SuitabookHuge
Sasha Paley
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside a conversation about respectful language for bodies and the difference between wellbeing and appearance. Pause after major conflicts to ask whose viewpoint the narrative privileges.
- Themes
- Body image and weight loss: April works hard to lose weight, while Wil initially plans to gain weight in defiance of her parents and the camp. The book presents competing or mixed signals about this.
- Friendship under pressure: April and Wil begin as mismatched roommates, clash over their different aims and attraction to Colin, then join forces against him. The book presents this favourably.
- Health, appearance and parental control: Wil’s parents own fitness clubs and send her to camp; April pays for camp herself while seeking weight loss and popularity. The story presents health and thinness as competing concerns, while showing how family pressure and public attitudes affect the girls.
- Worth knowing
- The ending may deserve particular discussion.