13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl

By: Mona Awad

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A darkly funny, deeply resonant, and exquisitely written literary debut, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl is the story of one woman's journey from fat adolescence to an ex-fat adulthood, as she seeks love and acceptance from everyone except herself.

Growing up in the suburban hell of Misery Saga (aka Mississauga), Lizzie has never liked the way she looks - even though her best friend, Mel, says she's the pretty one. She starts dating guys online, but she's afraid to send pictures, even when her skinny friend, China, does her makeup: She knows no one would want her if they could really see her. So she starts to lose weight. With punishing drive she counts almonds consumed, miles logged, pounds dropped. She fights her way into coveted dresses. She grows up and gets thin, navigating double-edged validation from her mother, her friends, her husband, her reflection in the mirror. But no matter how much she loses, will she ever see herself as anything other than a fat girl?

In her brilliant, hilarious, and at times shocking debut, Mona Awad simultaneously skewers the body image-obsessed culture that tells women they have no value outside their physical appearance and delivers a tender and moving depiction of a lovably difficult young woman whose life is hijacked by her struggle to conform. As caustically funny as it is heartbreaking, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl introduces a vital new voice in fiction.

©2016 Mona Awad (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great read!

Lord knows every emotion in this book has mirrored my own life. what a great story! Wonderfully narrated, funny, and and touching! Book a copy for a friend for Christmas!

seriously hard to follow at first

hard to follow in the first half of the book. really not worth the credit. I thought this was going to be a very deep thought provoking book. nope.

Ehhhh

Some ED insights but overall pretty lackluster. The end was particularly disappointing. Performance helped me get through

Pretty Meh

This story really didn’t go anywhere- and I still don’t understand the “ 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl”. All she does is make the reader also hate being fat/making fat people seem ugly and unappealing. She also doesn’t stay fat for the whole thing and becomes pretty skinny by the middle of the book. I kind of understand her thoughts but overall kinda nothing happened?

depressing, boring, bitter, lost.

The narrator for this reads well but sounds like she plugged her nose.
The storyline is not varied much from connecting “fat” with misery because of misogyny but it doesn’t cover much else and definitely isn’t intersectional. It was depressing, boring, bitter, lost.

Nasally reading, but a great book

Mona Awad knows what it's like to be a fat girl. This book is occasionally funny, sometimes sad, and always challenging to those of us who still struggle daily with self image.

Unhappy

It's soft porn which isn't my taste at all. I'm glad I was able to get a refund

Gripping

This book resonated with me. I thought the narrator conveyed the protagonist, as well as other characters, very well. I frequently listen to this book, and will get others by Mona Awad.

Great Listen and Read

Really interesting and deep read about women and weight and our place in society and the dark and often comedic truth inside ourselves. Mona Awad is such a talent. Good narration too.

No

I hated this. There is no resolution or introspection or redemption. She makes the reader feel like she does about herself. Hateful. She hates her fat, other people's fat and perpetuates that we should all be disgusted by fat people and that they are less than worthy of human affection, or for anything.
I was not looking for a "feel good, be happy being fat" book. But I certainly thought there might be some insight or value from the perspective of someone with a weight issue.
This book validates the hater and the hated.
Therefore, I hated it. Was it written by a 16 year old, with zero perspective on life.
I can only hope the author has evolved beyond the no self worth, awful and hateful insecurities. Try some therapy!
The stuffy nose narration was tuff to listen to.