Title: Dietland
Author: Sarai Walker
Published: May 26, 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 310
Source: Publisher at BEA
Rating: 3/5
Goodreads
Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed, because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged. Or mocked. Or worse. With her job answering fan mail for a popular teen girls’ magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. Only then can her true life as a thin person finally begin.
Then, when a mysterious woman starts following her, Plum finds herself falling down a rabbit hole and into an underground community of women who live life on their own terms. There Plum agrees to a series of challenges that force her to deal with her past, her doubts, and the real costs of becoming “beautiful.” At the same time, a dangerous guerrilla group called “Jennifer” begins to terrorize a world that mistreats women, and as Plum grapples with her personal struggles, she becomes entangled in a sinister plot. The consequences are explosive.
Dietland is a bold, original, and funny debut novel that takes on the beauty industry, gender inequality, and our weight loss obsession—from the inside out, and with fists flying.
My review:
I almost want to divide this book into two parts. The beginning of the book focuses on Plum, who is overweight, working a lackluster job as a teen advice columnist (that she's not even getting credit for), and certain that her real life will begin once she has weight loss surgery. It also delves into her past, with all of the stigmas associated with being "the fat girl", as well as her attempts to lose weight. She ends up meeting someone who takes her on a journey of challenges that are ultimately aimed at causing her to recognize that weight loss is not the end all to problems. I enjoyed this part of the book very much.
Then we have the other part which takes place concurrently with Plum's challenges. There is a vigilante group going after all of those who victimize, sexualize, and mistreat women. While I totally agree that this is indeed happening in our society, and the beginning of the book was about trying to achieve beauty at all costs, it just didn't exactly seem to fit together for me. I found myself feeling rather uncomfortable in parts, and it was just a bit weird. I think I would give Plum's struggle a four, and the vigilante group part a two, so there you have my 3 star rating.
Do not be put off by this one. It was a bit quirky, but still an enjoyable read, especially the parts about Plum's weight loss struggles.
