Module 7: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Mackler, C. (2003). The earth, my butt, and other big round things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Summary

Virginia is a young high school girl growing up in New York City whose best friend has just moved away. She is overweight which her adolescent psychologist mother constantly reminds her about. While she has a strained relationship with her mom, she has a pretty close relationship with her dad, although they mostly bond by watching TV and eating Chinese food. Her older brother is away at college. When he date rapes a girl on campus, Virginia's family shuts down and becomes even more dysfunctional. All the while, Virginia is developing a relationship with Froggy Welsh the Fourth who doesn't talk to her much at school but likes to kiss her and touch her in the seclusion of her bedroom. After her brother's crime, Virginia begins to rebel, the culmination being when she buys a ticket to visit her friend in Seattle, dyes her hair and gets a piercing. It is only at the end of the book that she and her mother start to communicate in a more healthy way.

Worth Another Cup of Tea?

Definitely! This was an excellent book that I couldn't put down. I highly recommend it to high school girls. Mackler does an excellent job at really getting into the mind of Virginia and helping the reader see everything from her perspective.

Reviews

Gr 7-10-Overweight 15-year-old Virginia Shreves is the misfit in what she perceives as her perfect, thin, good-looking, exceptional family in this novel by Carolyn Mackler (Candlewick, 2003). Her usually absent father and adolescent psychologist mother are so stifling that Virginia's older sister joins the Peace Corp to escape. Big brother Byron is universally adored by all, particularly Virginia, until halfway through the novel when he is suspended from college for date rape. Virginia slowly comes to realize that Byron is the cause of many of her insecurities, and she is the only one in the family to acknowledge and do something about the fact that he did commit this terrible crime. The absence of Virginia's best friend, romantic entanglement with Froggy Welsh, and the many casual cruelties perpetrated on her by the in-crowd cause Virginia stress and create a serious lack of self- esteem. However, once she realizes her perfect family isn't quite as flawless as she thought, Virginia is empowered to stand up to her awful but well-intentioned mother, reestablish contact with Froggy, and even do the ultimate in teen defiance-get a body piercing. Johanna Parker is a superb narrator for this first person novel. She successfully portrays the angry mother, clueless father, whiny and irresponsible brother, vapid in-girls and, best of all, the appealing main character. Pacing is excellent and Parker perfectly conveys the nuances of teen insecurity in all its painful glory. While the author tries to deal with too many issues and ends up giving many of them short shrift, teens will certainly care and root for the marvelous Virginia Shreves.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor, NY--School Library Journal, December, 2004

A "chubby" New York City teen faces pressures from her family to get thin, and her brother is suspended from college on charges of date rape. "The heroine's transformation into someone who finds her own style and speaks her own mind is believable-and worthy of applause," according to PW. Ages 14-up.--Publisher's Weekly, August, 2005

In The Library

While it has been considered controversial, I believe this is an excellent book for high school students, especially girls. There is so much to this book that would lead to thought-provoking discussions; it's a perfect choice for a girls' book discussion group.