The finale to this much-watched teen drama series has just aired, leaving fans at loose ends during the show's Monday night timeslot. Based on Sasha Paley's young adult novel of the same title (S&S, 2007), Huge premiered on ABC Family on June 28, 2010, to an audience of 2.5 million and kept viewers riveted throughout the summer. The show focuses on the lives of seven teenagers-as well as the staff-at a weight-loss camp, as they work on getting healthy while making discoveries about themselves and finding out truths about one another.
Hairspray's Nikki Blonsky plays Willamina, aka Will, an outspoken, often sarcastic, teen with a rebellious streak. Forced to attend Camp Victory by her parents, Will is less than excited about being there, but grudgingly decides to give it a chance. Other, more willing campers include the attractive but insecure Amber (Hayley Hasselhoff), the shy and sweet Becca (Raven Goodwin), and Ian (Ari Stidham), an aspiring musician. Zander Eckhouse portrays hunky fitness counselor, George, and Gina Torres takes on the role of Dr. Dorothy Rand, the camp's strict but supportive director who has a few personal challenges of her own. Starring a cast of plus-size actors, featuring charismatic characters that come across as genuine people, and dealing head on with issues of self-image, this unique show is provocative, poignant, and uplifting.
TV fans can visit the official website to watch full episodes and access recaps, link to a variety of blogs and chats, and find out more about the cast. The "Live Huge" section provides tips about leading a healthy lifestyle–"physically, mentally, and emotionally." Users are invited to submit questions about health and wellness to a panel of experts affiliated with Move, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families and individuals improve their health and quality of life by making manageable lifestyle changes. Teens can also send queries concerning self-esteem and body image to Katherine Schwarzenegger, celebrity daughter and author of the upcoming advice book, Rock What You've Got (Voice, Sept. 2010), or read her responses and dip into the ongoing blog. The "Live Huge Wall" invites participants to upload an image that reveals "who you are and what you like about yourself," creating a colorful mosaic of photos. Another option links to healthy recipes from chef Jamie Oliver's recent cookbooks. The website is upbeat and fun to browse and just might encourage teens to start mulling over issues relating to nutrition, health, and self-esteem.
Book Tie-in Teens who love the series will want to follow up with Sasha Paley's Huge, the book that inspired it all. Simon & Schuster has reissued this YA novel (Gr 6 up) with a tie-in cover featuring the TV show's easy-to-recognize logo and a photo of Blonsky in character. The quick-reading narrative stars a protagonist as eye-rolling, uncooperative, and winning as her TV counterpart. Forced to go to Wellness Canyon by her wealthy, fitness-club-owning parents, Will is determined to exact her revenge by becoming the first camper to actually gain weight. April, the daughter of a disabled single parent, has saved all year to pay her own tuition and can't wait for the pounds to start coming off. Polar opposites in personality and attitude, the two girls are paired as roommates, and their efforts to get along are further complicated by the crush they share on Colin, a football jock and focal point of the camp's popular clique. As the summer passes, the girls are forced to work together while facing a variety of new experiences and challenges–physical, emotional, and social–resulting in changes that are much more than skin deep. Both characters are likable, and their road to friendship, though fraught with emotional potholes, is fun to experience.
Related Reads Looking for more good books to recommend? Huge deals with themes of appearance and self-acceptance that are relevant to all teens. While other YA titles may take a different approach to these issues–presenting teenagers who feel alienated due to race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, etc.–the novels highlighted here feature plus-size protagonists who relate their tales with dynamic narrative voices. In addition to dealing with body image, the characters also grapple with relationships and romances; experience revelations about themselves and their abilities; learn to separate their own feelings of self-worth from the opinions of others; and discover the importance of figuring out what you want from life and going for it–partaking in coming-of-age journeys that will speak to readers no matter what range their body mass index happens to fall into.
