Life in the Fat Lane Summary and Reviews

Life in the Fat Lane
by Cherie Bennett

Life in the Fat Lane
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Book Summary Information

Author: Cherie Bennett
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-06-10
ISBN: 1583422498
Number of pages: 55
Publisher: Dramatic Pub Co

Book Reviews of Life in the Fat Lane

Book Review: A Nasty, yet Realistic, Protagonist
Summary: 4 Stars

Lara's life is perfect. She has everything going for her: she is one of the most popular girls in school, she is beautiful, she has a wonderful boyfriend and her family is great. Even though she is in high school, her father still calls her his princess and tells her all the time how beautiful she is. Her mother is thin and beautiful, too, and supports Lara as she enters and wins beauty pageants.

The best night of Lara's life is the night she wins the title of Homecoming Queen as a junior. She has officially been voted by her peers the most beautiful and the most popular girl in school. The only thing that makes this night slightly less than perfect is the fact that she tries to help Patty, the fattest girl in school, by offering to exercise with her to help her lose weight. Patty insults her and rejects her offer. Lara thinks to herself that Patty, like all fat people, is just too lazy to make any effort to lose the weight.

Soon after homecoming, something awful begins to happen to Lara. She starts to gain weight. At first it's just a few pounds she thinks she can diet and exercise off. But then it's more and more. The more Lara diets and exercises, the more weight she gains. Her mother and father don't believe she is trying to lose the weight. Her father tells her she needs to have more willpower, and he stops calling her princess. Lara's popularity is disappearing fast, and she can't do anything about it. How will she adjust to her new life as a fat girl?

I liked the honest treatment of Lara toward the end of the book, when she has gained a bunch of weight. The author didn't romanticize or try to make it seem like things were still the same for Lara. Her entire life and all of her happiness was wrapped up in being pretty, so it was reasonable to me that she would struggle a great deal to redefine herself. Although I didn't like the character of Lara, I thought the way she reacted was the way most teens in her situation would. Just because she gained weight, it wouldn't necessarily mean she equated herself with others who were overweight. A prejudice as deep as hers and as accepted in society as hers, would take a great deal of time to dissipate. It would have seemed unrealistic to me if Lara's perceptions of beauty and worth were radically changed by the end of the book.

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