ARC Review: Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
10:00
Series: None
Author: Jennifer Niven
Published October 6th 2016 by Penguin
Goodreads Synopsis
Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed 'America's Fattest Teen'. But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to see who she really is. Since her mum's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the art of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his own brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game which lands them in group counseling, Libby and Jack are both angry, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world - theirs and yours.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Known across the country as America's Fattest Teen, Libby Strout is ready to return to school, and to normal life. After her mother's sudden death, and her refusal to leave the house, Libby has been home-schooled, and the catalyst for change was when she had to be cut out of her own home following a panic attack. She knows it won't be easy, but she never expects that the jerks at school will start a game to ridicule her. Following a run-in with Jack Masselin, where they both end up in community service and are forced together, she realises that he has a secret, one that only she knows.
Well, this was unexpected. I've heard so much about this book, and the author, but never got around to reading it for so long. As soon as I started Holding Up the Universe, I was hooked. Libby and Jack's two stories are so engrossing, and I needed to know more about them both. Jack's tale of prosopagnosia was new for me. I've heard of the condition, but didn't really understand it, and I liked how the author dealt with it sensitively. I also felt like Libby's weight was dealt with well too, and though there are negative scenes in the book, nothing feels derogatory but rather real, and true to the situation. I felt like the romance between Libby and Jack was a nice addition to the book, and it was their friendship which was the important part of the story. A great book, and one I wish I'd read a lot sooner.
Dates Read:
November 25-26, 2022
Rating
4 Stars
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