Allen Zadoff's Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have (Egmont, 2009; Gr 8 up) features a 15-year-old narrator who is well aware that his size makes him stand out: "There's no flying under the radar at 306.4." As sophomore year begins, Andy faces daily indignities such as being shoved around by the school bully and worrying that he might not fit into new classroom desks. He finds comfort in hanging out with his best friend and fellow nerd, Eytan (the two plan to dominate the model-UN meetings this year), but Andy's love-at-first-sight attraction to new student April soon has him rethinking his routines. When the school's quarterback recruits him as a center for the varsity football team, Andy quickly finds himself on the fast track to popularity. The transformation from geek to grid iron star is not easy as he risks his friendship with Eytan, deceives his overbearing mother, and makes the painful discovery that he is being manipulated by his teammates. Searingly self-deprecating at first, Andy's narrative gradually strikes a deeper, more satisfying tone as he grows in confidence and details his new experiences and hard-earned realizations with honesty and wit. Credible characters, a good balance of heart-wrenching insight and humorous moments, and a powerful message about being true to oneself make this a worthwhile read.
Susan Vaught's Big Fat Manifesto (Bloomsbury, 2008; Gr 9 Up), reissued in paperback as My Big Fat Manifesto (2009), presents an equally thoughtful and attention-grabbing narrator. High school senior Jamie Carcaterra is not apologetic about being fat, instead proclaiming to all: "I'm the Fat Girl, baby." In fact, she is determined to win a prestigious college journalism scholarship by writing a weekly feature for her school's newspaper intended to "expose the politics and social injustices of being a fat female in today's world." In these intentionally provocative columns, interspersed with more personal narrative chapters, Jaimie explores issues that include stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice. Her in-your-face self-confidence is balanced with introspective moments, as illustrated by her feelings of anger and humiliation when being examined by an insensitive doctor, her reaction to her boyfriend's (aka Fat Boy) decision to have weight-loss surgery (and her secret fear that he will no longer want her), and the insecurities brought on when she experiences a mutual attraction to the newspaper's handsome (and not fat) editor. There's much to enjoy and discuss throughout this thought-provoking novel as Jamie eventually realizes that revealing all is not the same as being honest with oneself.
Robin Brande's Fat Cat (Knopf, 2009; Gr 8 Up) introduces Catherine "Cat" Locke, an intelligent high school junior who worries about her "thighs and gigabutt" as much as her academic future. This year, she's determined to ace her science project in order to exact revenge on her competitor, Matt McKinney, former best friend, betrayer and heartbreaker, and still (frustratingly) the love of her life. For the experiment, she will become her own guinea pig and replicate the primitive–and hypothetically healthier–lifestyle of Homo erectus by eating an all-natural diet (no junk or processed foods) and doing without modern technology (no cars, phones, computers, or TV) for seven months. Though it's strictly science, part of her hopes that this project will give her the commitment needed to eat better and lose weight.
As her experiment progresses, she learns much about the importance of good nutrition, regular exercise (she must walk everywhere), and lifestyle choices, while also exploring issues of scientific ethics, encountering changes in how others perceive her and how she views herself, and confronting the complexities of friendship (and ultimately finding the capacity to forgive). All of the main characters, including Cat's supportive best friend, are interesting and well-drawn and the relationships wonderfully complex. Cat's frank and funny first-person narrative details the ups and downs–as well as cravings, revelations, and triumphs–of her personal journey to physical and emotional well-being. The book is also available on unabridged CD from Random House Audio.
Tired of being the chubby girl with a Pretty Face (HarperTeen, 2008; Gr 9 Up), 16-year-old Haley embarks on her own journey of self-realization. Mary Hogan's narrator is bright and witty as she describes her life in obsessed-with-appearances Southern California; her relationship wit h her dieted-down, tofu-pushing mother; and her devastating realization that the boy she's crushing on is more interested in her gorgeous best friend, Jackie. Worrying that the pressure is too much, Haley's parents decide she needs a change and send her on a 10-week summer visit to family friends living in Italy. Haley is determined to start fresh, and lose those 30 pounds, but once she arrives in Umbria, she's totally wowed, and decides instead to lose herself in the local culture, sights, history, and–yes–cuisine. While a change in lifestyle–walking or biking everywhere, no fast food, no sitting in front of the TV, etc.–helps her shed pounds, it's the gaining of a new perspective that makes her feel good about herself: "my body and I are finally befriending each other." Flavored with vivid descriptions of the Italian countryside and a first romance, Haley's transformation is a pleasure to observe.
