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Diary #6
Pumpkin Pie
Who wants to be one of three? And who wants to be the middle one of three? Polly is stuck in the middle, with a beautiful, fashion-conscious older sister and a high-achieving younger brother grabbing all the attention. Polly wants to be the one to get noticed, the one to become a famous actress, the one who is thin. But when Polly decides to take drastic action to shed pounds, she loses more than just weight.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
10 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Jean Ure
266 books122 followersProlific English children and young adult author.
Had her first book published while still in high school, then studied theater at Webber-Douglas in London. Her most well-known work is the Point Crime novel Dance with Death. Others include Plague 99, After the Plague (previously "Come Lucky April"), Big Tom, Family Fan Club and Shrinking Violet, as well as the fantasy The Wizard In the Woods.
Today, Ure is very popular with British female teenage readers with novels such as Shrinking Violet, Family Fan Club and Passion Flower.
Ure has also translated Danish writer Sven Hassel's WWII novels to English.
Had her first book published while still in high school, then studied theater at Webber-Douglas in London. Her most well-known work is the Point Crime novel Dance with Death. Others include Plague 99, After the Plague (previously "Come Lucky April"), Big Tom, Family Fan Club and Shrinking Violet, as well as the fantasy The Wizard In the Woods.
Today, Ure is very popular with British female teenage readers with novels such as Shrinking Violet, Family Fan Club and Passion Flower.
Ure has also translated Danish writer Sven Hassel's WWII novels to English.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 7, 2020
Heartwarming and fun
Read this ages ago when I was a kid. I remember liking it
But now after reading it as an adult. I still enjoy it.
Pumpkin comes from a family with 3 siblings who pretty much do their own thing and barely communicate. Pumpkin struggles with a lot of weight issues and her dad doesn't help when he keep pushing food on her.
It was nice seeing the 3 siblings came together and stand together when they found out all of them have problems. Petal is inspiring the most. She is always seen as an airhead , going crazy over boys that it was a shocked to see her standing up and caring for Pumpkin and Pip
Read this ages ago when I was a kid. I remember liking it
But now after reading it as an adult. I still enjoy it.
Pumpkin comes from a family with 3 siblings who pretty much do their own thing and barely communicate. Pumpkin struggles with a lot of weight issues and her dad doesn't help when he keep pushing food on her.
It was nice seeing the 3 siblings came together and stand together when they found out all of them have problems. Petal is inspiring the most. She is always seen as an airhead , going crazy over boys that it was a shocked to see her standing up and caring for Pumpkin and Pip
February 1, 2019
Okay but leans a bit towards fatphobia in its messages. It's all 'I was fat, and that was the worst thing humanly possible!', the unpleasantness and dangers of eating disorders are skimmed over (it's pretty much tucked in in passing that she's been purging), and the end is sort of like...'well, you're slimmer now, so stop puking and start eating salad instead of pasta and everything will be great!' It's for a younger audience, though, so you aren't going to get the complexity you might get with something for an older audience.
January 19, 2022
lmao this book kickstarted my ed
August 8, 2022
This is a short story focused around the insecurities of young protagonist Jenny and her struggle with bulimia.
The start was amusing and engaging to read, but it immediately went downhill as soon as the insecurities around her weight started. This book spouts fatphobic language and ideals consistently but doesn’t ever fully address the problematic nature of this thinking.
The ending is an abrupt, half-assed attempt to make it seem like Jenny’s bulimia is miraculously dealt with by receiving the support of her sister Petal - which lacks any logic because Petal still restricts her eating (god forbid she consumes anything with an ounce of fat in it, right?!). I thought it would at least send a decent message about embracing the skin that you’re in, but it veers more towards the idea of ‘everyone wants to be skinny but sometimes you have to suffer being the gross human equivalent of a dustbin - oh well, waste of time being miserable about it I guess!’
I suppose this shows the age of the book more than anything; still, it’s a terrible message to send towards younger audiences.
The start was amusing and engaging to read, but it immediately went downhill as soon as the insecurities around her weight started. This book spouts fatphobic language and ideals consistently but doesn’t ever fully address the problematic nature of this thinking.
The ending is an abrupt, half-assed attempt to make it seem like Jenny’s bulimia is miraculously dealt with by receiving the support of her sister Petal - which lacks any logic because Petal still restricts her eating (god forbid she consumes anything with an ounce of fat in it, right?!). I thought it would at least send a decent message about embracing the skin that you’re in, but it veers more towards the idea of ‘everyone wants to be skinny but sometimes you have to suffer being the gross human equivalent of a dustbin - oh well, waste of time being miserable about it I guess!’
