Huge - Softcover

Sasha Paley grew up in Chicago, where she spent a lot of time writing in
cafés and attempting to flirt with guys from Northwestern. Sasha now
lives in New York City, where she still spends a lot of time writing in
cafés and working on her flirting skills.

Wil is a fat girl whose wealthy parents own a chain of fitness centers. April is a fat girl who has saved money to go to Wellness Canyon Camp, where an unwilling Wil is being sent by her parents. Upbeat April and sarcastic, unhappy Wil meet as roommates, two girls with very different goals. April wants to change her life and find the popularity she has always craved. Wil is going to gain weight to stick it to her parents. As the summer progresses, both girls change in ways neither could have expected. There are a few problems here, mostly the result of sloppiness. The girls go after the same guy, and when he humiliates them both, they decide to get even. Instead of coming up with something clever, Paley relies on the old laxative-in-the-drink gambit. Some mild expletives come late in the story, and there's no real explanation of how April could have saved $7,000 for camp. However, the characters are sharply drawn, and the often-amusing story does a good job of showing how everyday concerns are often overshadowed by the issue of weight. Cooper, Ilene
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