Reviewed by hoopsielv for TeensReadToo.com

Andrew is fifteen and obese. He figures that's just the way life goes. He's got a great best friend named Eytan, and together they are in honors classes. He expects this school year to be full of homework, Model UN meetings, and hanging out with Eytan.

Then he meets April. She shows up a wedding that Andrew's mom is catering and he's hooked. His mind is set: She's going to be his girlfriend.

April joins the "in" crowd and it only makes sense that Andrew will work his way into it, as well. He becomes the center on the varsity football team. Better yet, April notices him and he's got friends who never used to give him the time of day.

Andrew has all eyes on him now. Somehow, though, it's just not as satisfying as he had expected. Will he give it up and go back to being in the background?

FOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN'T HAVE was a terrific book. Andrew has a great sense of humor throughout, and the ending was a surprise that fit the story perfectly.

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High school sophomore Andrew Zansky is 307 pounds of fat, and as a result he doesn't fit in anywhere. He's awkward around his perfection-seeking family and ignored in school by his more beautiful classmates. When Andrew falls for the beautiful new girl, April, he decides, much to his geeky best friend's chagrin, to join the football team--partially to impress her and partially because he wants so badly to fit in somewhere.

To his surprise, Andrew is halfway decent at football, and as he begins to grow close with his teammates, he finds that his "stock" has risen. However, Andrew doesn't really want to play football, however, and he begins to uncover things about his teammates and April that unsettle him and make him question all his actions. What will he do to make sure he stays true to himself?

It's been so long since I've been impressed by and enjoyed a book about an obese kid's attempt to fit in at his/her high school, but FOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN'T HAVE had me grinning, cringing, and unable to put it down. Allen Zadoff writes convincingly of Andrew's misadventures and eventual self-discovery.

As the protagonist, Andrew is charming without trying too hard, a perfectly proportioned teenager (emotionally, if not physically). Likewise, every other teenager in this book has his or her ups and downs, good sides and bad sides. Zadoff achieves what many other writers cannot: an effortless three-dimensional characterization that defies black-and-white and stays true to the complexities of adolescent nature.

FOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN'T HAVE brings together the best of YA realistic fiction--empathetic protagonist, complex characters, and a relatable conflict--to be a lingering read. This is a book that cannot get too much attention, as it will be worth all the talk and badgering to just read this book already.

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