Enchanting Review: This Book Isn't Fat, It's Fabulous

THIS BOOK ISN'T FAT, IT'S FABULOUS

NINA BECK

Contemporary Young Adult

Point

ISBN# 978-0-545-01703-9

240 Pages

$16.99

Trade--Available Now

Rating: 3.5 Enchantments

Riley Swain is used to getting what she wants in life, guys, friends, clothes. But suddenly she's on her way to fat camp (argh, the horror). She thinks her size twelve figure is fabulous, but apparently her father and stepmother- to-be have other ideas, which is why instead of going on the class trip to Mexico for spring break, she's headed to upstate New York and New Horizon. But Riley can't have her friends and fellow Manhattanites knowing the truth, so she concocts a cover story that she's actually going on a family bonding trip to an upstate NY spa.

While there were portions of the book I really enjoyed, especially when Riley meets Eric, which might have been my favorite scene of the book, the rest of it seemed to hit a lull. The story moved quite fast from Riley at home in Manhattan to being shipped off to fat camp. I think the story would have benefited from a slower pace and a chance to know the supporting characters. The only characters I felt you really got to know was Riley with a bit of Eric and her almost obsession with her best friend D. I did however enjoy Riley's letter writing campaign to her lawyer and others to keep from having to go to New Horizon.

Ms. Beck likes peppermint tea, movies with lots of synchronized dance sequences, boys with curly hair, and living in Brooklyn, New York. She also likes writing characters that make her laugh and make other people ask, "Um. . . is this autobiographical?" This Book Isn't Fat, It's Fabulous is her first novel. You can learn more about THIS BOOK ISN'T FAT, IT'S FABULOUS here: http://thisispoint.com/books/fatfabulous.asp

Lisa

Enchanting Reviews

August 2008