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The Downside of Being Charlie
Charlie is handed a crappy senior year. Despite losing thirty pounds over the summer, he still gets called “Chunks” Grisner. What’s worse, he has to share a locker with the biggest Lord of the Rings freak his school has ever seen. He also can’t figure out whether Charlotte VanderKleaton, the beautiful strawberry lip-glossed new girl, likes him the way he likes her. Oh, and then there’s his mom. She’s disappeared—again—and his dad won’t talk about it.
Somewhere between the madness, Charlie can at least find comfort in his one and only talent that just might get him out of this life-sucking place. But will he be able to hold his head above water in the meantime?
Somewhere between the madness, Charlie can at least find comfort in his one and only talent that just might get him out of this life-sucking place. But will he be able to hold his head above water in the meantime?
268 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2012
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May 23, 2012
1.5.
Charlie's been the fat boy forever but when he goes to fat camp for the summer and comes home having lost weight, he wants to go after Charlotte, the new girl who he thought he had no chance with before. In addition to that stress is the stress of mom who is far from being sane. She and Charlie's father are on again and off again and now they're off again and she's flying off the deep end.
I didn't buy the voice in this story, and it read very young for me. Charlie didn't sound like an 18 year old but more like a 12 year old, and I felt that many of the story elements themselves read much younger than YA, too. It was much more juvenile than I expected but because of some of the language and some of the other situations, this isn't a book I'd give to a middle grade reader.
I have a hard time with books that tackle weight issues, but I found this one particularly sticky because it's never handled head on. But when it does emerge, the way it's brought up doesn't sit right. First, Charlie admits to wanting to lose weight for Charlotte, not himself. And while that in and of itself isn't a problem, I found those moments when he chose to "comfort eat" false and at times a little cringe-worthy.
To be honest, I was bored with the plot most of the way because little happens. Even when we get to emotionally strong moments, I found myself not really caring. The ending really threw me though, since it was a straight paragraph of Message.
I wanted to like this one, and I think had it been written at the middle grade level, I would have. The male voices didn't sound like high school seniors (and if Charlie's friend used the word "chickie" one more time to refer to a female...) and because of the lack of depth in exploring some pretty tough topics, I was left underwhelmed.
Charlie's been the fat boy forever but when he goes to fat camp for the summer and comes home having lost weight, he wants to go after Charlotte, the new girl who he thought he had no chance with before. In addition to that stress is the stress of mom who is far from being sane. She and Charlie's father are on again and off again and now they're off again and she's flying off the deep end.
I didn't buy the voice in this story, and it read very young for me. Charlie didn't sound like an 18 year old but more like a 12 year old, and I felt that many of the story elements themselves read much younger than YA, too. It was much more juvenile than I expected but because of some of the language and some of the other situations, this isn't a book I'd give to a middle grade reader.
I have a hard time with books that tackle weight issues, but I found this one particularly sticky because it's never handled head on. But when it does emerge, the way it's brought up doesn't sit right. First, Charlie admits to wanting to lose weight for Charlotte, not himself. And while that in and of itself isn't a problem, I found those moments when he chose to "comfort eat" false and at times a little cringe-worthy.
To be honest, I was bored with the plot most of the way because little happens. Even when we get to emotionally strong moments, I found myself not really caring. The ending really threw me though, since it was a straight paragraph of Message.
I wanted to like this one, and I think had it been written at the middle grade level, I would have. The male voices didn't sound like high school seniors (and if Charlie's friend used the word "chickie" one more time to refer to a female...) and because of the lack of depth in exploring some pretty tough topics, I was left underwhelmed.
February 9, 2012
Wow!! There aren't a lot of books that make me cry, but THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE by Jenny Torres Sanchez did just that. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this raw and powerful book about a teenage boy who has just lost weight at summer "fat camp" and is trying to navigate through dire family issues, messy school politics and the flirty new girl who doesn't know why the kids at school call him "Chunks". Jenny Torres Sanchez absolutely nails the teenage voice, and her characters are funny, quirky, tragic and very relatable. This is one of those stories that just grabbed me and shook me and made me wish Goodreads had more stars to give it.
March 20, 2020
So the plus side of this whole thing is I get to read a lot of books quickly, and that helps my reading challenge goal. 🤷🏼♀️
March 12, 2012
An upside of being a children’s librarian is the opportunity to read Advanced Reading Copies of books yet to be published. Although most of my reading is focused on the grade-school set, I squeeze in worthy adult and teen titles as often as possible. When a Running Press editor introduced me to the delightful new author Jenny Torrez Sanchez, and offered me an ARC of The Downside of Being Charlie, I knew this was a teen title I had to fit into my reading schedule. Wow! Sanchez captivated me from the first line and kept me engaged throughout the entire story with the authentic voices of her believable characters.
Charlie’s home life is less than ideal, and at school he’s popular only with his best friend, Ahmed. But, hey, senior year holds promises – he’s lost weight and the new girl in the neighborhood seems to find him interesting. Charlie, although troubled, is a likeable guy who keeps his emotions to himself. He shrugs off various affronts from others and the occasional inquiries into his well-being from concerned adults, as well as those from his new neighbor, Charlotte. Charlie makes a point to recognize ‘what he knows’ and ‘what he doesn’t know.’ As situations shift, and his alienation from others begins to grow, he suffers from a sense of inadequacy.
“I feel like I should be seeing something that I can’t see. Like I’m missing the signs or the connectors. They’re floating around right in front of me, right in front of me, but they’re invisible or maybe they’re too close.”
Despite the ever constant ‘things he doesn’t know’, he must deal with the events in his life as best he can.
The relatable issues of identity, family conflict, and high school drama are particularly appealing to teens. The Downside of Being Charlie, is due out in June. Hand it to a teen reader this summer!
Charlie’s home life is less than ideal, and at school he’s popular only with his best friend, Ahmed. But, hey, senior year holds promises – he’s lost weight and the new girl in the neighborhood seems to find him interesting. Charlie, although troubled, is a likeable guy who keeps his emotions to himself. He shrugs off various affronts from others and the occasional inquiries into his well-being from concerned adults, as well as those from his new neighbor, Charlotte. Charlie makes a point to recognize ‘what he knows’ and ‘what he doesn’t know.’ As situations shift, and his alienation from others begins to grow, he suffers from a sense of inadequacy.
“I feel like I should be seeing something that I can’t see. Like I’m missing the signs or the connectors. They’re floating around right in front of me, right in front of me, but they’re invisible or maybe they’re too close.”
Despite the ever constant ‘things he doesn’t know’, he must deal with the events in his life as best he can.
The relatable issues of identity, family conflict, and high school drama are particularly appealing to teens. The Downside of Being Charlie, is due out in June. Hand it to a teen reader this summer!
August 23, 2012
Charlie Grisner used to be fat. But slimming down didn't solve his problems. His mother still runs away and his dad spends most of his time out of the house. He's only got one real friend and he has to share a locker with Tanya Bate, the girl everyone hates. He's really into Charlotte VanderKleaton, the new girl, but so is one of the school bullies.
I loved Charlie's voice. He's awkward in a very authentic way. He doesn't have good problem-solving skills because his parents have taught him to run away from confrontation. While he came back from fat camp motivated to keep exercising (okay, that was to spy on the hot new neighbor), the pressures in his life lead to binging and purging. You don't often see books dealing with bulimia, much less guys who have it.
The secondary cast is pretty great too. Ahmed, the aforementioned real friend, emulates the Rat Pack in dress and speech. It can get a little annoying, but it's saved by Ahmed's loyalty to his buddy. Charlotte could be just another idealized dream girl, but debut author Jenny Torres Sanchez takes the time to flesh her out. Charlie sometimes notices the girl within the pretty exterior and sometimes misses the clues pointing her out. It felt very natural. I also liked the photography teacher, who notices that Charlie is having issues and takes the time to talk to him about his home life.
THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE could be a downer - mental illness, eating disorder, bullying - but Sanchez writes with humor and optimism. There's an upside to being Charlie, too. Charlie just needs to figure that out for himself. This terrific contemporary will appeal to a wide-range of YA readers. The male narrator will hopefully interest guy readers in some of the "girly" topics covered by THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE. I think Sanchez's is one of the best debuts I've read this year.
I loved Charlie's voice. He's awkward in a very authentic way. He doesn't have good problem-solving skills because his parents have taught him to run away from confrontation. While he came back from fat camp motivated to keep exercising (okay, that was to spy on the hot new neighbor), the pressures in his life lead to binging and purging. You don't often see books dealing with bulimia, much less guys who have it.
The secondary cast is pretty great too. Ahmed, the aforementioned real friend, emulates the Rat Pack in dress and speech. It can get a little annoying, but it's saved by Ahmed's loyalty to his buddy. Charlotte could be just another idealized dream girl, but debut author Jenny Torres Sanchez takes the time to flesh her out. Charlie sometimes notices the girl within the pretty exterior and sometimes misses the clues pointing her out. It felt very natural. I also liked the photography teacher, who notices that Charlie is having issues and takes the time to talk to him about his home life.
THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE could be a downer - mental illness, eating disorder, bullying - but Sanchez writes with humor and optimism. There's an upside to being Charlie, too. Charlie just needs to figure that out for himself. This terrific contemporary will appeal to a wide-range of YA readers. The male narrator will hopefully interest guy readers in some of the "girly" topics covered by THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE. I think Sanchez's is one of the best debuts I've read this year.
February 25, 2012
This book is scheduled for release in June 2012. It is the heartbreaking and sublime story of a teenage boy-on-the-verge with an eating disorder among his many problems. It could be a sappy-after-school-type special on TV but it's more than that. It is REAL. Can't wait to read the author's next novel.
