The Fat Girl [Paperback]

Marilyn Sachs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2007

Jeff Lyons can’t stand Ellen de Luca, the fat girl in his ceramics class. She’s huge, clumsy, can’t throw a pot to save her life, and stares at Jeff all the time. But he’s a "nice guy" and feels terrible when Ellen overhears his hurtful remarks about her. The "crumbs of kindness" he tosses her way soon turn into advice on weight loss, college, clothes, hair . . . and, to everyone’s surprise, good-looking Jeff actually dumps his pretty girlfriend to be with the fat girl! Re-creating Ellen is a labor of love, Jeff thinks. But as her pounds melt away, Jeff resents the happy, independent young woman he has unleashed. Where is the gratitude for all he’s done for her?

With this darkly ironic take on the classic Pygmalion tale, Marilyn Sachs offers young readers a candid portrayal of what happens when the intoxicating thrill of control is confused with love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jeff is in love with Norma when he makes a cruel remark about the fat girl, Ellen. When he apologizes to Ellen, he senses his power over her, and enters a Svengali-like relationship with her. "This is a clear-sighted, gripping story that will induce readers to think about relationships," noted PW.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Compelling and discussion-provoking ..."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Flux; 2 edition (April 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738710008
• ISBN-13: 978-0738710006
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Issues > Weight

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fat Girl, November 30, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Fat Girl (Library Binding)

This book was good, but to be honest I didn't think it was going to be because it talked a lot about ceramics. Later I found out it was just setting up a place where a lot of the stuff happens. It's about a guy named Jeff and he chooses ceramics so he won't have to take a history class. He hates Ellen, but to him she is known as the fat girl. She stares and admires him. Soon his hatred for Ellen turns into fascination. He soon wants to be friends with Ellen and help her make other friends. It's full of surprises so it keeps you interested most of the time. There were some slow and kind of going nowhere parts to it, but there weren't to many. I choose to read this book because of the title mostly, it sounded very interesting and it was. So if you like stories about different kinds of people and how they react to society this is the book for you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book about co-dependents!?!, March 21, 2001

By 

Amy Flink "Mrs. Snowman" (Snohomish, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fat Girl (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book in junior high. I was a fat girl myself, well maybe not that fat, I guess I was considered "pleasingly plump". When I read it I thought it was good of Jeff to be kind to Ellen the fat girl. He decides he wants to be her friend and help her feel better about herself. It really shows you, however, how sometimes a helping hand can become a stronghold!! In my experience, growing up, there were people I wanted to help and sometimes did too much for them, like young Jeff ends up doing. Jeff starts doing things for Ellen which she is perfectly capable of doing herself. It's a very interesting book with a non-saccarine ending. If you read books on co-dependency or have been thru AA/AlAnon, etc., this book should be required reading. It's fictional yet a perfect example of co-dependency. It should accompany Melody Beatty's book, "Codependent No More". Not only is Jeff showing signs of codependency, but his mom and dad are, too. This usually runs in families and is a learned behavior. Check out this book!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Quite Anti-Climactic, September 24, 2008

By 

J. L. Ingenbrandt "JLI1983" (Trenton, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fat Girl (Paperback)

I picked this book up because I had struggled with my weight as a teen and was interested by the synopsis. As I read and the amount of pages remaining dwindled down, I realized that story really wasn't going anywhere. Sachs has a habit of opening doors within the story and then never revisiting the specific situations again, almost making you feel as though she just threw those pieces in as fillers. Also, while I certainly believe that not all stories are meant to have a happy ending, per se, I believe there should be some sort of closure or resolution at the end of the novel. This book lacks that. After reading the last page, I closed the book feeling quite ambivalent toward the entire novel as well as the characters in it. There wasn't enough emotion in this book to really make you feel a connection to anyone, right up to the last page. It wasn't mind-blowing or shocking, it was just kind of dead. I'm not saying it was a terrible book, and to be quite honest I do enjoy her style of writing, but I really feel as though she could have done more with the story, because the premise is so interesting. I would recommend maybe picking this book up at the library over paying money for it, because chances are you'll read it once and that will be about it. There isn't enough substance to this book that will keep you coming back for more.