Skip to main content

Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers

Title: Waisted
Author: Randy Susan Meyers
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Published: May 21, 2019 by Atria Books

 I want to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for giving me a copy of Waisted for review.

Alice and Daphne are both working mothers who struggle with their weight. Randy Susan Meyers explores issues of race and of course weight as they are experienced by these wonderful women. They sign up for a weight loss spa along with 5 other women, and agree to be filmed on their weight loss journey. They are promised a supportive and encouraging environment, but that is not what they get. The producers of this documentary are going to extremes to see what these women will do in order to lose weight. The contestants are pushed too far, and they decide to fight back.


I found the main characters really interesting and relatable. This novel discusses issues that go along with being overweight in the minds of the women, their families, and society as a whole. Some things that these women face are eating disorders, yo-yo dieting, binging on food, and bad self image.  I also appreciated the authors look into exploitation of people's desire to lose weight in the media (documentaries, television, etc.). I felt myself sick for what the producers of the documentary were putting these women through, and I was glad they decided to take control. I also thought that the ending was well done, because it looked into life after significant weight loss. I really enjoyed these women's path to learning to love themselves. I would highly recommend this novel for those that are interested in issues surrounding weight and self image.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alt Vegas: Nuclear Dreams by Wren Cavanagh Book Review

   Title: Alt Vegas: Nuclear Dreams Author: Wren Cavanagh Genre: Horror Published: September 28, 2024 I received a copy for review from the author.    Kyle and Mandy have dreams making a profit by developing when they purchase land in Esperville, Oregon. Soon they find out the land is home to a portal to another dimension stuck in 1950s Las Vegas. It is a hard place with unforgiving desert and fiendish creatures. This a fantastic creature feature horror novel with an alternate dimension flair. The characters, Kyle and Mandy, did not seem sympathetic at first as foolhardy newlyweds taking on more than they can chew. However, throughout the story they become more and more endearing. They are great underdog characters to root for. The portal to Alt Vegas allows for such contrasting settings. The lush and overgrown Oregon with the desert landscape outside 1950s Vegas. The last fourth of the book could have used another round of line editing, but overall this was a fantas...
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy Bunny and Other Mischiefs by Rebecca Gransden Book Review

  Title: Happy Bunny and Other Mischiefs Author: Rebecca Gransden Genre: Weird Fiction/ Horror Published: 10/30/24 by the author I received a copy for review from the author.  This collection of 14 short stories that are full of imaginative scenarios. The ideas are truly unique which helps to draw you in.  Imagine taking a friend's pigeon to the vet leads to an underground cult. Imagine a sentient turducken escaping its packaging to explore the world. These are just of a couple of the outrageously weird concepts explored in this collection. A couple of the stories are written a very fever dream kind of way that makes following the plot difficult. I don't fault the experimental writing, but I personally do not enjoy the confusion they left me feeling. The rest of the stories I enjoyed. The standout stories for me were SparrowEyes, with its creepy setting and creature, and Happy Bunny, with a person in a bunny costume getting teleported to various television and movie s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen

Book Title: The Light of the Fireflies Author: Paul Pen Translator: Simon Bruni Genre: Fiction, Thriller Rating: 4.5/5 stars Goodreads A haunting and hopeful tale of discovering light in even the darkest of places. For his whole life, the boy has lived underground, in a basement with his parents, grandmother, sister, and brother. Before he was born, his family was disfigured by a fire. His sister wears a white mask to cover her burns. He spends his hours with his cactus, reading his book on insects, or touching the one ray of sunlight that filters in through a crack in the ceiling. Ever since his sister had a baby, everyone’s been acting very strangely. The boy begins to wonder why they never say who the father is, about what happened before his own birth, about why they’re shut away. A few days ago, some fireflies arrived in the basement. His grandma said, There’s no creature more amazing than one that can make its own light. That light makes the boy want to escape, to know t...
Post a Comment
Read more