Customer Reviews

Artichoke's Heart

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rosemary Goode is smart, funny, and sassy, but no one seems to notice. All anyone sees is her weight - all 200 pounds of it. She doesn't fit in at school, she finds herself getting made fun of by the popular Bluebirds, and the only boyfriend she'll ever have is Mr. Hershey, or Mr. M&M.

At the start of a new year, Rosemary finds herself disappointed. Santa just brought her an unwanted treadmill for Christmas and her Aunt Mary gave her tickets to a "Healing the Fat Girl Within" Conference. On top of that, Rosemary's mother has sneakily set up counseling sessions for weight loss.

After a meltdown at her mother's gossipy salon, Rosemary decides she is going to lose the weight - on her terms. Rosemary tries various methods to lose weight, but it's a slow process. When Rosemary's mother is diagnosed with cancer, the distance between them grows even more and Rosemary tries to keep from turning back to food. Things start to look up when Kyle Cox, the school's newest football star, starts to take a notice in Rosemary. But how can popular, good-looking Kyle ever like a girl like Rosemary? And how will Rosemary bridge the ever-growing gap between her and her mother?

ARTICHOKE'S HEART is one of those books I wanted to stay in bed on a rainy day with and never stop reading. The cover and storyline may make you think this is light chick-lit, but the plot digs much deeper and carries a wide range of emotions that are great for any mood.

Rosemary is a fantastic character and her growth throughout the book is realistic. I was cheering her on the whole way through and felt as though I was on the journey with her. I also have to admit I had a bit of a crush on Kyle while reading this book! Author Suzanne Supplee put so much into her characters; they felt real and I didn't want to leave them. The Southern setting added an extra dose of charm to the story. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Reviewed by: Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen

Rosemary is sweet, funny, and is always helping out at her mom's beauty salon in small town, Tennessee. She isn't happy with herself, though- she wants to drop some of her 190 pounds. When a regular customer and friend has a heart attack related to obesity, Rosemary starts getting drastic in her efforts.

Rosemary's life is filled with women - the only male character in the book is her love interest. Her family consists of her mom, aunt and grandmother. Despite this, the characters in this book are humorously realistic, and I thought this was a great book on self-image and battling weight loss, especially for young adults. I especially love the friendship between Rosie and Kay-Kay, one of the most beautiful girls at school.

Wow. I was so incredibly blown away by Artichoke's Heart. I only wish I'd picked it up sooner. The one thing that stopped me from doing so was the fact it was about a "fat" girl losing weight and generally, I shy away from those books. I rarely find them to be realistic and since I relate to this subject very closely, it just aggravates me. But Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee did anything but that.

Rosemary Goode is probably the most realistic character I've read about. Yes, she's "fat" to some people but she also has an incredible personality. The way she thinks and sees other people from a "fat girls" perspective is something you don't ever really hear about but is easily understood, especially when you've been through a similar experience. For those who can't relate to the way she thinks, Artichoke's Heart would definitely be an eye-opener.

The way Supplee handled the weight issue was amazing. People who are skinny seem to think that losing weight is simple as putting it on and that you can just decide you aren't going to be fat anymore. Yeah, sorry, but it doesn't happen like that. Supplee brings truth to what really goes on in a fat girl's mind.

The romance portion of the novel was also well-written. I just wish there were more boys like Kyle in the world.

Truthfully, I wish that I could force everyone to read this novel. It blew me away and I'm positive I'm not the only one. So, if you're going out to be a book this weekend, buy this one. You won't regret it!

Suzanne Supplee has gotten right into my heart with her young adult novel, Artichoke's Heart. It's rare that I feel such a kinship with a fictional character, but Rosemary Goode and I...well...let's just say we would be BFFs if she was a real person (and yes, I just wrote BFF in my blog. There's a first for everything I suppose...).

Rosemary is an awesome girl. Really...she's smart and funny and has a whole lot of personality, however no one in her family or high school seems to see those traits. All they see about Rosemary is her weight. The weight keeps going up and up as Rosemary constantly turns to food as a comfort source and the hits keep on coming from all around her. Her Aunt signs her up for a fat girl conference and her mom tricks her into going to weight-loss counseling, leaving Rosemary to believe she really is nothing more than a number on the scale.

When an adorable, popular guy from school begins showing interest in Rosemary, she knows it's too good to be true. How could a normal, gorgeous, big-man-on-campus type ever have an interest in her, the Artichoke? As Rosemary slowly learns how to love herself through this novel, she also learns that she can have true and promising relationships with others, including boys and her mother, and that it doesn't really matter what others believe, it's what one believes about themselves that is important.

As Rosemary grew as a character, I think I grew a bit as a person as well. As far as weight goes, I've never had a problem with gaining it, but have always had a problem with the losing part (anyone with me on this??) and especially so after having my son. I can see, after reading Artichoke's Heart, that I often think of myself as only a number on the scale, rather than as a person, as Rosemary was quite obviously doing. Even as a fictional character, she gave insight into my own life and opened up my own eyes a bit. What a great feat for a young adult novel! Thanks Ms. Supplee!

Great, moving read, October 28, 2008

I am an adult who loves to read well-written YA books.

Artichoke's Heart stole my heart.

The story introduces us to Rose who is going to be sixteen and who is suffering internally and out - with a problem with food and her weight. She is well over 200 pounds and can't seem to stop herself from eating.

This is a subject that is very close to my heart. I can well imagine how difficult it must be for any teenager today to 'fit' into the role of the perfect teen and weight issues are particularly horrible and self-defeating.

