Holding Up The Universe

QUICK READ. VERY EASY AND LIGHT. Good for a break from heavy reads

I picked this book up at ALA without knowing anything about it and have since purchased a finished copy. It was on my shelf among all my other TBRs and I wasn’t rushing to it until I heard the premise behind it and some backlash Niven was receiving. I was drawn to it because I’m plus size, like Libby, and have been in interracial relationships. Let me tell you something…THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. Along the way I heard from a friend that someone had accused the author of creating characters who hated themselves. However, that was not my interpretation at all. Especially when it comes to Libby, America’s formerly fattest teen. I found her attitude and acceptance of her body-past and present-to be very inspirational. I would go as far as to say that she loved herself. THIS IS WHAT PLUS SIZE TEENS NEED TO READ. Despite being targeted by classmates, Libby didn’t let that or her weight hold her back from anything, including trying out for the dance team. A new all-time favorite passage comes from this book where Libby questions some of society’s issues with people being overweight. She says, “And this whole ‘pretty for a fat girl’ thing. I mean, what is that? Why can’t I just be pretty period? I wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, Bailey Bishop, she’s pretty for a Bible thumper.’ I mean, you’re just Bailey. And you’re pretty.” Her counterpart, Jack, was also a well written and multi-faceted character that the reader can’t help but come to love. This was the highlight of Niven’s writing for me because it’s clear that she extensively researched prosopagnosia and brought to life some of the struggles that people with this disorder are faced with daily. Some of these situations would literally make you stress out just reading about them. I didn’t feel like his attraction to Libby was something that happened only after he “got over” her weight. He honestly seemed to think she was beautiful, weight and all. Perhaps some would say that his focus was on her personality, but I would counter that in the end, compatible personalities are the most important aspect of a successful relationship. Overall, this book was well-written and comes with many important lessons. I didn’t even touch on the depth or all of the issues. All I can say is that I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Ok so this review might be a little all over the place so please stick with my while I try and sort out my thoughts on this book. First, I have to say that I really did enjoy this book. I can agree with some people on how parts of the story are problematic, and I'll get to that, but as a whole I was entertained until the very end, and that's what I like to get from my books I read. I didn't think that the couple of problems with this book ruined it at all and I found the story to be cute, which again is something I want from my contemporary reads, and for once I wasn't able to predict everything that was going to happen before it happened. Now being an overweight person myself, I have to say the way that Libby views herself is beyond relatable. I know that I've seen people that have a problem with how she views herself and about how often she thinks about her weight and the fact that she's supposed to be this force for self love at the same time. But come on, this is how a teenage girls brain works. Even now as an adult that's how my brain works. I go from one day hating everything about the way I look to the next thinking I'm the cutest thing in the world and everyone can just suck it. Maybe because I can put myself in her shoes it makes it easier for me to understand how her brain can work that way, but it's really accurate and spoke to me on a high level. Oh Jack. I'm not sure where to start with Jack. I have to say even though he has prospoga.....you know what, EVERY TIME I came to this word in the book it took me like 5 minutes to figure out how to pronounce it again, so I'm just not going to use it here. Anyway, even with Jack's neurological disorder I have to say he really is a douchey boy. Granted I felt some sympathy for him but then there were times he'd do or say something and I'd just think "Come on, Really?". But then again I can see that that is how he's supposed to be written and that's probably the reaction we're supposed to have with him. Let's talk about the insta love for just a second. Sure that's usually a thing that happens with contemporaries, you meet someone and bam you're in love. Granted Libby and Jack knew each other before the insta love happened but you can literally see it suddenly happen where all of a sudden Jack looks different to Libby and he's a dreamy boy. It wasn't so glaring wrong that I wasn't able to move past it, but I do feel that that situation could have been handled a little differently. Back to Jack's neurological disorder. I still don't fully understand how it all works and how he's able to tell Libby apart from everyone else so easily. It does seem like a Love Cures Everything kind of deal but when I think about it, maybe love could cure prosp.....whatever. Maybe having that connection with someone, a connection so strong that you're not scared to look in to their eyes, can cause something else to fire in the brain that helps remember what their face looks like. So yet again, even though I can see this as being problematic, it still kind of makes sense to me and does add to the story. All in all this was a very enjoyable read. I loved getting to see Libby make that transition from homeschooled loaner to being more comfortable in her skin and going to a normal high school and trying to make friends and start a relationship. I enjoyed getting to follow Jack and see that maybe the douchey act he puts on is just a front because he has no idea how to act since no one really knows about his problem and he's too scared to really tell anyone. I am a sucker for contemporaries and the fact that this one touched on a couple hard topics made me an even bigger sucker for it. I'd recommend this to pretty much anyone looking for a good and entertaining read.

