Wednesday, July 16, 2014

How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love by Ken Baker

This young adult novel is centered around sixteen year-old Emery Jackson who is the fat, black sheep of her semi-famous and privileged family. Emery has a strong personality and gives this story humor and heart. Her model mother and workout obsessed father encourage her to sign up for a reality show based on Emery losing fifty pounds in fifty days, titled Fifty Pounds to Freedom.

After reluctantly agreeing to film the show and shed the weight, she discovers how messed up her family truly is and how self-centered her mother and sister could be. Her boyfriend, Ben, has always been supportive of her and is the only source of self-confidence in her life. The creators of the show work hard to make sure that Emery loses the weight but also cause drama in her life with her family and her boyfriend. After realizing the horrible truths of the show and her family, Emery makes a decision that is completely unexpected.


This book was a quick and entertaining read. Emery is a character that many people can relate to with her search for confidence and her journey to becoming empowered. The ending caught me completely off-guard and it was disappointing and left too many questions for me to feel satisfied. Overall, this is a fun read, especially for sassy, young women looking for a feel-good story.

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