PLOT
Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.
THOUGHTS
| I want a sequel. Not because we’re left with little to no answers but because I want more of Libby and Jack. I want to see where they go and how they handle it all. Libby was so funny! So amazing! So inspirational! So real! What I’ve found with characters with “heavy weight issues” is they ramble. A lot. Which could make the plot boring and the point lost in translation. Like an annoying broken record. All words and no plot. Not with Holding Up The Universe. No, it was the perfect amount of character musing and movement. The author never got stuck on one point for 10 chapters. Maybe it’s because Jack had his own problems in the novel. Either way there was balance and flow. Prosopagnosia (face blindness) is the inability to recognize faces. I never knew this existed. Never thought that this could be a real thing a person could struggle with. I remember being absolutely fascinated by this disorder. I immediately googled everything I could find on Prosopagnosia. I found study's, research centers, and even chat rooms. Chat rooms! It was all so fascinating and harrowing. Face blindness is such a real thing for some that I felt almost upset with myself for not knowing about it. Which is why I am so grateful to Jennifer Niven for giving us such an authentic character to learn from. I’m happy to have bought my own copy because this is definitely on my reread list. FOLLOW THE AUTHOR Jennifer Niven BUY THE BOOK Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, Amazon |
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