March 24, 2013
"I see how shutting yourself up in a tiny compartment can suffocate you. I see how bottling everything up and stuffing it down can weigh you down. I see how sometimes you need complete darkness to see things you couldn't or didn't want to see before. I realize that sometimes what's real isn't pretty, but what's pretty isn't always real."
August 10, 2012
I read this for my YA Book Club, and I still have mixed feelings about it. Many in the club enjoyed it, one utterly hated it, and I still feel just in the middle. It's a good story about a boy who used to be overweight dealing with life in general.
Charlie's dad sent him away to fat camp before his senior year of high school, and he actually participated and lost all of the weight. Though it sounds like he did so for Charlotte, the girl who moved down the street which is sort of stupid. Do it for yourself!
His mom is a little nutso. She disappears for days or week or even months at a time, and Charlie and his dad don't talk about it. They just act like nothing has happened when she comes back and resumes everything as normal. However this time is different because Charlie learns a horrible secret his dad has been hiding. And when his mom returns, she learns about it as well and goes off the deep end.
I know I will sound like a horrible person when I say this, but it won't be the first time: I wish Charlie's mother had died. Honestly. I think things would have gone in a better direction. Especially since I find the ending so hard to believe.
I loved his best friend. I'm just going to leave it at that. Because I loved him, and he's the ultimate best friend I think. If only Charlie could find it in himself to confide in him.
I hated Charlotte. The way she felt about Blanche in Streetcar Named Desire? That's how I felt about her. She was stupid and a ho bag.
I was really excited when Charlie became bulimic. This was the first time I would see it from a male point of view, but instead they just gloss over it. Even at the end of the book, he is still throwing up but no one seems to be worried enough to get him help. What is up with that?
So, it's an okay read. But I'm still in the middle and think if I had to be swayed, it would be in the Didn't Like direction.
Charlie's dad sent him away to fat camp before his senior year of high school, and he actually participated and lost all of the weight. Though it sounds like he did so for Charlotte, the girl who moved down the street which is sort of stupid. Do it for yourself!
His mom is a little nutso. She disappears for days or week or even months at a time, and Charlie and his dad don't talk about it. They just act like nothing has happened when she comes back and resumes everything as normal. However this time is different because Charlie learns a horrible secret his dad has been hiding. And when his mom returns, she learns about it as well and goes off the deep end.
I know I will sound like a horrible person when I say this, but it won't be the first time: I wish Charlie's mother had died. Honestly. I think things would have gone in a better direction. Especially since I find the ending so hard to believe.
I loved his best friend. I'm just going to leave it at that. Because I loved him, and he's the ultimate best friend I think. If only Charlie could find it in himself to confide in him.
I hated Charlotte. The way she felt about Blanche in Streetcar Named Desire? That's how I felt about her. She was stupid and a ho bag.
I was really excited when Charlie became bulimic. This was the first time I would see it from a male point of view, but instead they just gloss over it. Even at the end of the book, he is still throwing up but no one seems to be worried enough to get him help. What is up with that?
So, it's an okay read. But I'm still in the middle and think if I had to be swayed, it would be in the Didn't Like direction.
November 27, 2016
Gosh, I haven't read some realistic ya for ages. I forgot how I'm fond of this genre, despite everything.
I struggled with giving this book a rating. I'll start by saying it's a very average book and that's my rating. It's another ya, there are bullies, a crush, an odd best friend, art, family issues, the whole deal.
That's okay. Not every book needs to be super original and I did have a nice time reading this, even if it wasn't particularly beaconing.
There were plenty of good things about this book. As someone who's overweight, in a way, that's one of my worst nightmares. I've grown to understand losing weight doesn't equal a healthy self esteem, that you need to work separately on them. I felt like Charlie's struggle was reasonably realistic, even if he was kind of passive about it.
I also liked how it just worked. It's a book build that works. I was happy by the end. Everything was wrapped up nicely, everything was happy by the end. That's why ya is so great. I suppose I'm slowly outgrowing this.
I hated how the dialogues were unrealistic, dammit, why is it hard to write teenagers that speak like normal people. So unbelievable. Chickies? Who says that? And, as usual, I hated how women are shown here and it's ridiculous as the author is a woman.
what I'm taking with me
• Maybe all my life problems will also be magically solved in 15 pages.
• Charlie will always be the guy from Perks of Being a Wallflower.
• Apparently I don't really like ya anymore.
I struggled with giving this book a rating. I'll start by saying it's a very average book and that's my rating. It's another ya, there are bullies, a crush, an odd best friend, art, family issues, the whole deal.
That's okay. Not every book needs to be super original and I did have a nice time reading this, even if it wasn't particularly beaconing.
There were plenty of good things about this book. As someone who's overweight, in a way, that's one of my worst nightmares. I've grown to understand losing weight doesn't equal a healthy self esteem, that you need to work separately on them. I felt like Charlie's struggle was reasonably realistic, even if he was kind of passive about it.
I also liked how it just worked. It's a book build that works. I was happy by the end. Everything was wrapped up nicely, everything was happy by the end. That's why ya is so great. I suppose I'm slowly outgrowing this.
I hated how the dialogues were unrealistic, dammit, why is it hard to write teenagers that speak like normal people. So unbelievable. Chickies? Who says that? And, as usual, I hated how women are shown here and it's ridiculous as the author is a woman.
what I'm taking with me
• Maybe all my life problems will also be magically solved in 15 pages.
• Charlie will always be the guy from Perks of Being a Wallflower.
• Apparently I don't really like ya anymore.
June 30, 2013
I was a little skeptical picking up this book, but I couldn't be happier that I actually read it. The thing I really appreciated about The Downside of Being Charlie was it showed the struggles of a teenage boy. So often you read novels and see things on the news about girls and their struggle with eating disorders and their weight. It sometimes seems that society just assumes boys don't go through those struggles, when as a matter of fact, they do.
From the beginning I was pulled in by Charlie's raw emotions. His emotions were reflected in everything he did, from talking to Charlotte (his crush) to realizing the cold hard truth about his family. As I read, I felt myself feeling bad for Charlie but at the same time cheering him on, because he really tried to be an ideal friend and child. Although Charlie had his insecurities, specifically about his weight, he turned those insecurities into something beautiful, his photography. In the end, Charlie stopped feeling bad about himself and his life and decided to do something, something that would show the world how he really felt.
By the end of the book, I felt inspired by Charlie's story. It made me think about my own insecurities and how I could use them to my advantage to become a better person. Charlie also made me realize its okay to ask for help. All in all, The Downside of Being Charlie was both emotional and charming. Jenny Torres Sanchez created a story that I would read again and again.
From the beginning I was pulled in by Charlie's raw emotions. His emotions were reflected in everything he did, from talking to Charlotte (his crush) to realizing the cold hard truth about his family. As I read, I felt myself feeling bad for Charlie but at the same time cheering him on, because he really tried to be an ideal friend and child. Although Charlie had his insecurities, specifically about his weight, he turned those insecurities into something beautiful, his photography. In the end, Charlie stopped feeling bad about himself and his life and decided to do something, something that would show the world how he really felt.
By the end of the book, I felt inspired by Charlie's story. It made me think about my own insecurities and how I could use them to my advantage to become a better person. Charlie also made me realize its okay to ask for help. All in all, The Downside of Being Charlie was both emotional and charming. Jenny Torres Sanchez created a story that I would read again and again.
April 4, 2018
This was a creative book that gave me very clear and depressive feelings. I liked it. It had good and realistic writing.
May 16, 2012
In a lot of ways, THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING CHARLIE is unlike anything I have ever read. It's Charlie Grisner's senior year and he has just returned from a summer away at fat camp, skinnier and determined to finally make this his year. There's a quirky best friend, a beautiful new girl, a school prank that could go horribly wrong...the thing is, you may think you know where all this is going but you’d be wrong. The beauty of this story is how many unexpected twists and turns it takes and, most of all, how real and rich Charlie feels as a character. His problems are complex and honest and the way he deals with them lead to some profound revelations about life, family, art and self-knowledge.
A gorgeous contemporary story that is masterfully crafted and told. Charlie is a character that’s likely to stick with you for a long time.
A gorgeous contemporary story that is masterfully crafted and told. Charlie is a character that’s likely to stick with you for a long time.
June 30, 2021
I had a tough time with this at first. I didn't really like Charlie at all, and I took no small umbrage about how Charlie described and felt about fat camp, and the kids who went there. Fat girl problems, I get a little defensive about my larger peoples. Regardless, I pushed on, and eventually I got there. The end of this book was so strong and moving, it pulled me through, and I was able to appreciate Charlie, and what he was struggling with, and his growth throughout the book. (Side note, I added this to my "to be read" pile in 2012 and finally got around to it, I am inordinately proud of this fact.)
August 16, 2012
This book was only so-so until about midway through. It seemed kind of silly and a little shallow, but then when Charlie's family problems really start to show, that's when I got interested. I began to feel for Charlie, to empathize. I started connecting with other characters as well. The ending made my eyes tear up a little. Pretty good book with a nice ending.
December 30, 2020
Cross-posted from my blog where there's more information on where I got my copy and links and everything. Lots of links. All the links.
Before you read this one, maybe hit the PG-13 section first and read the trigger warnings. Be kind to yourself, you know?
Also, if you argue with me about this by offering any kind of weight loss "advice" or diet talk - I will delete your comments without any hesitation. This isn't up for debate.
This is kind of hard to write. Mostly because... I hated this book for a good hundred pages. I don't know if you know this, but for a long time, there was kind of a trend of "fat camp" or "fat kid" books where it was always FACT that the only reason that a kid was fat was because of course they ate massive amounts of junk food. Because only fat kids eat junk food. Then the fat kid would get sent away to fat camp where they'd eat meals like a half cup of cottage cheese and a lettuce leaf. Because that seems so healthy and not at all borderline-starvation and nutritionally deficent.
