Fat Angie by E.E Charlton Turjillo
Fat Angie is penned from the perspective of a rich wonderfully flawed character, who happens to be bullied by her class mates. F.A is very relatable. That the reader can identify with her on some scale be it small or her situation in its entirety.
Writer Turjillo takes you into F.A ‘s world a self destructed family fragmented in the wake of personal tragedy. Aside from deal with that pain a by product is an event that turned the axis of her world transformed into a pariah. As result she is being bullied at school F.A maneuvers her way through this minefield of toxic teens, blind adults who see but don’t see trying to keep her head down and out of sight.
F.A’s is socially awkwardness. Its sometimes painful to read there were so many times while reading this book I just wanted to say defend yourself, so many times. Angie was an under dog and I was rooting for her.
Writer Turjillo did an excellent job of breathing life into Fat Angie character she’s real awkward self deprecating but still underneath there is a spark of rebellion. What’s more I cared about her. The pacing was good and the story moved along well. The book also address a lot of social issues the war, bullying, mental health to name a few that gave Fat Angie substance. A real smorgasbord.
However I may sound insensitive by saying this as much as I loved Fat Angie the self deprecation got on my nerves. Maybe its because I haven’t been in Angie place I have never experience bullying to that degree. But it angered me I wandered why she kept backing down. But that is my issue. I would still recommend this book to any teen who is having a hard time and being bullied. To read this book and find a connection with Fat Angie and see that someone else has walked in their shoes. Experience the sting of embarrassment or shame and know they’re not alone. That they may find some comfort in these pages I gave Fat Angie 4 out 5.
Rating: 4/5
- Title: Fat Angie by E.E Charlton- Turjilllo
- Published: March 12, 2013
- Publisher: Candlewick Press
- Genre: Realist Fiction
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 274
- Buy: Amazon
Her sister was captured in Iraq, she’s the resident laughingstock at school, and her therapist tells her to count instead of eat. Can a daring new girl in her life really change anything?
Angie is broken — by her can’t-be-bothered mother, by her high-school tormenters, and by being the only one who thinks her varsity-athlete-turned-war-hero sister is still alive. Hiding under a mountain of junk food hasn’t kept the pain (or the shouts of “crazy mad cow!”) away. Having failed to kill herself — in front of a gym full of kids — she’s back at high school just trying to make it through each day.
That is, until the arrival of KC Romance, the kind of girl who doesn’t exist in Dryfalls, Ohio. A girl who is one hundred and ninety-nine percent wow! A girl who never sees her as Fat Angie, and who knows too well that the package doesn’t always match what’s inside. With an offbeat sensibility, mean girls to rival a horror classic, and characters both outrageous and touching, this darkly comic anti-romantic romance will appeal to anyone who likes entertaining and meaningful fiction.