Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The Earth, My Butt, & Other Big Round Things

Printz List Book
Mackler, C. (2012). The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things. Cambridge. MA: Candlewick Press.


Fifteen-year-old Ginny Shrives is a plus size girl and self-conscious about it. Being the daughter of a perfect mother and perfect siblings cause her to feel like an outcast in her own family. Her mother is an adolescent psychologist.  Ginny endures her mother’s criticism about her weight and has to deal with her top executive father complimenting skinny girls on TV. Her sister is a perfectly skinny and beautiful girl, but goes to Peace Corp to get away from her crazy mother.  She idolizes her handsome and athletic brother, only to be shocked that he has been accused of having date raped someone. She wants a boyfriend but instead is satisfied with a make out buddy named Froggy whom she fears will one day feel her fat.  Just when she felt her life was out of control, she soon realizes not everyone is perfect and starts standing up to her mother to take charge of her own life and be true to herself.  

This book will engage and captivate readers. It has lots of great discussion points such as self-esteem, weight, mother and daughter issues, and date rape. This is a story that will relate to teens that struggle with family expectations. A great book for grades 7-10.  Other books written by this author include, Vegan Virgin Valentine, Tangled, and Infinite In Between.

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