And, yes, you can argue that books exagerate and it was "comedy", but as a fat kid? I was literally terrified of being sent away to fat camp. So as an adult, I don't really find it that funny. Kids should not have to worry about that. Ever.
So when the book opened with Charlie having just come back from fat camp (it's called Camp Fit, but Charlie knew and we all know it was fat camp) and having lost thirty pounds, I honestly almost quit reading. Especially when the book proceeded to talk about Charlie eating huge amounts of food, because it was so exagerated, like three helpings of spaghetti followed by two of ice cream. Let's be real - almost no one eats like that. Well, I mean. I have a cousin who kinda does, but he grew literally a foot taller in a year and also was/is kind of a stoner, so he doesn't count. Plus he's not fat. The point is, fat people, on average, don't eat that different from thin people. (Citation.)
You have what seems like stereotypes about fat people stuffing themselves constantly, fat camp, Charlie calling other fat people rejects and freaks, and then the really fun part where he talks about how huge he was at 265 pounds and almost six feet and how shocked he was to be obese. (Let's not talk about how BMI means basically nothing besides how tall you are and how much you weigh. It was not invented to have anything to do with health. The guy who invented it wanted to use it to classify bodies as "normal" and "deviant". Citation. Citation 2. AND while we're at it, maybe the reason he was shocked to find out he was obese was because he had no idea what really looks like. This guy is just shy of obese. This guy is obese. So is this guy. And this guy almost is. And, surprise, THIS guy is obese.)
You really can't blame me for almost giving up, right?
And then things got a little better, by which I mean they got a lot worse for Charlie. He started gaining weight back ('cause that's what happens, almost all of the time, and those lost pounds bring friends, too - citation, citation, citation, citation, citation, citation) and finds out that, surprise, when your life is messed up, losing weight doesn't fit it. Your life is still messed up and now everyone expects the weight lost to have fixed it. Except now you have no way to cope and you have to fight your body which desperately does not want to be starved, for some reason.
And Charlie starts getting attention he doesn't know how to handle from people who used to ignore him. A lot of them aren't great people. And he doesn't know how to handle that because he's used to being invisible. Meanwhile, he's resentful of people who eat normally in front of him, especially his best friend Ahmed who's naturally skinny and eats large amounts of "junk" food without gaining weight. (Funny how that works. Isn't it.) And Charlie sometimes acts as if he's doing it on purpose, because of course it's completely inconsiderate of him to eat in front of Charlie, right? (No.)
Then stuff with his parents starts to go very badly and Charlie begins to deal with it with binging and purging. And that is realistic. Sad, obviously. But realistic. Things get worse with the parents, the eating disorder gets worse. He restricts, then binges and purges. Again, realistic. I don't have any links to the rates of eating disorders in people who used to just be dieters, but information about kids and eating disorders can be found here. Lots of good info there.
Okay, this part got really long... I should probably do the other parts.
Plot Talk: I think we got it from the rambling above, yeah?
Characters: I think you can tell from the previous few (*cough*) paragraphs that I didn't really like Charlie for a good third of the book. He was, quite honestly, kind of a jerk. He had tons of internalized fatphobia and he treated the girl he liked like such a MPDG. At one point, he even says she was supposed to "save" him. He got better as the book goes on, but it's a hard road to get there. And it takes a lot of growth.
His best friend Ahmed was cool. Way into the Rat Pack and that kind of thing. Kind of sexist/gross towards girls, though, but he gets called out on it at the end of the book. And he was a very good friend to Charlie.
Hooboy this review is long.
Okay, so. Charlotte was not my favourite character. But a lot of that is probably deliberate, I will admit, because Charlie only saw her one way with the whole MPDG thing, and it was super idolized and pretty much ignored her as a person. When she was actually allowed to have a personality with, you know, needs and emotions and thoughts, I liked her a whole lot better and she became a much stronger character.
I also really disliked his dad for a lot of the book. His dad was the one who sent Charlie to fat camp and was so food-shamey and fatphobic. He's super gross in treating Charlie like he was wrong for eating. (Newsflash, eating is not a moral act. It's not, like, cocaine or something, for crying out loud.) Literally at one point he said that Charlie needed an "intervention".
And even after Charlie lost weight (which by the way - can we talk about the fact that 30 pounds over one summer is not a healthy weight loss?? Even pro-diet/weight-loss sites like LiveStrong only recommend one to two pounds a week. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of a 30 week summer), his dad was removed, constantly gone, and it's hard for me to like someone who basically abandons his kid. He start to make progress at the end, though. And he was a good character, if he wasn't a likeable one, at least. And boy was he not likeable.
PG-13 stuff: There was a lot of language. A lot. Some underage drug use mentioned and probably some drinking, too. And the subject matter is mature, especially the descriptions of Charlie's eating disorder. They can be very graphic.
So trigger warnings for - suicide, sizeism, eating disorders, attempted non-consensual drug use, bullying, and some ableism. Oh, and emetophobia because, yeah. (If you don't know what that is, Wikipedia it.)
Cons, complaints, bad stuff, etc.: I think we got all my complaints already. Let's move on.
Cover comments: Okay, here's my thing. I actually like the cover. It's neat, lots of personality. But between the cover and the back summary, it comes off way more "quirky comedy" so to be reading along expecting that and be hit BAM in the face with the eating disorder and the rather graphic descriptions of that, it's startling for me and it could easily be very painful for someone to just stumble onto that. Especially, say, a kid who was dealing with that same kind of behaviour themselves. To just get that in your face with no warning isn't a fun experience.
I can kinda understand it, because maybe your average kid who might need this book wouldn't pick it up if it had a more serious cover, but it still just doesn't seem like it fits to me. And then to have no indication of the eating disorder? It feels somewhat irresponsible and I hope no one was hurt by it.
Conclusion: This is ridiculously long and you're probably sick of me talking, so let's try and wrap this up.
Like I said, I very much disliked the first 100 pages or so. It's really hard to like a book that spends a lot of time insulting you. And Charlie does not only talk about his own body. He talks about other fat people being losers, freaks, pathetic, etc. And it's obviously what he's feeling about himself, but that doesn't excuse that he isn't saying those things about himself. He's saying them about other people. Which include me. Fun to read that!
And the book never has one character come out and say, "Hey, Charlie, you're not a pathetic loser because you're fat. It's okay to be fat. You don't need to lose weight." And I have to wonder, what does that say to fat teenagers? Sending you away to fat camp is okay, because you obviously need to lose weight when you're fat, but when it stops working despite you not changing or when an impractical, almost impossible diet becomes too much for you to bear, don't start purging or anything. But restricting's okay!
Obviously that last bit was a little sarcastic and I don't think the author meant to send that message, but I do worry that that would be what a fat kid reading this would absorb. It would not have taken that much for someone to say that being fat is okay. (It is.) Or that, hey, you can be healthy and fat! (You can. Citation. Citation. Citation.) It's almost taken for granted that, yeah, Charlie being fat is terrible.(It's not.)
I definitely think this kind of book is important. There aren't a lot of books, as far as I know, about boys with eating disorders, and the rates are rising. But I personally would not feel comfortable recommending it when I had to struggle through the first 100 pages because they were so full of body hate and it's never negated. Even when Charlie is kinda-dating Charlotte, who's thin and conventionally attractive, there's never even a moment of, "Yeah, she thinks you're hot, dude" or anything that says "hey, it's okay that you're fat" or even "HEY fat people are worthwhile human beings and maybe you shouldn't talk about them like they're scum".
One sentence could have changed how I felt about this book a lot. But there was never that sentence. I thought the second-half was much better written, but it utterly failed in this aspect. And because of that, I can't rate this higher than two roses. And I actually really hate that because boys with eating disorders, that fat people can have eating disorders and still be fat, those are important stories. But I just can't in good faith go higher than that.
I hope you guys can understand why.
Before you read this one, maybe hit the PG-13 section first and read the trigger warnings. Be kind to yourself, you know?
Also, if you argue with me about this by offering any kind of weight loss "advice" or diet talk - I will delete your comments without any hesitation. This isn't up for debate.
This is kind of hard to write. Mostly because... I hated this book for a good hundred pages. I don't know if you know this, but for a long time, there was kind of a trend of "fat camp" or "fat kid" books where it was always FACT that the only reason that a kid was fat was because of course they ate massive amounts of junk food. Because only fat kids eat junk food. Then the fat kid would get sent away to fat camp where they'd eat meals like a half cup of cottage cheese and a lettuce leaf. Because that seems so healthy and not at all borderline-starvation and nutritionally deficent.
And, yes, you can argue that books exagerate and it was "comedy", but as a fat kid? I was literally terrified of being sent away to fat camp. So as an adult, I don't really find it that funny. Kids should not have to worry about that. Ever.
So when the book opened with Charlie having just come back from fat camp (it's called Camp Fit, but Charlie knew and we all know it was fat camp) and having lost thirty pounds, I honestly almost quit reading. Especially when the book proceeded to talk about Charlie eating huge amounts of food, because it was so exagerated, like three helpings of spaghetti followed by two of ice cream. Let's be real - almost no one eats like that. Well, I mean. I have a cousin who kinda does, but he grew literally a foot taller in a year and also was/is kind of a stoner, so he doesn't count. Plus he's not fat. The point is, fat people, on average, don't eat that different from thin people. (Citation.)
You have what seems like stereotypes about fat people stuffing themselves constantly, fat camp, Charlie calling other fat people rejects and freaks, and then the really fun part where he talks about how huge he was at 265 pounds and almost six feet and how shocked he was to be obese. (Let's not talk about how BMI means basically nothing besides how tall you are and how much you weigh. It was not invented to have anything to do with health. The guy who invented it wanted to use it to classify bodies as "normal" and "deviant". Citation. Citation 2. AND while we're at it, maybe the reason he was shocked to find out he was obese was because he had no idea what really looks like. This guy is just shy of obese. This guy is obese. So is this guy. And this guy almost is. And, surprise, THIS guy is obese.)
