AUTHOR: Sarai Walker
STARTED: November 1, 2016
FINISHED: November 24, 2016
PAGES: 310
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: It was late in the spring when I noticed that a girl was following me, nearly the end of May, a month that means perhaps or might be.
SUMMARY: [From BN] Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed, because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged. With her job answering fan mail for a teen magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. But when a mysterious woman in colorful tights and combat boots begins following her, Plum falls down a rabbit hole into the world of Calliope House — an underground community of women who reject society’s rules — and is forced to confront the real costs of becoming “beautiful.” At the same time, a guerilla group begins terrorizing a world that mistreats women, and Plum becomes entangled in a sinister plot. The consequences are explosive.
THOUGHTS: I started reading this book before the election and I thought it was awesome. It was rah-rah women, sisterhood rules, screw the patriarchy and societal norms, eff bodyshaming, etc. etc. I was into it. Then the election happen... and I could not make myself read this book. The depression I was in over the fact that this country did not elect woman was deep. Really deep. It took me over a week to read more than a page at a time in this book. Then I hit the anger stage and this book was great for getting me going again.
The narrative is fine. The characters are fine. What I enjoyed about this book was the sentiments in it. Society places far too many damaging expectations on women and girls. This book writes a story that fights against those. In and of itself, the book is meh... but I love the message it holds.
RATING: 6/10 [Good]
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