Chubby Conundrum

Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught
Reviewed by Mimi
Big Fat Manifesto is about the life of Jamie, an overweight teen who is well liked by her peers but has something to say about the discrimination she faces everyday by the world because of her weight problem. But Jamie doesn't see her weight as a problem at all, and instead she sees it as an asset. With the help of quirky friends, her obese boyfriend and her newspaper editor, Jamie writes a column about the everyday struggles of being big. She has plans to exploit the discrimination of big people by clothing stores and labels.

Everything is going along fine until her boyfriend decides he wants bypass surgery. Jamie can't understand if he is embarrassed of their weight, or if he'll still want to be with her even when he's skinny and she's still overweight. Is being chubby worth it, or will Jamie decide to have take the plunge and have the surgery herself?

The book was a blend of both the good and the bad for me. On the one hand, I can understand Jamie's outrage with the discrimination and I completely agree that everyone should have equal opportunities in life; But on the other hand Jamie doesn't seem to understand the risks of being obese. What about the damage to her body that the extra pounds are doing? She should be happy for her boyfriend and should be motivated to lose weight herself so that she can live healthily for the rest of her life. I would only suggest this book for someone willing to look at the story through both sides and ready to struggle with issues not usually explored in teenage books. Try it. You might like it.