You really can't blame me for almost giving up, right?
And then things got a little better, by which I mean they got a lot worse for Charlie. He started gaining weight back ('cause that's what happens, almost all of the time, and those lost pounds bring friends, too - citation, citation, citation, citation, citation, citation) and finds out that, surprise, when your life is messed up, losing weight doesn't fit it. Your life is still messed up and now everyone expects the weight lost to have fixed it. Except now you have no way to cope and you have to fight your body which desperately does not want to be starved, for some reason.
And Charlie starts getting attention he doesn't know how to handle from people who used to ignore him. A lot of them aren't great people. And he doesn't know how to handle that because he's used to being invisible. Meanwhile, he's resentful of people who eat normally in front of him, especially his best friend Ahmed who's naturally skinny and eats large amounts of "junk" food without gaining weight. (Funny how that works. Isn't it.) And Charlie sometimes acts as if he's doing it on purpose, because of course it's completely inconsiderate of him to eat in front of Charlie, right? (No.)
Then stuff with his parents starts to go very badly and Charlie begins to deal with it with binging and purging. And that is realistic. Sad, obviously. But realistic. Things get worse with the parents, the eating disorder gets worse. He restricts, then binges and purges. Again, realistic. I don't have any links to the rates of eating disorders in people who used to just be dieters, but information about kids and eating disorders can be found here. Lots of good info there.
Okay, this part got really long... I should probably do the other parts.
Plot Talk: I think we got it from the rambling above, yeah?
Characters: I think you can tell from the previous few (*cough*) paragraphs that I didn't really like Charlie for a good third of the book. He was, quite honestly, kind of a jerk. He had tons of internalized fatphobia and he treated the girl he liked like such a MPDG. At one point, he even says she was supposed to "save" him. He got better as the book goes on, but it's a hard road to get there. And it takes a lot of growth.
His best friend Ahmed was cool. Way into the Rat Pack and that kind of thing. Kind of sexist/gross towards girls, though, but he gets called out on it at the end of the book. And he was a very good friend to Charlie.
Hooboy this review is long.
Okay, so. Charlotte was not my favourite character. But a lot of that is probably deliberate, I will admit, because Charlie only saw her one way with the whole MPDG thing, and it was super idolized and pretty much ignored her as a person. When she was actually allowed to have a personality with, you know, needs and emotions and thoughts, I liked her a whole lot better and she became a much stronger character.
I also really disliked his dad for a lot of the book. His dad was the one who sent Charlie to fat camp and was so food-shamey and fatphobic. He's super gross in treating Charlie like he was wrong for eating. (Newsflash, eating is not a moral act. It's not, like, cocaine or something, for crying out loud.) Literally at one point he said that Charlie needed an "intervention".
And even after Charlie lost weight (which by the way - can we talk about the fact that 30 pounds over one summer is not a healthy weight loss?? Even pro-diet/weight-loss sites like LiveStrong only recommend one to two pounds a week. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of a 30 week summer), his dad was removed, constantly gone, and it's hard for me to like someone who basically abandons his kid. He start to make progress at the end, though. And he was a good character, if he wasn't a likeable one, at least. And boy was he not likeable.
PG-13 stuff: There was a lot of language. A lot. Some underage drug use mentioned and probably some drinking, too. And the subject matter is mature, especially the descriptions of Charlie's eating disorder. They can be very graphic.
So trigger warnings for - suicide, sizeism, eating disorders, attempted non-consensual drug use, bullying, and some ableism. Oh, and emetophobia because, yeah. (If you don't know what that is, Wikipedia it.)
Cons, complaints, bad stuff, etc.: I think we got all my complaints already. Let's move on.
Cover comments: Okay, here's my thing. I actually like the cover. It's neat, lots of personality. But between the cover and the back summary, it comes off way more "quirky comedy" so to be reading along expecting that and be hit BAM in the face with the eating disorder and the rather graphic descriptions of that, it's startling for me and it could easily be very painful for someone to just stumble onto that. Especially, say, a kid who was dealing with that same kind of behaviour themselves. To just get that in your face with no warning isn't a fun experience.
I can kinda understand it, because maybe your average kid who might need this book wouldn't pick it up if it had a more serious cover, but it still just doesn't seem like it fits to me. And then to have no indication of the eating disorder? It feels somewhat irresponsible and I hope no one was hurt by it.
Conclusion: This is ridiculously long and you're probably sick of me talking, so let's try and wrap this up.
Like I said, I very much disliked the first 100 pages or so. It's really hard to like a book that spends a lot of time insulting you. And Charlie does not only talk about his own body. He talks about other fat people being losers, freaks, pathetic, etc. And it's obviously what he's feeling about himself, but that doesn't excuse that he isn't saying those things about himself. He's saying them about other people. Which include me. Fun to read that!
And the book never has one character come out and say, "Hey, Charlie, you're not a pathetic loser because you're fat. It's okay to be fat. You don't need to lose weight." And I have to wonder, what does that say to fat teenagers? Sending you away to fat camp is okay, because you obviously need to lose weight when you're fat, but when it stops working despite you not changing or when an impractical, almost impossible diet becomes too much for you to bear, don't start purging or anything. But restricting's okay!
Obviously that last bit was a little sarcastic and I don't think the author meant to send that message, but I do worry that that would be what a fat kid reading this would absorb. It would not have taken that much for someone to say that being fat is okay. (It is.) Or that, hey, you can be healthy and fat! (You can. Citation. Citation. Citation.) It's almost taken for granted that, yeah, Charlie being fat is terrible.(It's not.)
I definitely think this kind of book is important. There aren't a lot of books, as far as I know, about boys with eating disorders, and the rates are rising. But I personally would not feel comfortable recommending it when I had to struggle through the first 100 pages because they were so full of body hate and it's never negated. Even when Charlie is kinda-dating Charlotte, who's thin and conventionally attractive, there's never even a moment of, "Yeah, she thinks you're hot, dude" or anything that says "hey, it's okay that you're fat" or even "HEY fat people are worthwhile human beings and maybe you shouldn't talk about them like they're scum".
One sentence could have changed how I felt about this book a lot. But there was never that sentence. I thought the second-half was much better written, but it utterly failed in this aspect. And because of that, I can't rate this higher than two roses. And I actually really hate that because boys with eating disorders, that fat people can have eating disorders and still be fat, those are important stories. But I just can't in good faith go higher than that.
I hope you guys can understand why.
November 15, 2022
Voto: 4,5
Ho amato il modo in cui ho potuto vivere la vita di Charlie, tutte le difficoltà che ha dovuto affrontare negli anni e in particolare in quell’ultimo anno scolastico. Mi ha emozionato un casino il finale, è stato un finale perfetto per questo libro: lui che alla fine capisce che può essere vero e che non deve più fingere.
La relazione con suo padre all’inizio era letteralmente inesistente ed è stato bello vedere come alla fine si crea quel legame da padre e figlio che c’è bisogno nella vita di Charlie e anche nel padre. Come, inoltre, si apre con il padre riguardo il problema della bulimia che si sviluppa durante il libro, davvero toccante. Da apprezzare come l’autore abbia portato questo problema in un modo quasi impercettibile. All’inizio neanche Charlie ci pensava, ignorava, ma poi lui e noi capiamo che la fonte di esso era lo stress e ogni volta che di liberava si sentiva meglio, alleviando lo stress che sentiva.
La relazione con Ahmed poi, bellissima, un amico stupendo, strambo, ma sempre lì per lui, che si preoccupava veramente per Charlie. Ho apprezzato infatti come alla fine si vedeva che erano semplici adolescenti, la cottarella per le ragazze, l’essere disposti ad accettare stupide sfide per loro.
Ogni personaggio poi era rotto, in senso positivo. Nessuno era perfetto ed è stato bello vedere quei lati negativi che ci hanno fatto apprezzare maggiormente quel personaggio. Ad esempio Charlotte, all’inizio la trovavo insopportabile, soprattutto quando era d’accordo sullo scherzo per Tanya. Ma poi ho capito quanto lei per prima non sapeva come comportarsi, chi fosse la vera Charlotte. Si comportava in un certo modo per compiacere chiunque e non sapeva più chi fosse lei. I genitori di Charlie poi, incasinati, ma che nonostante tutti, perlomeno il padre, hanno provato a tenere insieme la famiglia. Carinissimo il professore di fotografia, che è stato proprio un bel personaggio.
Avrei preferito che si approfondissero di più certi personaggi, avrei voluto più interazioni e più dialoghi. Il libro era molto incentrato su Charlie e lui che spiegava tante cose, ma a parte la botta iniziale di questo, poi ci si fa l’abitudine andando avanti.
In conclusione, libro stupendissimo che tratta tanti argomenti, da quelli di ogni adolescente a quelli più delicati. Da leggere ❤️
Ho amato il modo in cui ho potuto vivere la vita di Charlie, tutte le difficoltà che ha dovuto affrontare negli anni e in particolare in quell’ultimo anno scolastico. Mi ha emozionato un casino il finale, è stato un finale perfetto per questo libro: lui che alla fine capisce che può essere vero e che non deve più fingere.
La relazione con suo padre all’inizio era letteralmente inesistente ed è stato bello vedere come alla fine si crea quel legame da padre e figlio che c’è bisogno nella vita di Charlie e anche nel padre. Come, inoltre, si apre con il padre riguardo il problema della bulimia che si sviluppa durante il libro, davvero toccante. Da apprezzare come l’autore abbia portato questo problema in un modo quasi impercettibile. All’inizio neanche Charlie ci pensava, ignorava, ma poi lui e noi capiamo che la fonte di esso era lo stress e ogni volta che di liberava si sentiva meglio, alleviando lo stress che sentiva.
