Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff

Reviewed by Lori
Food, Girls, And Other Things I Can't Have
Title: Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have

Author: Allen Zadoff

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 37965

Description:  Fifteen-Year-Old Andrew Zansky, the second fattest at his high school, joins the varsity football team to get the attention of a new girl on whom he has a crush.

Rubric Rating: Level 3: Laud It

Why I Read It: The title is fantastic and the first two sentences of the book had me hooked.

Lori's Notes: Andrew Zansky knows that there must be a God because he's not the fattest kid in school...he's the second fattest. Bullied, with only one friend, he's a social outcast until he joins the football team.  Although this brings him the sense of acceptance he's longed for he realizes that being part of the popular clique isn't all that it's cracked up to be.  And being popular does not necessarily mean being happy.  A very good read, with laugh out loud moments.

Recommended Reader: Grade 9 and up.  A particularly good read for boys.  Would be a good book for reader's circles or whole class reading.

Themes: Bullying, Self-Acceptance, Choices, Friendship, Family, Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Binge Eating, Peer Groups, Popularity, Cliques, Self Perception, Football

Cross-Genre Links: 
Movie: All the Right Moves (1983)
Movie: The Blind Side
Music: Gunnin' by Hedley
Music: Beautiful by Christina Aguilera
Canadian Mental Health Association: Eating Disorders

Possible Discussion or Essay Questions: 

  • Why does Andrew join the football team?
  • How does his social status change once he joins this group?
  • What is Andrew's relationship with food?
  • Andrew is very big and his sister is very small?  Does his sister represent another type of eating disorder?  What makes you think so?
  • Do you think Andrew is being used by the team?  By his girlfriend?
  • What does Andrew discover about himself?
  • Do you think that being popular is the same as being happy?

Other Titles by Allen Zadoff:




Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for Reading!

Popular posts from this blog

The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: The Poet's Dog Author: Patricia MacLachlan Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 127678 Description:   An abandoned dog, able to speak only to poets and children, rescues a pair of young children stranded in the forest. Together, they find a way to overcome their losses. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It Why I Read It: Poetry and Dogs... what more can I say.  Notes: This is one of those novels that I absolutely love.  It is written for a younger audience but there are deeper aspects to the story that are very appealing to an adult reader.   The story is encapsulated within 88 pages, and spells out the story of Teddy, the poet's dog, whose master has passed away, and Flora and Nickel, two children he finds lost in a blizzard.   The children are left in a car by their mother as she goes to look for help after getting stuck in the snow.  The children get scared and leave the vehicle and get lost in the woods where they are found by Teddy who brings them home.  Flo
Read more

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: Brain Jack Author: Brian Falkner Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 128664 Description:   In a near-future New York City, computer genius Sam Wilson manages to hack into the AT&T network and sets off a chain of events that have a profound effect on human activity throughout the world. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read It: Interesting write up in the catalogue and a growing interest in tech-related reading. Notes: Sam is a seventeen-year-old Hacker, one of the best around.  So good that he is able to hack into the telecomerica head offices and order a couple of "neuro" headsets for himself and his friend Fargas.  The latest technology that allows you to directly access the computer network using only your brain.  But Sam's hacking brings down services for three days - something that will go down in history.  That's when the CDD (the cyber defence division) start watching him.  It's not long before they hack Sam back and he's arrested.
Read more

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title:  All the Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 98669 Description:  A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with their respective beliefs after a fortuitous meeting on the Brittany coast. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read it: This book has been on my reading list for awhile and it was recommended to me by several people. Lori's Notes: This was a fantastic novel.  It may seem overwhelming in terms of size but the individual chapters are very short and read almost like mini short stories within the book.  The characters alternate between Marie-Laure a blind Parisian girl, and Werner an orphan German boy. Marie-Laure's father, Daniel LeBlanc, works in a Paris Museum as a key master and designs intricate puzzle boxes for his daughter.  Werner lives in a children's home with his sister Jutta and because of his interest in radios is quickly recruit
Read more