Our main character Rose is suffering and although she does not do much complaining in this storyline, you can actually FEEL her pain. She is surrounded by the love of a good family (who just do not understand her shame and pain).

I loved Rose. She was a regular teenager who had to work after school for her money - she was not a little diva as we so often find in these books now. Rose,to me, was written as a true reflection of a young girl.

Not only does she have to deal with her body issues, but she is also dealt the additional blow of finding out her mom is sick. This takes the storyline into an entirely different direction and we see how both mother and daughter are suffering but somehow they cannot seem to speak to each other about their pain.

This book sends a very positive message - you need to be who you are - and if you decide that you need to 'changes' you MUST do it for yourself.

The writing was fun and touching and I applaud the author for 'having the audacity' to actually give a fat girl a loving, kind and understanding boyfriend AND a sexy best friend. This was, as mentioned, a very positive message -

I loved this book and recommend it highly.

The reason I love this YA book so much is because even though the plot is about a girl who is overweight, you can relate with her no matter what size you are. This truly is a great comfort book, it gives you all the mushy feelings of romance and the joy of hearing how the protagonist, Rosemary Goode, loses and gains control of her life. This book was actually a relatively realistic for a YA book, it wasn't too perfect and by end of the book, Rose hasn't all of a sudden gone popular and gotten to her ideal weight, showing readers that overcoming something like weight isn't something that will just be a quick fix. Who's never had a bully, or at least who's never just felt self-conscious about them selves? I usually don't get all mushy over a book but by the end I was nearly in tears (happy tears) over how she overcame such a big obstacle, I would highly reccomend it.I would have to say that a few things she did were disturbing, like the way she initially tries to lose weight, so I wouldn't recommend this if you are sensitive to those kind of things

Rosemary Goode lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, where her mother owns the busiest beauty shop in town. Her life is pretty routine: she goes to high school, works in her mother's shop, and spends time on her own, but she doesn't have friends to hang out with. Rosie is also a binge eater, sometimes eating huge amounts of food. Her crisis comes over Christmas break when she gains quite a bit of weight and can no longer fit in her largest clothes.

Rosie decides something has to be done, and she begins a liquid diet of weight-loss drinks to help her shed some pounds. But real change doesn't come for Rosie until she starts to see herself as something more than a fat girl, the one the popular girls tease and call artichoke.

For the first time Rosie has a friend, Kay-Kay who is pretty and slim and athletic, and she hopes to have a boyfriend, cute Kyle Cox who is a super athlete. Slowly she begins to change her relationship with food, and all the other relationships in her life begin to change as well.

Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee is about more than a high school girl trying to lose weight. The beauty shop scenes are reminiscent of Steel Magnolias, where everyone's problems can be solved while they get their hair and nails done. There's also an interesting mother-daughter dynamic. Rosie's mother got pregnant in high school, and she raised her daughter on her own. Rose Warren (Rosie's mother) has always had to be so strong, that she often forgot to let her daughter see any weakness. When she's diagnosed with lymphoma and starts to undergo treatment, she finds she must let her daughter into her inner life more than before.

I recommend Artichoke's Heart for mother-daughter book clubs with girls in high school. Issues to talk about include eating disorders, self-esteem and feelings of self-worth, family dynamics, and dating. The book provides no easy answers, which is why it should be able to generate great discussions.

Artichoke's Heart is a delightful story of a girl who is overweight and feels the full force of that condition in her life. The story develops around her efforts to realize who she is and to respect and accept herself, and in this process she begins to shed pounds.

The author's writing is excellent, with wonderful and humorous descriptions, imagery and metaphors. The characters are drawn with zest, while still being real. She evokes the landscapes and life in Tennessee with consummate skill.

The book is a compelling page-turner, and I would highly recommend it for the young adult audience. It would make a terrific gift.

I look forward to future novels from Suzanne Supplee!

Rosemary Goode gets a treadmill, two diet books and a collection of Emily Dickinson poems for Christmas, when what she was yearning for was a thyroid condition that would take off a quick 70 pounds. She stashes her lovers, "Mr. Hershey, Mr. Reeses, and Mr. M & M" under her bed while her mother stocks the pantry with Special K. Food is all she thinks about, all day every day. She binges, she purges, and she's miserable. But she's also very smart, very funny, and willing to change and even see a therapist. The way she makes herself look around at her family, friends and classmates, letting them change her as she changes them, makes a strong story that even a size 2 would enjoy reading.

I know this is a "young girl" book but this "old" girl (41) loved it, too! I met Suzanne Supplee at a writers meet and greet. She had an advance copy of this book and I fell in love with the cover! I asked, "What is it about?" She told me it was about an overweight teenager learning to love herself. My jaw dropped. Because the woman standing in front of me had first-hand knowledge of the dreaded words "size two". I said, "What do you know about being a fat girl? I thought the old adage was authors write about what they know." She said, "You don't have to be fat to be insecure." She had my attention then, so I ordered my copy in advance.

Written in the first-person, we follow Rosemary's trials and tribulations with her weight. While she works on the outside, she realizes the inside needs some reshaping, too. The transformation is wonderful to watch and you feel like Rosie's triumphs are yours as well.

I recommend this book for the young and old, skinny and fat girls because there is a little of "the fat girl" in all of us.

P.S. I do have to say "shame on you" to the graphic artist who designed the cover. Every time I picked this yummy looking book up I wanted some chocolate!