Book: Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff
Rating: 4 Stars
Release date: September 8, 2009 from Egmont USA
Summary:What’s worse than being fat your freshman year?
Being fat your sophomore year.
Life used to be so simple for Andrew Zansky–hang with the Model UN guys, avoid gym class, and eat and eat and eat. He’s used to not fitting in: into his family, his sports-crazed school, or his size 48 pants.
But not anymore. Andrew just met April, the new girl at school and the instant love of his life! He wants to find a way to win her over, but how? When O. Douglas, the heartthrob quarterback and high-school legend, saves him from getting beaten up by the school bully, Andrew sees his chance to get in with the football squad.
Is it possible to reinvent yourself in the middle of high school? Andrew is willing to try. But he’s going to have to make some changes. Fast.
Can a funny fat kid be friends with a football superstar? Can he win over the Girl of his Dreams? Can he find a way to get his mom and dad back together?
How far should you go to be the person you really want to be?
Andrew is about to find out.
Hmm. What can I say about Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have? Other than that it has a super long title. =]
Allen Zadoff has created a hilarious character in Andrew Zansky. Half the time I was torn between laughing at the guy and feeling sorry for him. He just managed to get himself into some very embarrassing and awkward situations. I could not have lived through some of the things he went through. He was just so cute and not your typical fictional fat kid.
The situations in the story were very realistic of a high school teenager. I don’t know if non-fictional teens would have been able to get over some of Andy’s embarrassments as quickly as he did but otherwise they were things that could definitely happen. Andy can’t seem to find his place in high school and only after an encounter with the school’s bully does he see the light. With the help of some new friends Andy finds out that football is the answer to all his high school problems. It draws the girls and keeps him in shape to finally stand up to the bullies of the school. His quest for popularity seems successful but it brings some consequences and choices that he has to make on his own, without the pressures from his peers.
Overall, Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have isn’t necessarily one of my favorites but it’s definitely close. I loved reading about Andy and I loved that the book kept me laughing. I guess my only real complaint is that it was more for a guy than a girl. Other than that there wasn’t really anything that disappointed me about this book. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you know a teenage boy that loves football!
Sounds like a really good book. I’m interested in learning what sort of embarrasing situations he faces. Thanks for the review! 🙂
Thank you for the review! The book really sounds interesting to read.