life. She rebels, dyes her hair, gets an eyebrow ring, makes new friends, and gets a boyfriend. Realistically, one epiphany would not make so many positive changes in such a short amount of time, but the reader is left with a sense of hope for an overweight character to be accepted as is.

Reviews:

School Library Journal September 1, 2003:

“Virginia's story will interest readers who are looking for one more book with teen angst, a bit of romance, and a kid who is a bit like them or their friends.”

Kirkus Review June 15, 2003:

“Readers will be rooting for Virginia all the way as she moves from isolated TV-watcher to Website-creator with purple hair and an eyebrow ring.”

Horn Book September/October 2003:

“Mackler does a fine job introducing girls to a very cool chick with a little meat on her bones.”

Booklist September 1, 2003:

“Her gradually evolving ability to stand up to her family is hard won and not always believable, but it provides a hopeful ending for those trying stand on their own two feet.”

Awards:

A Michael L. Printz Honor Book
An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A YALSA Teens' Top Ten Book
Publishers Weekly Cuffie Award winner for Best Book Title
A Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Honor Book
An International Reading Association's Young Adults' Choice
2006 Volunteer State Book Award, third place finisher in the grade 7-12 category
A 2006 Nevada Young Readers' Award Nominee
A 2006 Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Nominee
A Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee
A 2006-2007 Volunteer State Book Award Nominee
A 2006 Great Lakes Great Books Nominee
A 2005-2006 Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award Nominee
A 2006 South Carolina Association of School Librarians Book Award Nominee
An Amelia Bloomer Project Selection
A Pennsylvania School Librarians Association YA Top Forty Fiction Titles

Connections:

Find out more about the author at http://carolynmackler.com/Carolyn-Mackler-Home-Page.asp

Learn more about eating disorders at http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

Learn more about date rape at http://www.rainn.org/

If you enjoyed this book, check out:

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Kendra by Coe Booth

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Cover photo from

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