Book title: Holding Up The Universe
Author: Jennifer Niven
Genre: contemporary fiction
Pages: 391
Publisher: Penguin
My rating: 3/5
SPOILER FREE!
I'm going to be frank. The only reason I picked up this book was because I had read another book by Niven called All The Bright Places, which I absolutely loved. I read it maybe more than a year ago and It's still my favorite. So that is why, obviously, I had high expectations for this book.
Maybe a little too high.
The book is about a teenage girl named Libby Strout, whose mother had passed away a few years ago. Not knowing how to cope with her death, Libby began finding her comfort in food and spiraling backwards, without really knowing the consequences. Soon, she was titled 'America's fattest teen' and she dropped out of school and shifted her house. Her dad was supportive and real and over all- a perfect character. Maybe even too perfect.
When Libby starts going for therapy and begins following diets (determined to get back on track mainly for her dad's sake), she is finally ready to go back to her old school.
Enters the second main character of the book- Jack Masselin. Jack is a typical high school boy; or as English sitcoms say 'the boy everyone wants to be.' He has nice hair. A fairly good face and even though I've never seen him, the way Niven describes him...just makes me fall in love with his appearance. But there's one slight problem with Jack. He cannot recognize faces. Not his parents. Not his friends. Not his siblings.
Until I read this book, I didn't know a disorder like this actually existed. But it does and it's called Prosopagnosia (or face blindness). THIS IS REAL. I am not even kidding. In extreme cases, the person cannot even recognize their own face. Imagine looking into a mirror and turning back and then not being able to picture what you just saw!
Now, imagine feeling that way for every single person you ever meet, every single day of your life! People who have this disorder often remember their close ones by memorizing their unchangeable characteristics (such as hair colour, eye colour, or certain distinguishable habits). Guess who else has prosopagnosia? Brad Pitt. Yes, you read that absolutely right. Go on, google it if you like.
Most books that leave a reverberation on people, often have a very strong message to put across. And one thing that is really appreciable about this book, is that it throws light on two important subjects, not just one.
1) Libby experiences trouble in school and in life, in general because of her weight. Subject #1 is body shame.
2) Jack doesn't tell anybody about his disorder and in fact, it takes him a while to understand it fully before he finally confides in Libby. Subject #2 is prosopagnosia.
Reading this book was mainly gripping because like I said before, I hadn't heard of prosopagnosia before this. But, that being said, I think the individuals emotions could have been better written and more powerfully put across. Libby is strong, fierce and tries her best to be fearless. But, even the strongest people do sometimes have break downs. This book doesn't have any.
Jack, like any guy next door, tries being cool and covers up all his feelings behind a smiling face and sarcastic humour. But, he can't recognize faces for God's sake! That's not something that happens to every other guy. That is earth shattering and heart breaking and throat wrenching enough to remove a lot of different emotions out of someone. Number one on that list being anger and frustration. But no, no such emotions were portrayed.
Her characters are strong, loyal and loud, but just not real enough. And that's funny because the main reason why All The Bright Places is one of the best books I've read is because her characters are real as hell. I fell in love with them.
But Libby and Jack? I like them. The only problem is, they're just mere characters on the pages of my book...nothing else.
Another thing I disliked about the book was it's ending. It was simply too abrupt. It was almost like Niven just didn't know what else to do with the two of them so she decided to end the book. Not in a cliffhanger way. Just in a 'I should finish this book' kind of way. Almost as though she reached a deadline. I would call the ending a real disappointment. I literally flipped the page with the expectation of another chapter and I was like 'what? It's over?'
I'd give the content 4/5. But, because of the writing and just...something that lacked, over all I would give the book 3/5. You can read it if you're interested in knowing how a person who is body shamed feels. Or how a person with prosopagnosia feels.
But, you should know that Libby and Jack, unfortunately, will leave you once the book is over.
Author: Jennifer Niven
Genre: contemporary fiction
Pages: 391
Publisher: Penguin
My rating: 3/5
SPOILER FREE!
I'm going to be frank. The only reason I picked up this book was because I had read another book by Niven called All The Bright Places, which I absolutely loved. I read it maybe more than a year ago and It's still my favorite. So that is why, obviously, I had high expectations for this book.
Maybe a little too high.
The book is about a teenage girl named Libby Strout, whose mother had passed away a few years ago. Not knowing how to cope with her death, Libby began finding her comfort in food and spiraling backwards, without really knowing the consequences. Soon, she was titled 'America's fattest teen' and she dropped out of school and shifted her house. Her dad was supportive and real and over all- a perfect character. Maybe even too perfect.
When Libby starts going for therapy and begins following diets (determined to get back on track mainly for her dad's sake), she is finally ready to go back to her old school.
Enters the second main character of the book- Jack Masselin. Jack is a typical high school boy; or as English sitcoms say 'the boy everyone wants to be.' He has nice hair. A fairly good face and even though I've never seen him, the way Niven describes him...just makes me fall in love with his appearance. But there's one slight problem with Jack. He cannot recognize faces. Not his parents. Not his friends. Not his siblings.
Until I read this book, I didn't know a disorder like this actually existed. But it does and it's called Prosopagnosia (or face blindness). THIS IS REAL. I am not even kidding. In extreme cases, the person cannot even recognize their own face. Imagine looking into a mirror and turning back and then not being able to picture what you just saw!
Now, imagine feeling that way for every single person you ever meet, every single day of your life! People who have this disorder often remember their close ones by memorizing their unchangeable characteristics (such as hair colour, eye colour, or certain distinguishable habits). Guess who else has prosopagnosia? Brad Pitt. Yes, you read that absolutely right. Go on, google it if you like.
Most books that leave a reverberation on people, often have a very strong message to put across. And one thing that is really appreciable about this book, is that it throws light on two important subjects, not just one.
1) Libby experiences trouble in school and in life, in general because of her weight. Subject #1 is body shame.
2) Jack doesn't tell anybody about his disorder and in fact, it takes him a while to understand it fully before he finally confides in Libby. Subject #2 is prosopagnosia.
Reading this book was mainly gripping because like I said before, I hadn't heard of prosopagnosia before this. But, that being said, I think the individuals emotions could have been better written and more powerfully put across. Libby is strong, fierce and tries her best to be fearless. But, even the strongest people do sometimes have break downs. This book doesn't have any.
Her characters are strong, loyal and loud, but just not real enough. And that's funny because the main reason why All The Bright Places is one of the best books I've read is because her characters are real as hell. I fell in love with them.
But Libby and Jack? I like them. The only problem is, they're just mere characters on the pages of my book...nothing else.
Another thing I disliked about the book was it's ending. It was simply too abrupt. It was almost like Niven just didn't know what else to do with the two of them so she decided to end the book. Not in a cliffhanger way. Just in a 'I should finish this book' kind of way. Almost as though she reached a deadline. I would call the ending a real disappointment. I literally flipped the page with the expectation of another chapter and I was like 'what? It's over?'
I'd give the content 4/5. But, because of the writing and just...something that lacked, over all I would give the book 3/5. You can read it if you're interested in knowing how a person who is body shamed feels. Or how a person with prosopagnosia feels.
But, you should know that Libby and Jack, unfortunately, will leave you once the book is over.
No comments:
Post a Comment