She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb

 Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Stranded in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally orbits into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before she really goes under.

This is a very typical coming of age story but it was beautifully written. It's about a girl named Delores and you can't help but to love her and really connect with her. After the separation of her parents, Delores' mother provides food and snacks to comfort Delores and she becomes very overweight. She goes off to college and she goes through the painful turbulence of growing up.

****

Life in the Fat Lane - Cherie Bennett

A beauty queen mysteriously grows to 200 pounds, despite a strict diet and workout schedule. After being diagnosed with a metabolic disorder with no known cure, Lara wonders if she'll have to spend the rest of her life overweight and if her family and boyfriend will stand beside her.

This was one of my favorite novels when I was in high school. Lara was beautiful and the queen of the school and a seemingly perfect family. When she starts to get heavy, she starts to realize that everything she ever thought she knew was a lie or based on her appearence. It was comforting to know that if you have true friends, they won't matter what you do or look like.

The ending was a little bittersweet for me, because Lara's life came together a little too cleanly, but I still enjoyed the writing and I highly recommend this book for all teens, weight issues or not.

*****