THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS by Carolyn Mackler (Cover image from LibraryThing)
Bibliography: Mackler, C. (2003). The Earth, my butt, and other round things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick. ISBN: 978-0763619589
SUMMARY
Virginia, a fifteen year old "average" girl, struggles with body image, fitting in, coping with the move of her best friend and wanting a boyfriend. Her parents try to encourage her, but in ways that make her feel worse about herself or that their love is based on how she looks rather than who she is. When she finds out that her seemingly perfect older brother has date raped a girl from college and is suspended from school, she finally gains the courage to become her own person, rather than the person everyone else wants her to be.
MY IMPRESSIONS
I really, really enjoyed this book. As a longtime fan of fiction where the protagonist is an overweight girl struggling with self esteem and finding love, this one fits in with the likes of Paula Danziger's The Cat Ate My Gymsuit or There's a Bat in Bunk Five. Virginia is a believable, well-written character and it's hard not to root for her. It's hard to feel like an outsider in your own family because you're not thin enough or smart enough or popular enough. While it's sometimes awkward and painful to read about the sexual fumblings between Virginia and Froggy, it's a frank and realistic portrayal of the weirdly competitive pressure to have sex in high school. Mackler also does a great job of creating a dysfunctional family--a child psychologist who lectures on understanding teens but who barely even knows her own kids, a father who breeds body issues by constantly praising rail thin women, a feminist daughter fed up with her mother who moves off to Europe, a golden boy brother whose life crashes after he rapes a classmate and Virginia--insecure, mercurial, emotional and frustrating. Both the absence of her best friend and her brother's date rape serve as catalysts for Virginia's own personal growth. She finally sees her own self worth and how much she's hidden herself under who she's supposed to be rather than her true self.
While the tidy happy ending was nice, I found it slightly disappointing and unrealistic. I also wish the date rape could have been dealt with in more detail (I was surprised at how friendly and chatty the victim was when Virginia showed up at her dorm room unexpectedly) and that Mackler would have explored the darker parts of body loathing in more depth. It's not something you suddenly snap out of after years of viewing your body as the enemy just because you get a boyfriend or stand up to your parents. Still, it's a highly enjoyable read.
ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 8 to 12, especially due to the sexual content, language and adult themes.
Pair The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things with K. L. Going's Fat Kid Rules the World. Both live in New York, both deal with parents who unsuccessfully try to "help" them, both struggle with making friends and finding a place in high school. Do people judge males differently than females in terms of size and appearance? How are body image and size similar and different for Virginia and Troy? How do each of them deal with these issues? Compare the endings of both books--what do you think happens next for Virginia and Troy?
Both self-mutilation and date rape are dealt with in this book. Discuss other YA novels like Patricia McCormicks' Cut or Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. Compare and contrast the characters from these books with those in The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things.
Michael L. Printz Honor Book
An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A YALSA Teens' Top Ten Book
Publishers Weekly Cuffie Award winner for Best Book Title
A Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Honor Book
An International Reading Association's Young Adults' Choice
2006 Volunteer State Book Award
An Amelia Bloomer Project Selection
A Pennsylvania School Librarians Association YA Top Forty Fiction Titles
REVIEWS
"Fifteen-year-old Viriginia Shreves is the blond, round, average daughter in a family of dark-haired, thin superstars. Her best friend has moved away, and she's on the fringes at her private Manhattan school. She wants a boyfriend, but she settles for Froggy Welsh, who comes over on Mondays to grope her. The story follows Virginia as she tries to lose weight, struggles with her 'imperfections,' and deals with the knowledge that her idealized older brother has committed date rape. There's a lot going on here, and some important elements, such as Virginia's flirtation with self-mutilation, are passed over too quickly. But Mackler writes with such insight and humor (sometimes using strong language to make her point) that many readers will immediately identify with Virginia's longings as well as her fear and loathing. Her gradually evolving ability to stand up to her family is hard won and not always believable, but it provides a hopeful ending for those trying stand on their own two feet."
Ilene Cooper, American Library Association, from Booklist
"Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her."
S. Ruth Lubka from Book Review Digest via FirstSearch
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