From the author of the New York Times bestseller All the Bright Places comes a heart-wrenching story about what it means to see someone—and love someone—for who they truly are.
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 in new and bad-ass ways, 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.
Jennifer Niven delivers another poignant, exhilarating love story about finding that person who sees you for who you are—and seeing them right back.
"Niven is adept at creating characters. . . . [Libby's] courage and body-positivity make for a joyful reading experience." --The New York Times
“Holding Up the Universe . . . taps into the universal need to be understood. To be wanted. And that’s what makes it such a remarkable read.” —TeenVogue.com, “Why New Book Holding Up the Universe Is the Next The Fault in Our Stars”
"Want a love story that will give you all the feels? . . . You'll seriously melt!"—Seventeen Magazine
I listened to the this in just one day - yes, partly because I wanted to get it read in time for Bookclub, but mostly because I was enjoying it so much.
As a plus size girl most my life, I really connected with the main character. No I haven't come close to her struggles, but I get what it's like to go through life with people making automatic judgements about you because of your size. I've been the victim of hate and disgust just because I'm large. And like the main character - whose name is escaping me at the moment - I tend to tell those people to shove it. I love that she is happy as she is and that she's big but fit. She can run; she loves to dance. She is hurt by people, but she isn't defined by that hurt.
And the male Mc - also forgetting his name *sigh* - wow that was fascinatingly different. I didn't even know his condition existed - the inability to differentiate people's faces - let alone imagine what that must be like. I feel like Jennifer Niven did a great job with him - he's cocky as all hell but it's a defense mechanism for how confused and lost he feels most the time.
Thus was my first Jennifer Niven book but won't be my last. Also, loved the narration. The two narrators complemented each other so well, at one point I was double checking that I remembered correctly that there were two narrators. An A + for narration.
