My Mother Is a French Fry and Further Proof of My Fuzzed-Up Life

by Colleen Sydor

It makes Eli cringe when her mother comes home proudly dressed in a foam rubber French fry suit after her first day as a mascot for Burgers ?n' Fries. Families come in many forms in the animal kingdom, Eli's teacher had informed her. Sure, but ? French fries? How can her mother be so unembarrassable? When 15-year-old Eli Smyth isn't fuming over her mother's goofy jobs and total lack of inhibition, she's envious of Grace. Eli's best friend has two dads, both tres cool, and neither dresses up as fast food for a living. Maybe JG can understand. He's the boy in her class who shares her appreciation of rock band Decapitated Heads and also happens to have problems with his dad. Nobody's parents, though, are as wacko as Eli's mom. Everything she says and does drives Eli crazy. The too-frank sex-talks, the penchant for clothing that resembles flour sacks; the list goes on ? It seems her mom can't do much more to aggravate Eli ? and then gets pregnant. To Eli, there's nothing more disgusting than pregnancy. Now that her mother's puking her guts out most mornings and beginning to look like Jabba the Hut, what if she needs Eli's love and understanding? Will Eli be there for her?

Genres: Young Adult, Teen, Humor

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

Colleen Sydor was born in Winnipeg and currently makes the city her home. A graduate of the University of Manitoba, she is not only a writer, she also works as a florist. In the last ten years she has won the McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award three times.

Reviews

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have given this three stars (“I liked it”), but decided to drop to two (“It was okay”). The very frequent use of zzzs to cover up for curse words, like “fuzzed up” and “shiz” got old really fast. Eli’s constant snark was somewhat grating, also. The backstories of boyfriend J.G. and baby sister Elizabeth were the very heart-rending parts, but also gave a bit of sweetness toward the end that I liked.
I would recommend this reluctantly to mature Y.A. readers only. Some of the content is of an adult nature, so I would recommend some guidance.

[Sam Zechiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the title of this book may seem a bit unconventional, the story within is an emotional adventure that is worth reading for anyone. Our main character, 15-year-old Eli Smyth, seems to be a pretty average teenage girl from the outside. She is horribly embarrassed by her mother, who insists on working at Burgers n’ Frize dressed as a giant foam french fry. This embarrassment, along with some other hidden feelings that Eli doesn’t discover until later, put quite a strain on Eli’s relationship with her mother. If her mother’s job didn’t already cause her enough embarrassment, she decides to go and get pregnant on top of it. To Eli, pregnancy is not only the most disgusting thing ever, but it is also more embarrassing than any job her mother could ever have. Outside of the craziness at home, Eli has both a best friend, and a love interest who ends up becoming her boyfriend. Between these two, and her best friend’s super-cool dads, they help Eli begin to see how deep the issues with her mother truly run. It is an emotional rollercoaster, from embarrassment, anger, and frustration to sadness, guilt, and fear. The crazy lives of the main characters are sure to pull you in and leave you wanting to read more every time you close the book. The challenges they face and the feelings they feel are incredibly relatable, and the most emotional moments of the book will definitely pull on your heartstrings.

While the storyline of this book is certainly a compelling reason to read it, the excellent writing of Colleen Sydor is another. She manages to convey both the hidden and the obvious feelings of the characters in a way that readers can easily understand. She helps readers to truly connect and relate to the characters and the struggles that they face. She simplifies the complex storyline so it is not difficult to follow, yet ensures that all of the important content comes across clearly. In addition to excellent writing, Colleen Sydor also ensures that the book appeals to a very diverse audience. The book actually has multiple storylines, focusing on the struggles and emotions that come with family, friendship, romance, and more. All of the different storylines connect with one another and merge together to create an emotional, yet wonderful ending.

