by Jennifer Niven
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Knopf Books
Pub Date: October 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mental Health, Realistic Fiction
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.
My Review: Okay so I'm mixed with this book, but overall I did love it.
It's just one of those topics that can be taken in many directions. But this book takes a topic of someone being fat and bringing in real life emotions. Things that probably happen to people out there. The details were done perfectly.
Libby is really a lovely girl, she just happens to have a lot of weight on her. Yet that's really all people can see and they don't take the time to get to know her. Heck, if they did, they would want to be her friend. But she's also not the same in some ways. Like she ha a lot on her shoulders, having to pick up the pieces around her home. But now she's also going to High School.....ad we all know how that can go...
The you have Jack. He's got the looks, does what he needs to do in order to fit in, which may just be giving people what they want. But he should just be him trying to please everyone, doesn't tend to go well.....and he is very smart.
Alone, they are great characters with their own secrets. But together, they make a great story. It's so worth the read.
My Rating:
✪✪✪✪✪