I suppose this shows the age of the book more than anything; still, it’s a terrible message to send towards younger audiences.
December 31, 2018
This is a quite easy to read book that deals with some big issues (no pun intended).
The main character is what others have referred to as a foodaholic. Her dad enables this for her by constantly feeding her. She realises it is a problem and this causes more problems. It deals with eating disorders in a sensitive and relevant way. At the same time all the other background characters have their own problems but the main character doesn't see this in her obsession.
The ending was a bit sudden. It also fit the book. I would definitely read more of this series given the chance. This book can be read as a stand alone without issue but I want to read more about this family.
A good book to give any teenager concerned with their weight. A good book for those who aren't to read too.
The main character is what others have referred to as a foodaholic. Her dad enables this for her by constantly feeding her. She realises it is a problem and this causes more problems. It deals with eating disorders in a sensitive and relevant way. At the same time all the other background characters have their own problems but the main character doesn't see this in her obsession.
The ending was a bit sudden. It also fit the book. I would definitely read more of this series given the chance. This book can be read as a stand alone without issue but I want to read more about this family.
A good book to give any teenager concerned with their weight. A good book for those who aren't to read too.
December 29, 2021
Read this book yourself with a critical eye before giving it to a child.
The fat-phobic language in this book coupled with the uncritical examination of the main character’s low self esteem and issues with her body makes it (in my opinion) an inappropriate read for children. I read this book around age 7 and it deeply cemented the idea of “thinness = worth” in my mind, and was a contributing factor to my own disordered eating and body dysmorphia. I’m sure this was not the author’s intent.
I think that this is a fine book for an adult to read WITH a child, but the way the book is written does not break down or examine it’s ideas enough for a child to grasp further than what is on the surface, which is a story of a child developing bulimia and meeting her body goals by doing so.
The fat-phobic language in this book coupled with the uncritical examination of the main character’s low self esteem and issues with her body makes it (in my opinion) an inappropriate read for children. I read this book around age 7 and it deeply cemented the idea of “thinness = worth” in my mind, and was a contributing factor to my own disordered eating and body dysmorphia. I’m sure this was not the author’s intent.
I think that this is a fine book for an adult to read WITH a child, but the way the book is written does not break down or examine it’s ideas enough for a child to grasp further than what is on the surface, which is a story of a child developing bulimia and meeting her body goals by doing so.
November 24, 2017
I read this book a couple of years ago. Young adult books don’t always cover eating disorders well, but this book did without over glamourising nor dramatising the effects. It shows girls that changing your appearance to fit society’s norms doesn’t always benefit you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2021
I liked this one quite a bit.
January 22, 2014
I really am lucky to have this book in my library. I really enjoyed this book and I loved how finally at the end the whole family starts bonding with each other! : )
The thing that I hated was when Penny couldn't tell her father that she was on a diet and he kept on insisting for her to eat plate fulls. Also I cannot believe how much food Penny eats in oneday. Well all I'm saying is that it's a handful! @+@!
The thing that I hated was when Penny couldn't tell her father that she was on a diet and he kept on insisting for her to eat plate fulls. Also I cannot believe how much food Penny eats in oneday. Well all I'm saying is that it's a handful! @+@!
July 14, 2013
Basically the part that is annoying is when she just tries to be funny and her friend who incur rigged her to go to acting school when she didn't feel copper table about her figure and her body then goes of and tells her she's attention seeking when she is just trying to make people laugh over all I love this book it a must read!
September 25, 2015
When I read this like I couldn't really relate to it bcs well I didn't care that much about my weight n stuff. But now I kinda can especially I'm the second daughter I have an older sis n lil bro n I'm the fat one n recently I began to care a lot bout my weight so now looking back at this novel I can relate.
May 19, 2016
I rated this book two stars, because to be honest a book about being a kid that's basically stuck in the middle is kinda boring. For other people they could be really interested but I am the one rating this and it's just no I didn't enjoy this book but thankyou. :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 3, 2010its interested ;)
July 27, 2011
Aa great teenage book about dealing with your size and being different from your siblings.
March 8, 2013
So cool I love it
December 10, 2013
want to reread this!!
Read
July 19, 2014Book I read when I was a preteen
October 24, 2014
Great. Lots of lessons to learn about family, friends and the way you think about yourself. I won't add any spoilers so go get the book. READ IT NOW!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews