Heavyweight

This book was ok, but there were too many irritating things that kept me from really enjoying it. The first person present tense with the narrator directly addressing the reader just didn't work for me. That's a matter of personal preference though. The other problems were things I just couldn't reconcile in my mind.

The result of Ian's eating disorder didn't make sense to me. With his physical stats and level of exercise, he'd require well over 3000 calories per day just to maintain his weight. However, he starved himself and purged the few times he did binge and every time he ate a regular meal, yet he didn't lose a single pound and in fact gained weight. It was just too difficult for me to believe that he'd manage to still average over 3200-3500 calories per day despite going days without eating anything then purging immediately after a single binge. He'd have to be binging much more frequently than was claimed for his body to absorb that many calories despite purging.

The other thing I found too difficult to believe was the reactions to Ian's sexuality. I can accept the weird looks and the bullying, and offensive comments by adults who should know better. I can even accept him being kicked out of school if it had been a private school. But as far as I could tell, it was a public school, so I just couldn't see that happening. Even if I was able to accept that situation, it would make it impossible to believe that everyone would applaud when he and Julian kissed at the prom. The more likely scenario in a prejudiced backwater town would be for most of them to stare uncomfortably with perhaps a few people saying something offensive or jokingly telling them to get a room. Roomful of applause? Don't think so.

All that to say, too much seemed contradictory to me, but other than that, it wasn't a bad story.