this is genuinely one of the best books i’ve ever read. i hate reading and i finished this in three days...it’s so emotional and so almost raw that you have to keep ready. i can relate to both of the main characters in a way which makes it even better. i also loved the structure of the book, having perspectives almost makes it easier to read. i recommend reading “All The Bright Places” by Jennifer Niven, but only if you can handle the mental time it takes on you. it’s so much better than the movie so READ THE BOOK FIRST!!!! All the Bright Places is my favorite book ever but it left me so emotionally damaged that now i rethink every interaction in life. but so worth the read.

I love this book literally soooo much and it was a 5 star read, it was kind of a heavy topic but if you don't mind that it was a veryyyy good book it was so cute at the end too I feel like I can never read a book that was like this one, BUY THISSSSSSSS you will regret it if you dont ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I heard lots of great things about this from some friends, but not as great as you would expect. (Note: I'm a teen) First off, let's talk about the lack of realism. The characters seem all too open to talk about their feelings, past, and pretty much everything. People do not just open up about their anxiety, their problems, their struggles, to reveal everything. And yet, the characters discuss them so easily, it seems like something that is idealized by the government (as in the state health program about support and such). The openness of the dialogue renders the heavy topics they discuss less meaningful. Next, the dialogue felt, off. Listening to normal conversations, you see indicators of nervousness, of concern, anxiety, self-consciousness. The dialogue between Libby and Jack are, to say the least, were lacking all these indicators. Again, Libby has anxiety about her body, and her past. However, in many conversations with Jack and other characters, she seems to drop all of it and talks like a confident witty teen. In addition, the characters got into such ridiculous plots and complications that I was shocked. People do not go posing around in a bikini handing out a couple hundred copies of flyers. It is so idealized to the point that I react with "What the heck. Man." And 'Fat Girl Rodeo?' Seriously? It is so juvenile and asinine that it is utterly ridiculous. The parents seem to be very hands off. I mean, Libby's dad is supposed to be caring dad, and yet he doesn't pry more into when they skip (correct my memory, sorry if the event is wrong). Another time would be when Jack announces his prosopagnosia to the crowd by going up to I believe the DJ and screaming at the crowd. This is something similar to what I thought of myself when writing a story that was absolute trash when I was ten. Announcing the problem and hopefully all is resolved was the approach Niven took, which is absolutely ridiculous. The sheer amount of fistfights the students got into shocked me. I understand the author is attempting to create a teen romance out of a troubled life, but are fistfights truly common occurrences? Finally, predictability. SPOILER ALERT (You may want to not continue reading if you want to purchase the book). Jack being diagnosed with severe prosopagnosia by a doctor. They claim that he will never be able to recognize someone (at least that's the gist of it) and - bam! - he can recognize Libby. Great. Somehow by some magic force his prosopagnosia is cured only for one person. Once again, I must complain. Is this truly that good of an ending? No. Not at all. Oh my gosh! He realizes he loves her and he recognizes her. It is the epitome of a cheesy romance and contradicts all previous statements. But forget those details. It's not problem whatsoever! It's a teen romance, after all! It felt like the story had the ending written first and everything else was sorta made up later. Overall, not as amazing as expected. Nothing like All the Bright Places. Feels rushed. Unique setup, but unrealistic character development and sometimes basic love description/indicators. I would say on the surface, this is a nice story of love, but looking deeper you can see the quality has considerably dropped compared to All the Bright Places.

This book is about a girl named Libby and she is known as the Fattest Teen in America and couldn't physically get out of bed in the morning. She is also dealing with the fact that she now has to make new friends and dealing with finally going to high school which can be a very judgemental place. Then there is Jack and everyone thinks that they know him because he has great swagger and he knows what everyone wants. But, people don't really know him because he is unable to recognize faces. He also has to face that he can't even recognize his own brothers. So, this means that Jack has to keep this a secret to everyone. That is until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel game. Which leads them into group counseling and community service and they are both very mad about this. But, when they start to be around each other more they realize that they don't feel as alone anymore. I absolutely loved this book because it shows that no matter how much you may not like a person in the beginning that may al change.

Amazing book