Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Karin Librarian for TeensReadToo.com
Meghan is obese. She is the largest person at Valley Regional High and her hulking size, oddly enough, allows her to blend into the background. Most people are too uncomfortable to make eye contact and most teachers are content to allow her to remain silent during class discussions. Meghan doesn't have any friends, but she knows a lot about everyone at school.
Aimee is reed thin. Her list of foods that give her a "bad reaction" grows every day. About the only things she allows herself to eat are Jell-o and carrot sticks. Her big, floppy hats and black, long skirts make her all but invisible in the school's halls. Invisible to everyone except Meghan, that is...
Meghan feels the need to connect with Aimee. She begins to follow Aimee in order to try and find an excuse to talk to her, but it isn't until Aimee is betrayed and she and Meghan share a common enemy that they team up for a little payback.
LOOKS deals with many issues - eating disorders, friendship, bullying, and high school dynamics are the most evident. George's unique writing style in the first and last chapters give the reader a voyeuristic feeling and, at times, the lyrical and figurative language tricks the reader into thinking they are reading an extended poem rather than a work of prose.
While the author doesn't wrap the story up in the traditional way of most young adult novels, it is definitely an accurate picture of the atmosphere in a typical high school.
Meghan is obese. She is the largest person at Valley Regional High and her hulking size, oddly enough, allows her to blend into the background. Most people are too uncomfortable to make eye contact and most teachers are content to allow her to remain silent during class discussions. Meghan doesn't have any friends, but she knows a lot about everyone at school.
Aimee is reed thin. Her list of foods that give her a "bad reaction" grows every day. About the only things she allows herself to eat are Jell-o and carrot sticks. Her big, floppy hats and black, long skirts make her all but invisible in the school's halls. Invisible to everyone except Meghan, that is...
Meghan feels the need to connect with Aimee. She begins to follow Aimee in order to try and find an excuse to talk to her, but it isn't until Aimee is betrayed and she and Meghan share a common enemy that they team up for a little payback.
LOOKS deals with many issues - eating disorders, friendship, bullying, and high school dynamics are the most evident. George's unique writing style in the first and last chapters give the reader a voyeuristic feeling and, at times, the lyrical and figurative language tricks the reader into thinking they are reading an extended poem rather than a work of prose.
While the author doesn't wrap the story up in the traditional way of most young adult novels, it is definitely an accurate picture of the atmosphere in a typical high school.
