Readers United Book Reviews | 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Fangirl

Would you ever want to revisit your teenage years? Middle school, high school, college—life is complicated, and confusing, and we're still figuring things out. As we do so, it’s nice to read novels, fiction or otherwise, and realize that we are not alone in grappling with who we are and what we want to do with life. Here to share some refreshing, realistic coming-of-age stories is Skylar Hansen-Raj ’20.

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad

In her stunning debut, Mona Awad describes the fictional life of Elizabeth, an overweight woman who wants to find her place in the world. 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl follows Elizabeth's everyday life as she grows from an obese adolescent to a skinny woman. The book illustrates the challenges Elizabeth faces, including her desire to be “dateable” and “beautiful.” However, even when the world seems against her, no matter how hard she falls, Elizabeth is always able to pick herself up and keep going. Overall, this story does not only describe one girl's coming of age, but also society's stigmas against the idea of being overweight. 

Throughout her life, Elizabeth struggles finding where she belongs. Her obese mother clearly has health problems, which she will not talk about; her father is absent from Elizabeth's life. Elizabeth’s only friend is Mel, another overweight girl her age, and later, she makes friends with other girls, though she is plagued with insecurity when she notes that they are much skinnier than she is. Elizabeth is also desperate for attention from men, and even when she lands the man of her dreams, she is insecure and wants to become skinny for him, despite his seeming indifferent to her weight. So Elizabeth loses the pounds through harsh dieting and rigorous exercise, but wonders if this is really what she wants in life. She asks herself if she will ever be anything else but fat.

Overall, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl portrays the challenges Elizabeth encounters beautifully. I was especially impressed with Awad’s style of writing. She was able to make the story a light read, even with all of the more complicated, deeper concepts she was exploring. Her novel really moved me to think about how we as a society create environments as dark and pressuring as the ones in the book. Awad was able to tackle a wide range of topics from love to depression through mundane scenes like dressing rooms and nail salons.

Verdict: I would recommend this book if you want a short but entertaining read, covering a variety of topics, ideas, and realizations about society and the impact it has in creating insecurity.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl blends a world of first loves and tangled familial relationships in a refreshing tale about introvert Cather Avery. Fangirl portrays the lives of two very different twins, their bipolar dad and absent mom, and the relationships each twin forms with the people in their colleges. 

Fangirl is a realistic, witty, and down-to-earth read. The story follows Cather (“Cath”), who is an extreme introvert. Her popular and pretty twin sister, Wren, decides not to room with Cath their freshman year of college, leaving Cath terrified of how the year will go. The only thing she looks forward to, however, is her fiction writing class. Cath is an avid fanfiction writer, specifically about a book series that revolves around characters Simon Snow and his enemy Baz. Her fanfiction has tens of thousands of readers. 

As the year progresses, she begins to bond with her roommate Reagan, Reagan’s “boyfriend” Levi, and classmate Nick. Meanwhile, Wren becomes increasingly distant, and she seems to be having issues with alcohol. Cath also becomes aware of her developing feelings for Levi. And then on top of that, trouble is brewing at home. Cath grows concerned for her father’s health, and things seem to take a turn for the worse when Cath’s mother tries to reach out to her.

Overall, Fangirl did a great job portraying dorm and adolescent life. I was amazed at how spot-on Fangirl’s descriptions of all the students in college; they were refreshingly and startlingly accurate. Watching Cath’s character development was amazing. I also enjoyed the way Rowell included snippets of Cath’s fanfiction and the canon books of Simon Snow into the actual plot. Fangirl is an amazing book, beautifully written with an inspiring plot.

Verdict: I would recommend this book to everyone who loves romance, slice of life, and coming-of-age books. The playful elements and realistic characters are truly amazing. I was completely immersed in the story, and when reading, I was in a completely different world. A page-turner, Fangirl captured my heart—and I won’t get it back anytime soon.