The title character in Erica S. Perl's Vintage Veronica (Knopf, 2010; Gr 9 Up), a 15-year-old with a unique flair for fashion, gets a summer job at a gigantic second-hand clothing warehouse. Existing on the fringe of high school society ("if you ARE a fat girl, you're not really risking much socially to become The Fat Girl Who Dresses Weird"), Veronica hasn't had a close friend in years (since her supposed best friend publicly made fun of her appetite), and is content to work mostly alone in the employees-only section of a consignment shop, preferring the company of vintage clothing to people. However, when two slightly older salesgirls involve her in their plan to spy on gawky-looking stock boy Len, Veronica finds herself drawn into their web. The summer begins to heat up as romance blossoms between Veronica and the unexpectedly appealing and kindhearted Len. With quirky and well-defined characters, a vividly described setting, and loving descriptions of Veronica's wonderfully put-together outfits, Perl presents a delightful tale of burgeoning self-confidence, first love, and finding the courage to change and grow.
A Forum for Discussion Many of the themes presented in these novels are worth exploring in the classroom. Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women, a documentary recently released by the Media Education Foundation (2010; Gr 10 up), communicates important issues in a compelling and eye-opening fashion. In this fourth update to her ground-breaking series launched in 1979, Jean Kilbourne takes a fresh look at how the advertising industry misrepresents and distorts images of women to create destructive and false ideals of femininity. Examples of both print and television ads are used to show a startling pattern of destructive gender stereotypes, images, and messages that objectify and belittle women, emphasize unrealistic ideals of beauty and body image, and perpetuate misconceptions about sexuality. Kilbourne convincingly makes a connection between the consequences of exposure to this advertising explosion and diverse social issues that include eating disorders and violence against women. Filmed in front of a live lecture audience, Kilbourne is an accomplished speaker who delivers her clearly presented points with a mix of sincerity and well-timed moments of humor. High school students will be absolutely riveted and raring to share their own insights and opinions. Watch for a study guide to be available soon from the Media Education Foundation.
Publication Information PALEY, Sasha. Huge. Media tie-in ed. S&S. 2010. Pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1718-2.
ZADOFF, Allen. Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have. Egmont. 2009. PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-1-60684-051-1; Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-60684-004-7.
VAUGHT, Susan. My Big Fat Manifesto. Bloomsbury. 2009. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-362-0.
BRANDE, Robin. Fat Cat. Knopf. 2009. PLB $19.99. 978-0-375-94449-9; Tr $16.99. 978-0-375-84449-2; Random House Audio CD. $37. ISBN 9780307579904.
HOGAN, Mary. Pretty Face. HarperTeen. 2008. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-084111-9.
PERL, Erica S. Vintage Veronica. Knopf. 2010. PLB. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95923-3; Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85923-6.
Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women. Media Education Foundation. 2010. DVD. 45 min. ISBN 1-932869-44-1. $150.
I'd like to add my YA novel, FAT CAMP (NAL trade, 2006), now in Kindle, to the list of novels about plus-sized teens and their struggle to come to terms with super-sized issues of self-acceptance.
Deborah Blumenthal
Posted by Deborah Blumenthal on September 1, 2010 01:47:09PM
I'd add Cherie Bennett's Life in the Fat Lane. The main character is the stereotypical blonde, beautiful, thin cheerleader with the popular jock boyfriend. She inexplicably starts to gain weight despite her efforts at dieting and exercise. She also faces pressure from her image-conscious parents. Slowly her in-crowd friends abandon her.
I especially liked the part where she goes to a Lane Bryant store on the other side of town, so she won't run into anyone she knows.
This book keeps you guessing until the end.
Posted by Susan L. Norwood on October 24, 2010 12:01:44PM
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