La relazione con Ahmed poi, bellissima, un amico stupendo, strambo, ma sempre lì per lui, che si preoccupava veramente per Charlie. Ho apprezzato infatti come alla fine si vedeva che erano semplici adolescenti, la cottarella per le ragazze, l’essere disposti ad accettare stupide sfide per loro.
Ogni personaggio poi era rotto, in senso positivo. Nessuno era perfetto ed è stato bello vedere quei lati negativi che ci hanno fatto apprezzare maggiormente quel personaggio. Ad esempio Charlotte, all’inizio la trovavo insopportabile, soprattutto quando era d’accordo sullo scherzo per Tanya. Ma poi ho capito quanto lei per prima non sapeva come comportarsi, chi fosse la vera Charlotte. Si comportava in un certo modo per compiacere chiunque e non sapeva più chi fosse lei. I genitori di Charlie poi, incasinati, ma che nonostante tutti, perlomeno il padre, hanno provato a tenere insieme la famiglia. Carinissimo il professore di fotografia, che è stato proprio un bel personaggio.
Avrei preferito che si approfondissero di più certi personaggi, avrei voluto più interazioni e più dialoghi. Il libro era molto incentrato su Charlie e lui che spiegava tante cose, ma a parte la botta iniziale di questo, poi ci si fa l’abitudine andando avanti.
In conclusione, libro stupendissimo che tratta tanti argomenti, da quelli di ogni adolescente a quelli più delicati. Da leggere ❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2018
In "The Downside of Being Charlie" by Jenny Torres Sanchez, the author writes about a teenage boy that is handed a pretty bad summer. His dad sent him off to Fit Camp and his mom keeps on leaving the house for no reason and not coming back for long periods of time. But theres one good thing: the new girl Charlotte, has just moved in to the house across the street from Charlie. Can Charlie stay positive and get this girl without showing his other emotions?
One thing I liked about this book that the author did well was she showed what was going on inside Charlies head all the time, which helped tell the readers what he's thinking, and made the book feel much more realistic. Also, the author had very good description throughout the whole book, painting a picture in the readers mind, making me see everything that Charlie is going through a lot easier.
I think that the people that like action packed books would like this book because it is never really boring, and always has me on my toes. I would definitely recommend this book to that type if person and everyone else because it is really good and sad at the same time.
One thing I liked about this book that the author did well was she showed what was going on inside Charlies head all the time, which helped tell the readers what he's thinking, and made the book feel much more realistic. Also, the author had very good description throughout the whole book, painting a picture in the readers mind, making me see everything that Charlie is going through a lot easier.
I think that the people that like action packed books would like this book because it is never really boring, and always has me on my toes. I would definitely recommend this book to that type if person and everyone else because it is really good and sad at the same time.
June 27, 2022
the first half or so of this book was not the best. It relied very heavily on stereotypes and teen cliches, none of which were interesting to read at all.
Once the book began to focus more on Charlie and his family, that is when things got a little more interesting. I really liked how Charlie’s struggle with guilt and grief were written in the book - his emotions felt very raw and real. It was also interesting how the author connected Charlie’s family matters to his other relationships, eg food, tanya, ahmed, charlotte even.
Once the book began to focus more on Charlie and his family, that is when things got a little more interesting. I really liked how Charlie’s struggle with guilt and grief were written in the book - his emotions felt very raw and real. It was also interesting how the author connected Charlie’s family matters to his other relationships, eg food, tanya, ahmed, charlotte even.
March 15, 2025
Something that stuck with me throughout the narrative was the main character Charlie's inability to compose a sentence around this girl he has a thing for, and how it doesn't seem to get better as the days go by, even while missing entire portions of conversations thinking about why this is in the first place.
And the character of Tanya was fun. I want to think she'll pop up somewhere later, in her college years or out in the world beyond, put to paper in a short story follow-up in a short story collection.
And the character of Tanya was fun. I want to think she'll pop up somewhere later, in her college years or out in the world beyond, put to paper in a short story follow-up in a short story collection.
November 17, 2024
DNF after 1/3. The characters aren’t likeable and it’s absurdly fatphobic.
August 27, 2012
10 stars!! Oh, to be Charlie. Charlie thought his senior year was his year to shine, his year to be noticed for what he really was, as he was tired of being Chunks. Chunks, the fat kid, the kid who never had a girlfriend, the kid people made fun of but this year turns out to be the year Charlie figures out there is more to life than just looks. His best buddy Ahmed tries to give Charlie the confidence he needs but Charlie needs more than confidence to get through the issues that are coming his way. His locker partner this year is Tanya Bates, a girl who loves confrontation and is not afraid to take a stand and just when things couldn’t get any worse, the issues at home are mounting. His mother hasn’t been home is months and his father, well Charlie hears something but is afraid to confront his father about it. Charlie love of photography gets lost in the shuffle as an important assignment is pushed to the back burner as he tries to get his life figured out. A new girl at school has sparked an interest in Charlie but she is also chasing after one of Charlie’s adversaries, is she only playing to see who comes out on top? Charlie thought that losing all the weight at fat camp would be the worst of his problems but that was only the beginning, but where can he find comfort? Charlie has no one to turn to and he doesn’t want anyone to know how messed up his life is so he resorts to the only comfort he feels he has: food. Ashamed of his behavior, Charlie starts to binge eat and this spiral behavior gets out of control. How long can this behavior last? How important is his senior year when he can’t even face another day.
I found myself laughing out loud as I read parts of this book since Charlie talks so open about his feelings and it sounds so much like a teenager. “I pictured myself panhandling on the streets for money to buy a box of Ho Hos, scrounging up a couple of bucks and heading to the nearest gas station to buy the crème-filled goodness. The clerk would recognize me and shake his head as I shoved it in my face, making grunting noises like a wild boar.” The situations and the relationships he has are so realistic and amazing that I can’t say enough about them. I had so many emotions reading this book as he struggles to adjust to the situations that he confronts. Charlie tries to keep his emotions in check and go with the flow, it is only when he lets go does he realize how he really feel and the honesty that the author is able to reflect in her writing is powerful and abrupt. I think it tells a great message.
This book talks about eating disorders so make sure you are able to handle that subject matter. There are a few swear words but nothing out of hand. You have to remember this is a book about a teenage boy in high school and they swear in high school. He thinks his life is a mess and he used to be picked on so take that into consideration.
There is one reference to drugs in the book but it was handled respectably. There is reference to sex as the characters talk about it as they are teenagers in high school.
I found myself laughing out loud as I read parts of this book since Charlie talks so open about his feelings and it sounds so much like a teenager. “I pictured myself panhandling on the streets for money to buy a box of Ho Hos, scrounging up a couple of bucks and heading to the nearest gas station to buy the crème-filled goodness. The clerk would recognize me and shake his head as I shoved it in my face, making grunting noises like a wild boar.” The situations and the relationships he has are so realistic and amazing that I can’t say enough about them. I had so many emotions reading this book as he struggles to adjust to the situations that he confronts. Charlie tries to keep his emotions in check and go with the flow, it is only when he lets go does he realize how he really feel and the honesty that the author is able to reflect in her writing is powerful and abrupt. I think it tells a great message.
This book talks about eating disorders so make sure you are able to handle that subject matter. There are a few swear words but nothing out of hand. You have to remember this is a book about a teenage boy in high school and they swear in high school. He thinks his life is a mess and he used to be picked on so take that into consideration.
There is one reference to drugs in the book but it was handled respectably. There is reference to sex as the characters talk about it as they are teenagers in high school.
December 3, 2012
Originally posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.sg/20...
What a great contemporary! The Downside of Being Charlie was funny, but unlike several funny contemporaries, it had a heavier edge to it– it had a brilliant emotional depth. I really enjoyed the fact that this was from a guy's POV. You rarely do get books, contemporaries nonetheless, which feature a guy as the main character (other than John Green's books). The plot was powerful, you could really see the characters develop from start to finish, because my opinions definitely changed throughout the course of the story.
Charlie is a powerful lead. You could see his struggle with everything going on in his life: the fact his mom's missing again, struggling to maintain his new weight after coming back from Fat Camp, sharing a locker with Tanya the freak feminist, and getting the attention of the new hot girl. I found it really easy to connect and empathize with Charlie... maybe that has to do with the fact that the author is a woman, and therefore being a girl I could relate to it? Possibly, possibly.
Oh Ahmed! I've never seen anyone in young adult books like him. He reminds me so much of Hasan from An Abundance of Katherines. They're both originally from the same part of the world, they're both hilarious and have something quirky about them, and they're always there to support their best friend. Ahmed is absolutely obsessed with Sinatra and the lingo from that time, and overall he's just an amazing character to read about.
Charlotte was one character that I did not like. I have a theory in sense that girls tend to know which guys and girls are not worth it, but guys only know which guys are not worth it. Thus being my theory, I hated Charlotte, even through the eyes of Charlie, because she just sounded like someone who needs to be popular, surrounded by adoring males... arghh, I'm rambling on, but I just don't like her. I liked her more at the end, but still not past that 'hate' stage.
The little twists in the story are quite heartbreaking and the emotional hardships which Charlie has to go through is really sad. I felt so bad for him! One moment he's all great, and then the next, everything comes crashing down. I really love journey he has through finding himself, finding out what he wants and what he is.
The Downside of Being Charlie is a strong, fabulous, and wonderful debut, which will take you on a roller coaster ride from heartbreaks to giggles. I'm so glad I got the chance to read and review this book– it was the perfect book to just get away from everything and just sink into the story. Definitely looking forward to reading more from this author!