If you are looking for a terrific book to read, look no further than “My Mother Is a French Fry and Further Proof of My Fuzzed-Up Life.” The book is both comical at times as well as deeply emotional at others. Right from the beginning, you will feel an immediate connection to the characters and will be able to relate to the feelings they feel and the problems they face. The storyline is complex and interesting and the writing is casual and clear. I would highly recommend this book not only to teenagers, but to anyone looking for a great read.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone thinks this book is stupid just from the title, they are dead wrong. One of the most enlightening and relatable books I've ever read. There were times when I laughed, cried, and cringed. The scene where Eli is at the dentist and has a complete mental breakdown made it so relatable to me, and I cried so hard during that scene. I think every teenager at some point feels that way, but to have someone you can relate to....it just makes you feel normal. Like it's okay to not be okay. That is why I loved this book so much. I found it on a sale rack at a used book store and I have been sharing it around since the day I turned the last page. All of my friends have read it and my closest cousin, and they all loved it. I would recommend it to any teenager or young adult who has a mother, who has a significantly younger sibling, who has a friend they're jealous of, who has a crush on a boy, and who knows what it's like to be lost. Read it, you won't regret it.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like when her mom is dressed as a french fry and she thinks she is really a french fry

[Iggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great.

The main character, Eli, while kind of stuck up at times, is multidimensional and relatable. I don't think she deserves to get trashed so horribly. She's embarrassed and confused and trying to figure out how she feels about her mom and dad and best friend and boyfriend. She's honestly a very real character and I quite liked her.

A lot of people are complaining about the swearing thing, and using the zs, but the reason it's there is because that's how she was brought up learning how to swear. It's part of her character. She even complains about not being able to swear correctly at one point. You just need to be more open about it, you snobs.

Also I love JG's character. I think he's great.

I'm mainly writing this review because I mad at all the people who said this book was bad. It's great, and it's one of my favourites, and the only reason you're complaining about it is because you're not looking at it from the right angle.

So I say 6/5 stars. I love this book, and I would sell my soul to read it again for the first time.

[Christinalovesreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been a 2, but ended up being a 3.5 for me... In a weekend of really terrible unreadable books, this little one, with its whiny, self absorbed, crabby narrator eventually got better and I enjoyed it!

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll try to keep this one as short as possible. The jacket calls our heroine, Eli Smythe, "quick-witted, tightly coiled, sarcastic." I call her a whiny self-centered brat. So I didn't much care for this one because of the narrator's voice. I hope that Eli is just going through a phase, I'd hate to think she'll be like this when she's thirty.

My Mother Is A French Fry and Further Proof of My Fuzzed-Up Life is somewhat typical YA fiction. A teen girl whose relationship with her mother is very strained, very heated, very argumentative. A teen girl who is embarrassed by her mother--and to some extent her father--particularly because her mother is pregnant. And the fact that she's pregnant is proof that her parents--gasp--have sex. Something she doesn't want to forgive her parents for. How could they!

It's also typical in that the heroine's own first relationship is explored. Though how her boyfriend, JG (Jeffrey Geoffrey) puts up with her is beyond me.

Not everything in the book is annoying. There are some admittedly humorous bits. But generally this one wasn't to my liking. Of course, that doesn't mean that you won't like it. You may enjoy Eli's narrative more than I did. And you may be able to relate to it more than I did. And you may develop a crush on JG which could help you fall in love with the book.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eli Smyth's mom is one of those embarassing moms that talks to strangers, picks up other's people's trash and turns it into treasure, and she also just happens to be employed by a restaurant as a giant french fry. Everyone loves her, but Eli can't stand her. The book goes much deeper than Eli's at first apparent dislike of her mom's weird ways. There is a younger sister that died as an infant, a blooming romance with a classmate who's dad is a violent alcoholic, a best friend who has two dads, and her mom's unplanned pregnancy. I have to say that there were many laugh-out-loud moments in this one, especially because throughout the book any and all curse words are made a little gentler by a method that Eli's mom uses which switches certain letters of the word with a 'z' (i.e. 'shiz', 'azz', and 'fuzz'). The humor and Eli's snarkiness helps us to better cope with Eli's disdain of her mom, and there are also moments when you truly feel her teenage angst.

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright. I was enjoying this book up till about the middle.The protagonist Eli Smyth is struggling to live her life as normal as she possibly can with her mother being the neighborhood French Fry. No really, she dresses as a giant foam french fry carton as a part time job. Her mother also decorates their house with the neighbors' garbage which makes her mother even more embarrassing.

Long story short: Eli and her life were quite entertaining, up till her bitchiness and perpetual unprovoked hate for her mother pretty much turned me off from the rest of the story. I mean, I did like the writing of the book, but Eli was biggest fault. Sure the main character is supposed to have their problems that their supposed to work through, but I'd prefer if she - Colleen Sydor - wouldn't have had four fifths of the book be about Eli's problem! Sure she "came to her senses", but it was at the every end of the book!!

