Sweet by Emmy Leybourne

Reviewed by Lori

Sweet

Title: Sweet

Author: Emmy Leybourne

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 118944

Description: On a celebrity cruise launching a new diet sweetener, Laurel is too seasick to even try the new product and beginning to regret taking this vacation, but when her fellow passengers start behaving oddly, her trip becomes truly terrifying.

Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It!

Why I Read It: Interesting cover and title.


Notes: Laurel and her friend Vivika have scored big.  Tickets on the Solu Cruise to Lose! Laurel and Viv are healthy 17-year-olds who wear size 14 clothes.  But to today's youth that's just too big.  Everyone on the luxury cruise has been selected as a marketing ploy by Timothy Almstead, the maker of Solu.  The "solu-tion" to America's obesity epidemic.  Tom Fiorelli - or baby Tom-Tom as he's known from his early television days has been hired to do interviews and provide footage for television stations - an exclusive event that is supposed to reinvigorate his career.  Also aboard are several minor celebrities and host of people wanting to lose weight.  The cruise sets off, but Laurel being seasick doesn't eat any of the Solu, neither does Tom who insists on eating whole healthy foods after realizing he was an emotional eater as a youngster.  At first everyone is amazed with the results of Solu.  Anyone taking it can eat what they like and lose weight, but Solu is more than an artificial sweetener.  It's addictive.  And it's turning the passengers of the ship into monsters.  This book was a good fun summer read for me.  I finished it in two sittings.  The action kept me turning the pages as did the developing relationship between Laurel and Tom.  The book had me laughing out loud and cringing at points and I was a little surprised by the ending.  Overall, I really enjoyed this read, especially as it pertains to the media culture of body-shaming and idealizing unreal body images.

Recommended Readers: Grade 9+.  A great novel for curriculum study.

Themes: Weight loss, Obesity, Body Shaming, Addiction, Celebrity, Media, Food and Nutrition, Artificial Sweeteners, Culture.

Cross-Genre Links: 
Infographic: BMI Tables and Nutrition Guides
Websearch: Teens and Dieting
Websearch: Artificial Sweeteners, Diet Pills ex. Phen-Fen
Websearch: Body Shaming
Movie: Thinner

Inquiries and Activities: 

  • Why does Laurel go on the 'Cruise to Lose'?
  • Laurel and Vivika are about the same size - create a t-chart that shows how Laurel and Vivika's attitudes are different toward their body shape.
  • How do the girl's parent's attitudes toward each other and their children affect their perception of themselves?
  • What is Solu and what does it do?
  • Would you take a weight loss pill if it would help you lose weight?
  • It is important to love yourself, what do you love most about yourself?
  • Who is Tom Fiorelli?  What type of guy is he? Why doesn't he use Solu?
  • What happens to your body when you exercise?
  • What do you think happens after the end of the book?



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