○ ○ ○ Thank you to Seta Zink from Running Press for sending me The Downside of Being Charlie for review! ○ ○ ○
What a great contemporary! The Downside of Being Charlie was funny, but unlike several funny contemporaries, it had a heavier edge to it– it had a brilliant emotional depth. I really enjoyed the fact that this was from a guy's POV. You rarely do get books, contemporaries nonetheless, which feature a guy as the main character (other than John Green's books). The plot was powerful, you could really see the characters develop from start to finish, because my opinions definitely changed throughout the course of the story.
Charlie is a powerful lead. You could see his struggle with everything going on in his life: the fact his mom's missing again, struggling to maintain his new weight after coming back from Fat Camp, sharing a locker with Tanya the freak feminist, and getting the attention of the new hot girl. I found it really easy to connect and empathize with Charlie... maybe that has to do with the fact that the author is a woman, and therefore being a girl I could relate to it? Possibly, possibly.
Oh Ahmed! I've never seen anyone in young adult books like him. He reminds me so much of Hasan from An Abundance of Katherines. They're both originally from the same part of the world, they're both hilarious and have something quirky about them, and they're always there to support their best friend. Ahmed is absolutely obsessed with Sinatra and the lingo from that time, and overall he's just an amazing character to read about.
Charlotte was one character that I did not like. I have a theory in sense that girls tend to know which guys and girls are not worth it, but guys only know which guys are not worth it. Thus being my theory, I hated Charlotte, even through the eyes of Charlie, because she just sounded like someone who needs to be popular, surrounded by adoring males... arghh, I'm rambling on, but I just don't like her. I liked her more at the end, but still not past that 'hate' stage.
The little twists in the story are quite heartbreaking and the emotional hardships which Charlie has to go through is really sad. I felt so bad for him! One moment he's all great, and then the next, everything comes crashing down. I really love journey he has through finding himself, finding out what he wants and what he is.
The Downside of Being Charlie is a strong, fabulous, and wonderful debut, which will take you on a roller coaster ride from heartbreaks to giggles. I'm so glad I got the chance to read and review this book– it was the perfect book to just get away from everything and just sink into the story. Definitely looking forward to reading more from this author!
○ ○ ○ Thank you to Seta Zink from Running Press for sending me The Downside of Being Charlie for review! ○ ○ ○
August 26, 2012
I wish I knew how to start this review more effectively, but the one word that keeps weighing on my mind is simply this: heavy. I went into The Downside of Being Charlie expecting to laugh. Maybe giggle a bit over Charlie's confused adolescent life. What I didn't expect, however, was to fall into a period of deep thought. To cry. Or for that matter, to find inspirational quotes that stuck with me even hours later. It's not everyday that a book somehow manages to make me laugh and cry in equal measures. In fact, The Downside of Being Charlie is the first to do that in a long time.
What is between these pages may be fiction, but in a sense it is also reality. THIS is the type of book that I feel young people should be reading. It's gritty, raw, and yes there is even some profanity, but at the end of the day it's real. Jenny Torres Sanchez speaks out to readers using Charlie as a catalyst. She shows the raw, hidden lives that a lot of people live. Putting up a front so that they seem okay to the outside world. Best of all, she doesn't speak down to her readers. She let's us know that sometimes life sucks, but it's what you choose to do moving forward that matters.
I'm certain that Charlie Grisner will forever remain one of my top ten favorite characters. It's tough for me to connect with male point of view normally, but Charlie was just too lovable and real for words. His life isn't perfect. His family is broken. What's worse though is that there doesn't seem to be anything he can do about it. So, he laughs, puts up a wall, and moves on. Lucky for Charlie there just so happens to be some amazing people in his life, even if he doesn't always appreciate them. My favorite by far was his best friend Ahmed. A kid who loves the Rat Pack, wears wing tips, and still manages to be there for his best friend no matter what? That's my kind of character!
I could ramble on for days about this book, and how amazing it is. Unfortunately I know I'd loose your attention. So I'll end with one last thought. This is a book that makes you think. It makes you feel. Isn't that what reading is supposed to be all about? Jenny Torres Sanchez has written a heartfelt story, and a character who could very well be the person you sit next to on the bus. Or your best friend. He's just a lost kid, looking for a hand to hold, and trying to be okay.
Loved this book. Loved it with all my heart. The Downside of Being Charlie goes on my list of books that will be well-loved, dog-eared, and passed around as often as possible. Trust me, you want to read this. It's utterly fantastic. I'll leave you with a favorite quote of mine, courtesy of Charlie himself:
"All we have to do is come out of the boxes we build around ourselves because the truth is we're the ones who close ourselves up, hide ourselves in our own tiny compartments, leaving no room for anyone else."
What is between these pages may be fiction, but in a sense it is also reality. THIS is the type of book that I feel young people should be reading. It's gritty, raw, and yes there is even some profanity, but at the end of the day it's real. Jenny Torres Sanchez speaks out to readers using Charlie as a catalyst. She shows the raw, hidden lives that a lot of people live. Putting up a front so that they seem okay to the outside world. Best of all, she doesn't speak down to her readers. She let's us know that sometimes life sucks, but it's what you choose to do moving forward that matters.
I'm certain that Charlie Grisner will forever remain one of my top ten favorite characters. It's tough for me to connect with male point of view normally, but Charlie was just too lovable and real for words. His life isn't perfect. His family is broken. What's worse though is that there doesn't seem to be anything he can do about it. So, he laughs, puts up a wall, and moves on. Lucky for Charlie there just so happens to be some amazing people in his life, even if he doesn't always appreciate them. My favorite by far was his best friend Ahmed. A kid who loves the Rat Pack, wears wing tips, and still manages to be there for his best friend no matter what? That's my kind of character!
I could ramble on for days about this book, and how amazing it is. Unfortunately I know I'd loose your attention. So I'll end with one last thought. This is a book that makes you think. It makes you feel. Isn't that what reading is supposed to be all about? Jenny Torres Sanchez has written a heartfelt story, and a character who could very well be the person you sit next to on the bus. Or your best friend. He's just a lost kid, looking for a hand to hold, and trying to be okay.
Loved this book. Loved it with all my heart. The Downside of Being Charlie goes on my list of books that will be well-loved, dog-eared, and passed around as often as possible. Trust me, you want to read this. It's utterly fantastic. I'll leave you with a favorite quote of mine, courtesy of Charlie himself:
"All we have to do is come out of the boxes we build around ourselves because the truth is we're the ones who close ourselves up, hide ourselves in our own tiny compartments, leaving no room for anyone else."
September 11, 2012
The Downside of Charlie was a book that fell into my lap to read and review. I had never heard of it until a request to read it came in. Reading the description I was quick to say yes. Sounded like a solid concept by a debut author. And I must say although it was slow at times I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I got the request.
The Downside of Being Charlie is the story of well, Charlie, a high school senior that has been anything but poplar this whole life. His best friend thinks he is the second coming of the rat pack, he was over weight, and just never fit in. Now after ‘fat camp’ Charlie is 30 pounds lighter and hopes to have a good senior year. But as the title says, there is a downside to be Charlie. Things just never really seem to go his way. His mother runs away for months at a time, his father is always busy working and he has to share his locker with the nerdiest girl in school. The only bright spot for Charlie is in the form of the new girl Charlotte. But even when Charlotte starts to show interest Charlie can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop.
One of the things I really liked about this book was Charlie himself. Here he was this poor kid that got the short end of the stick every time. His best friend was the only person he could count on and the great thing about Charlie was that he did. He leaned on Ahmed and told him how he was feeling about things. What Charlie didn’t have was strong parental units. This mother was mentally ill and would walk out on the family more often then not and his dad was never really home. It kind of made me sad that Charlie was all alone. Because of this I wasn’t surprised at all by his extremely low self-esteem. He didn’t have many people that were there to show him he was worth it. It was really sad. But like always Charlie persevered and figured out who he was and who to rely on.
With that said there was a couple of things I didn’t like. First I wasn’t a fan of Charlotte at all. I thought she played games and strung Charlie along. I was never convinced that she really liked him. He was there to pass time for her when she wasn’t with the ‘cool people’. I just found her phony and annoying. I also didn’t like the eating disorder aspect. It felt contrived and it was never dealt with. Eating disorders are very serious and I feel like if you are going to go there, then you need to deliver a solution. You can’t just leave something like that hanging.
With that said The Downside of Being Charlie was a good book with a message of self discovery. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I would say to definitely give it a shot.
The Downside of Being Charlie is the story of well, Charlie, a high school senior that has been anything but poplar this whole life. His best friend thinks he is the second coming of the rat pack, he was over weight, and just never fit in. Now after ‘fat camp’ Charlie is 30 pounds lighter and hopes to have a good senior year. But as the title says, there is a downside to be Charlie. Things just never really seem to go his way. His mother runs away for months at a time, his father is always busy working and he has to share his locker with the nerdiest girl in school. The only bright spot for Charlie is in the form of the new girl Charlotte. But even when Charlotte starts to show interest Charlie can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop.
One of the things I really liked about this book was Charlie himself. Here he was this poor kid that got the short end of the stick every time. His best friend was the only person he could count on and the great thing about Charlie was that he did. He leaned on Ahmed and told him how he was feeling about things. What Charlie didn’t have was strong parental units. This mother was mentally ill and would walk out on the family more often then not and his dad was never really home. It kind of made me sad that Charlie was all alone. Because of this I wasn’t surprised at all by his extremely low self-esteem. He didn’t have many people that were there to show him he was worth it. It was really sad. But like always Charlie persevered and figured out who he was and who to rely on.