It was very anticlimactic.

[Jessica-Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Targeted towards younger young-adults, Fuzzed-Up Life focuses on a mother-daughter relationship where the daughter has the perspective of a spoiled child and the mother just does not see the obvious animosity.
When did people stop communicating with each other? Does the young-adult genre cease to exist when people actually sit down and talk to each other about their feelings?
This book is not anything special and in my opinion should just be tossed aside in favour of something more along the lines of books by Maureen Johnson or Brad Barkley/Heather Hepler.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh life through they eyes of a teenager! Believe it or not, I found this book totally believable. Eli just can't seem to wrap her head around why her mother is so proud to dress up like a french fry for work and she knows that it must be because her mother is hell bent on embarrassing her. Then her fry of a mom gets pregnant which of course must also have something to do with her. The strange relationship this family has makes them quiet endearing and this is a household where emotions run high at all times! An edgy, yet realistic view into the life of a teen with the bundle of emotional outbursts like icing on a cake. What a fun and emotional book. Great read for anyone ages 12 and up. No language because her mother has trained her to use other words to keep her from swearing.

[CeJayCe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less than a hundred pages into, I'm already disliking Eli. The way she purposely does things just to hurt her mother irritates me and I find it really hard to sympathize with her. It's like she expects the world to know exactly what "pizzes" her off (without her having to tell anyone) and not do it.

And since I'm quoting terms already, I've got to say this: Her "soft swearing" is kinda corny. Not to mention that she uses it so much it gets annoying. She swears so frequently and unnecessarily that she starts to feel fake. This, to me, seems like an attempt on the author's part to make the story more relatable to teens by going on the assumption that all high schoolers cuss like sailors. But I've gotta say, Eli's worse than some of my most profane friends.

[Lupine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both funny and poignant (sp?). I was expecting more of a fluff/funny type book but there are actually some deeper issues explored here. Eli's relationship with her mother is complex and she must come to terms with her feelings of guilt and responsibility regarding an event that transpired when she was six. I also liked that a gay couple is featured prominently, not as an "issue" but just as the parents of Eli's best friend.

[Tanita Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a funny, frustrated protagonist whose story was almost completely obliterated by the manufactured slang the author chose to use. The person who loaned me this book was unable to finish more than a couple of chapters because of it, which was kind of a shame. The story of a teen whose mother is giving birth at the over-forty stage isn't original, but the main character's angst was realistic and her fears and questions were touching.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh so angsty. Eli is holding onto a LOT of residual anger from when her younger sister died of crib death. I now keep thinking in "foul language" the same way Eli does ... azz for ass, pizz for piss, bet you can't guess what fuzz means!

[Elaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a review book for work. Somewhat cute and quirky, but formulaic YA characters and plot were its downfall. It was kind of racy for a junior high book, but I think that's going to be my selling point with my students. Works like a charm.

[Steen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny.
Warning: Main character is pretty much an annoying (but hilarious) stuck up jerk. Until the very end. (Which is what I've been waiting for the entire time I was reading it...Sheesh.)
Thank goodness for Ben...

[Sarah Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book=the story of my life

My mother is a french fry and further proof of my fuzzed up life was probably the best book i've ever read. It was funny and emotional at the same time. I fell in love with every single character and i'm so glad I found this book.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Adult

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuzzing hilarious!

[Camila]

it was good, realy funny and kinda sweet.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed out loud while reading this book. I also cried. What more can be said about a book that does both??

[Jenna P.C · Rating 5 out of 5]

haha very funny book.... got it signed by the author no joke :)

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was mildly amusing, but the corny slang was annoying throughout the book.

[Ciarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a totally crazy book about a girl with a really fuzzed up life. Don't get me wrong, it's really good.

[Estefani Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME!!

[paige d · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny and light read! (:

[Mary Elizabeth Morton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A predictable book about teenage angst with a predictable ending where the teenager learns to appreciate her parents & family.

[Kayla21 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super funny actualty like the life of a teenager

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

HILARIOUS book!!! I was expecting it to be sort of funny by the title, but it exceeded my expectations! Really a cute story