With that said there was a couple of things I didn’t like. First I wasn’t a fan of Charlotte at all. I thought she played games and strung Charlie along. I was never convinced that she really liked him. He was there to pass time for her when she wasn’t with the ‘cool people’. I just found her phony and annoying. I also didn’t like the eating disorder aspect. It felt contrived and it was never dealt with. Eating disorders are very serious and I feel like if you are going to go there, then you need to deliver a solution. You can’t just leave something like that hanging.
With that said The Downside of Being Charlie was a good book with a message of self discovery. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I would say to definitely give it a shot.
October 18, 2012
Charlie isn’t your typical YA protagonist. He struggles with his weight, to the point that he develops bulimia. He doesn’t excel socially, in sports or any other way at school until he discovers photography. Charlie’s life is atypical in many ways. He’s an only child with an emotionally damaged Mom who leaves and returns on a whim and a father who is embroiled in an affair. Throughout the novel Charlie is not only tending to his own needs, but he is also trying to predict the mood of his parents and what their needs may be. As dark as the story sounds, I fear that such conditions are a reality for many teens and the rendering of Charlie under the gentle hands of Jenny Torres Sanchez is both gentle and honest. Charlie will not win any awards for being the most loveable character in YA fiction. He has an undying crush on a pathetically shallow girl, he selfishly locks himself away from his Dad and he participates in bullying an easy target at school. I found the complexity of his imperfections refreshing, even if they are painful to read about. Although, like life there are many components to the story it is at its root about Charlie admitting that he has an eating disorder.
"But the truth is, it’s hard to constantly have to admit how screwed up my family is.
It’s hard to constantly need to be saved.”
At the beginning of the book Charlie has just returned from fat camp and although he likes the way that he looks, he is also leery of the new attention that he is receiving due to his new physique. He gets attention from the girl of his dreams, Charlotte and his desire to be appealing to her mixed with the emotional chaos that he experiences over his mother’s condition and his father’s indiscretions push his eating issues into overdrive. He begins a dangerous pattern or binge and purge that accelerates as the story progresses.
I find Charlie’s innocence endearing rather than unrealistic. Not all kids mature at the same rate. For example, he has never been in a girl’s room before. He has no sisters, cousins or friends with sisters and when the first room that he ever sees is the room of his love interest Charlotte VanderKleaton. Charlie has a quirky best friend Ahmed who is obsesses with the Rat Pack and a caring teacher Mr. Killinger who keeps Charlie motivated during difficult times.
Besides the effective narrative there are many hidden layers in the book that can be dug through. This would be an excellent book to write a paper on, is a worthy tool for any teen struggling with an eating disorder and is just a worthwhile read overall. I’m anxious to see what comes next from the promising new writer Jenny Torres Sanchez.
"But the truth is, it’s hard to constantly have to admit how screwed up my family is.
It’s hard to constantly need to be saved.”
At the beginning of the book Charlie has just returned from fat camp and although he likes the way that he looks, he is also leery of the new attention that he is receiving due to his new physique. He gets attention from the girl of his dreams, Charlotte and his desire to be appealing to her mixed with the emotional chaos that he experiences over his mother’s condition and his father’s indiscretions push his eating issues into overdrive. He begins a dangerous pattern or binge and purge that accelerates as the story progresses.
I find Charlie’s innocence endearing rather than unrealistic. Not all kids mature at the same rate. For example, he has never been in a girl’s room before. He has no sisters, cousins or friends with sisters and when the first room that he ever sees is the room of his love interest Charlotte VanderKleaton. Charlie has a quirky best friend Ahmed who is obsesses with the Rat Pack and a caring teacher Mr. Killinger who keeps Charlie motivated during difficult times.
Besides the effective narrative there are many hidden layers in the book that can be dug through. This would be an excellent book to write a paper on, is a worthy tool for any teen struggling with an eating disorder and is just a worthwhile read overall. I’m anxious to see what comes next from the promising new writer Jenny Torres Sanchez.
June 10, 2012
Originally posted at Fragments of Life.
Charlie Grisner had just lost a whooping thirty pounds after staying at Fat Camp last summer. He was obese, unconfident and down. He had suffered from the piercing stares, the labeling and the harsh and disgusted whispers. But with his weight loss, came the pressure of maintaining his weight and forgetting about his huge appetite. But it wasn’t easy to do when every healthy low-fat meal felt like a sacrifice and temptations were everywhere. I liked Charlie. He was flawed, with hopes, desires, issues and problems. He dealt with his problems by keeping them all inside. He was depressed and soon, it became apparent that he developed a bad habit to make himself feel better.
Ahmed was Charlie’s Turkish best friend. Hyper, energetic, weird and positive, he was probably one of the most unique characters I’ve ever encountered in YA literature. He was always there for Charlie even though Charlie was used to bottling up everything inside of him. Ahmed was always giving advice, encouraging Charlie and lightening up the mood. He injected humor and eccentricity into the novel.
Charlotte, the girl of Charlie’s dreams, was not easy to figure out. She was nice to him and appeared to like him. But she kept hanging out with Mark, the school dumbass who was fond of pulling pranks and putting Charlie down. As Charlotte and Charlie spent more time together, he started to find out that Charlotte was not who he thought her to be.
But even though Charlie changed physically, deep inside he was still the same. He was still the miserable guy with the miserable family. His mom had a habit of leaving him and his father behind, not bothering to say goodbye, tell them where she was going and when she was going back. Her Dad was always busy with work and was keeping a secret from him and his mom. Just when he thought things were bad, it became worse.
Being in Charlie’s mind was a rollercoaster of suppressed emotions, trapped words and squashed hopes. I winced, ached and worried along with him. The way he saw his world, his home and his life was one of a kind. His reflections were pure and honest.
The Downside of Being Charlie was an honest to goodness contemporary novel. Honest, raw touching and gripping, I was sucked into Charlie’s world. I felt for him and connected with him in a way that I didn’t expect. The photography point of view was also a nice touch. I highly recommend this to contemporary readers!
Charlie Grisner had just lost a whooping thirty pounds after staying at Fat Camp last summer. He was obese, unconfident and down. He had suffered from the piercing stares, the labeling and the harsh and disgusted whispers. But with his weight loss, came the pressure of maintaining his weight and forgetting about his huge appetite. But it wasn’t easy to do when every healthy low-fat meal felt like a sacrifice and temptations were everywhere. I liked Charlie. He was flawed, with hopes, desires, issues and problems. He dealt with his problems by keeping them all inside. He was depressed and soon, it became apparent that he developed a bad habit to make himself feel better.
Ahmed was Charlie’s Turkish best friend. Hyper, energetic, weird and positive, he was probably one of the most unique characters I’ve ever encountered in YA literature. He was always there for Charlie even though Charlie was used to bottling up everything inside of him. Ahmed was always giving advice, encouraging Charlie and lightening up the mood. He injected humor and eccentricity into the novel.
Charlotte, the girl of Charlie’s dreams, was not easy to figure out. She was nice to him and appeared to like him. But she kept hanging out with Mark, the school dumbass who was fond of pulling pranks and putting Charlie down. As Charlotte and Charlie spent more time together, he started to find out that Charlotte was not who he thought her to be.
But even though Charlie changed physically, deep inside he was still the same. He was still the miserable guy with the miserable family. His mom had a habit of leaving him and his father behind, not bothering to say goodbye, tell them where she was going and when she was going back. Her Dad was always busy with work and was keeping a secret from him and his mom. Just when he thought things were bad, it became worse.
Being in Charlie’s mind was a rollercoaster of suppressed emotions, trapped words and squashed hopes. I winced, ached and worried along with him. The way he saw his world, his home and his life was one of a kind. His reflections were pure and honest.
The Downside of Being Charlie was an honest to goodness contemporary novel. Honest, raw touching and gripping, I was sucked into Charlie’s world. I felt for him and connected with him in a way that I didn’t expect. The photography point of view was also a nice touch. I highly recommend this to contemporary readers!
August 12, 2012
So......I think I kind of underestimated this book in the beginning.
It eventually turned out to be quite a fleshy novel as my reading progressed towards the middle.
Not to mention it being a very heartfelt and honest story told from the point of Charlie, an 18-year-old with plenty of first-world problems.
The Story:
After being persuaded to go to fat camp, Charlie Grisner lost 30 pounds over the summer and is ready to start his senior year at high school. On the surface, everything seems to be going well, except:
1. His Mom has left (again).
2. He's sharing a locker with school outcast and LOTR fanatic Tanya Bate.
3. A complicated relationship with crush Charlotte VanderKleaton.
4. His Dad isn't who he thinks he is.
5. Another complicated relationship with......food.
With a photography competition that guarantees a scholarship to a prestigious college for the winner, Charlie needs to find out what represents his current situation, and at the same time, try to figure out how to put things back together again.
What I Liked About the Book:
1. I thought the plot was pretty well executed. Sure it might be a little cliche, but I felt that it was excellently written what with all the intricacies and twists.
2. The strongest aspect of the book for me was the character Charlie and his emotion portrayal. I could clearly see his internal struggles (feel even), and how he responded to everything that happened in his life. There was significant character development as well, which I appreciated all the more. Overall, I really connected with Charlie.
3. The emotional scenes did make me tear up.
4. Happy ending!
What I Didn't:
1. The book started out a little rough, especially with Charlie's character, but I was glad that it became better as my reading progressed.
2. Stereotypical high school personalities. I wished the writer could have come up with something different. Though Charlie's best friend, Ahmed, was actually kind of unique and cool!
Verdict:
"The Downside of Being Charlie" was a depressing, heart-aching, yet triumphant read of a teenager plagued with domestic issues. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat!
It eventually turned out to be quite a fleshy novel as my reading progressed towards the middle.
Not to mention it being a very heartfelt and honest story told from the point of Charlie, an 18-year-old with plenty of first-world problems.
The Story:
After being persuaded to go to fat camp, Charlie Grisner lost 30 pounds over the summer and is ready to start his senior year at high school. On the surface, everything seems to be going well, except:
1. His Mom has left (again).
2. He's sharing a locker with school outcast and LOTR fanatic Tanya Bate.
3. A complicated relationship with crush Charlotte VanderKleaton.
4. His Dad isn't who he thinks he is.
5. Another complicated relationship with......food.
With a photography competition that guarantees a scholarship to a prestigious college for the winner, Charlie needs to find out what represents his current situation, and at the same time, try to figure out how to put things back together again.
What I Liked About the Book:
1. I thought the plot was pretty well executed. Sure it might be a little cliche, but I felt that it was excellently written what with all the intricacies and twists.
2. The strongest aspect of the book for me was the character Charlie and his emotion portrayal. I could clearly see his internal struggles (feel even), and how he responded to everything that happened in his life. There was significant character development as well, which I appreciated all the more. Overall, I really connected with Charlie.
3. The emotional scenes did make me tear up.
4. Happy ending!
What I Didn't:
1. The book started out a little rough, especially with Charlie's character, but I was glad that it became better as my reading progressed.
2. Stereotypical high school personalities. I wished the writer could have come up with something different. Though Charlie's best friend, Ahmed, was actually kind of unique and cool!
Verdict:
"The Downside of Being Charlie" was a depressing, heart-aching, yet triumphant read of a teenager plagued with domestic issues. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat!
February 23, 2013
Rating the Downside of Being Charlie five stars was a very personal thing for me. It is not very often that a book feels personal. Sure, you can read and enjoy a book, and even love the characters and feel like they are friends, but Charlie was a friend, he was one of my best friends.
This book pulled me right back into high school and all the pain and uncertainty associated with it, and Charlie was exactly the kind of guy who was my best friend in Jr. High and High School. We were all on the outside looking in, wishing we could fit in, hoping this would be the day we didn't get picked on. Some of us found one niche or another which eased our tension and general status as an outcast, some of us did not.
For those reasons, and because the story was excellent, I didn't feel comfortable with anything less than 5 stars. The writing stirred such a range of emotions too. On page 111-112 I felt physically nauseous; so much so I went to bed instead of reading any further. During chapter 11 (all of it) my pulse was thudding in my ears from shock and stress. On page 159 I was crying from shame, fear, embarrassment, and that general WTF-is-up-with-life feeling. And when I was down to my last thirty pages, it was one o'clock in the morning and I wanted to finish, but I kept nodding off and jerking back awake, mad at myself because I wanted to finish it. It was the first book in a long time that made me mad at myself for being so tired.
The only real question about the book that I had was that sometimes Charlie seemed much younger than a senior in high school, but looking at seniors, now that I am much older, they often seem much younger than I remembered them seeming when I was their age. I also remember though, that sometimes, going through the kinds of things Charlie goes through can take its toll on the growing up process; some kids grow up too fast, some get emotionally stunted.
And to author Jenny Torres Sanchez I say:
Awesome job!
Tomboys for life!
This book pulled me right back into high school and all the pain and uncertainty associated with it, and Charlie was exactly the kind of guy who was my best friend in Jr. High and High School. We were all on the outside looking in, wishing we could fit in, hoping this would be the day we didn't get picked on. Some of us found one niche or another which eased our tension and general status as an outcast, some of us did not.
For those reasons, and because the story was excellent, I didn't feel comfortable with anything less than 5 stars. The writing stirred such a range of emotions too. On page 111-112 I felt physically nauseous; so much so I went to bed instead of reading any further. During chapter 11 (all of it) my pulse was thudding in my ears from shock and stress. On page 159 I was crying from shame, fear, embarrassment, and that general WTF-is-up-with-life feeling. And when I was down to my last thirty pages, it was one o'clock in the morning and I wanted to finish, but I kept nodding off and jerking back awake, mad at myself because I wanted to finish it. It was the first book in a long time that made me mad at myself for being so tired.
The only real question about the book that I had was that sometimes Charlie seemed much younger than a senior in high school, but looking at seniors, now that I am much older, they often seem much younger than I remembered them seeming when I was their age. I also remember though, that sometimes, going through the kinds of things Charlie goes through can take its toll on the growing up process; some kids grow up too fast, some get emotionally stunted.
And to author Jenny Torres Sanchez I say:
Awesome job!
Tomboys for life!
January 1, 2016
I have very mixed feelings about this book.
There were some moments that really captured the reality of our thoughts and behaviors, and I found that really relatable. While it was enough to gain my interest it wasn't enough to keep it.
As other people have stated in their reviews, the characters seemed so much younger than 18. First of all, nobody had a job. I can not think of a single character other than the adults that had a job. I felt like I couldn't really envision the characters in my mind. I almost pictured them cartoon-like. Everyone seemed to be about 15. Charlie's best friend was so annoying and unbelievable that I tried to just skim the paragraphs where he was talking.
While I was able to care for Charlie, I couldn't take anyone else seriously. Between his best friend, his crush, his locker mate, parents, and peers, you would think at least one would have realistic traits. Everyone was one dimensional, and I literally did not care at all what happened to any of them. Charlie's mom plays an important role, and yet she was so underdeveloped. For such a troubled character I thought we would be able to understand her more.
I do have to give credit to the author for writing about topics that not many people do. I'm so tired of the YA novels with these kids who have perfect parents, lots of friends, and no problems. The story doesn't really get going until about 100 pages in, and it takes an unexpected turn. It wasn't as predictable as you'd think by reading the back cover.
I also need to mention that the word "breathe" was misspelled three times within about 20 pages. I'm being nit picky but the first one I figured it was a typo, the second I was like jeez, again? And the third time was just like, REALLY?
This book wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I feel pretty indifferent about it. Not like I wasted my time, but not like it was a great read either. Sanchez is a good writer, and this wasn't bad for her debut novel. If she had better character development I feel she could write a great novel.
There were some moments that really captured the reality of our thoughts and behaviors, and I found that really relatable. While it was enough to gain my interest it wasn't enough to keep it.
As other people have stated in their reviews, the characters seemed so much younger than 18. First of all, nobody had a job. I can not think of a single character other than the adults that had a job. I felt like I couldn't really envision the characters in my mind. I almost pictured them cartoon-like. Everyone seemed to be about 15. Charlie's best friend was so annoying and unbelievable that I tried to just skim the paragraphs where he was talking.
While I was able to care for Charlie, I couldn't take anyone else seriously. Between his best friend, his crush, his locker mate, parents, and peers, you would think at least one would have realistic traits. Everyone was one dimensional, and I literally did not care at all what happened to any of them. Charlie's mom plays an important role, and yet she was so underdeveloped. For such a troubled character I thought we would be able to understand her more.
I do have to give credit to the author for writing about topics that not many people do. I'm so tired of the YA novels with these kids who have perfect parents, lots of friends, and no problems. The story doesn't really get going until about 100 pages in, and it takes an unexpected turn. It wasn't as predictable as you'd think by reading the back cover.
I also need to mention that the word "breathe" was misspelled three times within about 20 pages. I'm being nit picky but the first one I figured it was a typo, the second I was like jeez, again? And the third time was just like, REALLY?
This book wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I feel pretty indifferent about it. Not like I wasted my time, but not like it was a great read either. Sanchez is a good writer, and this wasn't bad for her debut novel. If she had better character development I feel she could write a great novel.
Read
October 31, 2012First off I want to thank Seta Zink for an ARC copy of this book. Can I just say how much I loved this book! Its def something totally different than some of the stuff I've been reading lately. Charlie is not our typical MC. He struggles with his weight, isn’t confident and always gets bullied but this is his year. He doesn’t want to be known as that kid anymore. He loses weight and he thought that it would change everything but it doesn’t.
Charlie is such a great character. He’s shy and honest. He’s funny. I saw the teenage boy in the voice that the author wrote. There so much honesty in this book. His family problems are real. There are a lot of families out there that go through the same thing that Charlie does. I’ve seen it first hand and it honestly is greatly executed in this book. I give the author props because those topics are really hard to write about, especially in YA.
I also loved the minor characters. His best friend is just so random. He likes to dress and talk like one of the guys from the Pack Rat and it’s just so crazy how good of a relationship they have. You can tell he would do anything to help Charlie and that’s what true friends are like. It was so good to see that. I also really loved the teacher. We don’t often give those few teachers that notice that things are off credit. Those are the teachers who save lives. I can’t express how much I loved everything about this book. It was so well written and just Charlie’s voice is just unforgettable.
This author does an excellent job battling topics like mental illness and bulimia. It’s serious but she finds a way to put it into an optimistic way. It’s not dark and I love that because that’s what gets you to move forward. In all that negativity you find hope. I honestly can’t wait to read more books from this author. This book is def must read for anyone. It sends out such a good message.
Charlie is such a great character. He’s shy and honest. He’s funny. I saw the teenage boy in the voice that the author wrote. There so much honesty in this book. His family problems are real. There are a lot of families out there that go through the same thing that Charlie does. I’ve seen it first hand and it honestly is greatly executed in this book. I give the author props because those topics are really hard to write about, especially in YA.
I also loved the minor characters. His best friend is just so random. He likes to dress and talk like one of the guys from the Pack Rat and it’s just so crazy how good of a relationship they have. You can tell he would do anything to help Charlie and that’s what true friends are like. It was so good to see that. I also really loved the teacher. We don’t often give those few teachers that notice that things are off credit. Those are the teachers who save lives. I can’t express how much I loved everything about this book. It was so well written and just Charlie’s voice is just unforgettable.
This author does an excellent job battling topics like mental illness and bulimia. It’s serious but she finds a way to put it into an optimistic way. It’s not dark and I love that because that’s what gets you to move forward. In all that negativity you find hope. I honestly can’t wait to read more books from this author. This book is def must read for anyone. It sends out such a good message.
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