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Summary
Summary
"[Mackler's] teens feel lived in to me--smart, observant, but realistic in terms of their insecurities and limitations. I particularly appreciate the candid and non-judgmental way she depicts teen sensuality and female desire . . . Much to discuss here in the age of #metoo." -- Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author
From Carolyn Mackler, author of the Printz Honor-winning The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things , comes a story of what happens when the "happily ever after" turns out to be less than perfect.
It's been five months since sixteen-year-old Virginia Shreves thought her life was finally back on course: she has come to terms with who she is both inside and out, and she's even started to rebuild her relationship with her older brother Byron, whose date-rape charge completely shattered everything.
But just as she's getting used to the new normal, Virginia's world turns upside down again. Sparks with boyfriend Froggy Welsh the Fourth fade, her best friend Shannon bombshells bad news, and then the police arrest Byron.
As Virginia struggles to cope, she meets Sebastian, an artist with his own baggage. The pair make a pact not to share their personal dramas. But secrets have a way of coming out, and theirs have the potential to ruin everything.
In this follow-up to the acclaimed The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things , Carolyn Mackler brings Virginia's story satisfyingly full circle in a hope-filled tale of forgiveness, love, friendship, and the beauty in life's imperfections.
Author Notes
Carolyn Mackler is the acclaimed author of the YA novels The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (a Michael L. Printz Honor Book), Infinite in Between , Tangled , Guyaholic , Vegan Virgin Valentine , and Love and Other Four-Letter Words , as well as the co-author of The Future of Us. She also wrote the middle grade novel Best Friend Next Door . Carolyn lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.
carolynmackler.com
@carolynmackler
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Virginia Shreves is back in the sequel to The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. Initially, not much has changed-she and Froggy are still hot and heavy, the drama of Byron's rape charge seems to be going away, and her relationship with her parents remains tense. She misses Shannon who has moved to Spokane, but she and Alyssa have developed a friendship. The status quo changes quickly. Her feelings for Froggy have changed and she really does not want to continue their relationship. The girl Byron raped has pressed charges against him, his future is at stake, and Virginia's parents keep trying to present a perfect family facade to the world. Virginia's new crush just happens to be the brother of the girl Byron raped. Life has become complicated and uncomfortable, and Virginia finds herself unsure of what to do about all of the issues surrounding her. She continues to be a well-rounded and maturing protagonist although the same cannot be said for most of the other characters. The plot, while continuing to elaborate on events from the previous volume, gives enough background that familiarity with the first book is not necessary for enjoyment and understanding. As Virginia struggles to find herself and make the right decisions, she and the universe are truly expanding. VERDICT A welcome read for those who loved the first book, but also strong and enjoyable enough to stand alone.-Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, Denton © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Virginia Shreves is back in Mackler¿s sequel to her award-winning 2003 novel, The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. She¿s still worried about her weight, still worried about boys and finding love, but most of all worried because her brother, Byron, has just been arrested. Mackler infuses momentum into Virginia¿s story by returning to the alleged sexual assault Byron committed at Columbia, for which he faces trial and possible jail time. Virginia must parse her feelings about her brother and what he did (or may not have done)¿not an easy subject, but one that Mackler handles with sensitivity and complexity. Meanwhile, Virginia resists getting her driver¿s license and embarks on a secret romance with the brother of the woman who accused Byron of rape. Though a sense of impending doom looms over their new relationship because of the circumstances, the tension doesn¿t lead to predictable conflict. Mackler provides Virginia with plenty of opportunity for growth as she navigates romance, family difficulties, and relatable struggles with self-image. A thoughtful and engaging read. Ages 14¿up. Agent: Tina P. Schwartz, the Purcell Agency. (May)
Horn Book Review
Virginia's stressful home life becomes more so when her brother, Byron, is arrested for sexual assault. A relationship with cute Sebastian offers a welcome distraction--even after Virginia learns that his sister is Byron's accuser. Timely subject matter and the return of relatable, body-confident protagonist Virginia make this a welcome follow-up to The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A New Yorker grapples with mixed loyalties.Readers met Virginia Shreves in The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (2003). One semester on, the 16-year-old, who attends an expensive private school, has dyed her hair purple and green and wears brightly-colored bras. She's trying to reconcile her list of rules entitled "How To Make Sure Skinny Girls Aren't the Only Ones Who Have Boyfriends"a personal campaignwith no longer having feelings for her boyfriend, Froggy. Then Annie Mills, a young woman Virginia's 20-year-old brother raped last fall, unexpectedly presses charges. Byron, the brother she once idolized, now faces prison. Coincidentally, Sebastian, the dreamy blond boy Virginia meets at a bagel shop, turns out to be Annie's 17-year-old brother. Despite Annie's adamant discomfort with Virginia and Sebastian's connection, their relationship ultimately brings solace to Annie's mother. Annie's feelings on the matter are sacrificed, making the otherwise-delicious romance harder to root for. Virginia's challenges are her familycold, controlling, and image-obsessedand her own body image, which she triumphantly levels up, though eschewing the term "fat" in favor of "curvaceous chick." Her secondary romance is Manhattan, detailed and buzzing, though whiter than is realistic; Chinatown and its inhabitants are exoticized and presented as foreign. The Mills and Shreves families are white.Well-written humor and fizzy romance wrapped in an uneasy plot. (Fiction. 14-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
It's been 15 years since the release of Mackler's Printz Honor Book The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (2003), but this sequel finds 16-year-old Virginia Shreves just about where we left her. Though she's working on her self-image, it's tough being a self-proclaimed chunky chick in a family of superfit athletes. Virginia's also cooled on boyfriend Froggy, but she hesitates to break up. Then the past resurfaces: Virginia's brother Byron is arrested for date rape, and Virginia struggles to present a united front when she thinks Byron is wrong. In spite of everything, Virginia's also falling for Sebastian, a boy whose family is just as mixed-up as hers but their respective dramas may be difficult to escape. Mackler is clearly aware of how the cultural landscape has shifted since Virginia's first outing, and this smoothly joins conversations on sexual assault without sacrificing the quirks and personalities of characters readers already know. Fans new and old will enjoy watching Virginia's journey toward self-acceptance in this well-timed, thoroughly enjoyable sequel.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2018 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
First love, shocking family secrets and witches that prowl the streets of Brooklyn in three novels to kickstart summer escapes. WHAT IS THE color of love or of loss? And, more important, how might they color our lives? In her lyrical and suspenseful fantasy novel, THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER (LITTLE, BROWN; 480 PP., $18.99; AGES 14 AND UP), Emily X. R. Pan explores love, depression and suicide, and the terrible places where those three intersect. Leigh's mother, Dory, has taken her life on the very day of Leigh's first kiss with Axel, the friend that Leigh has loved for years. Leigh is driven by her art and by the way she understands emotion and events through color. So when a red bird arrives on the night of her mother's funeral, calling out her name , Leigh knows it is her mother in a new form. The bird's delivery of a box containing a jade necklace and photographs sets in motion a trip to Taipei with her American father, where she will meet family she was unaware of and finally uncover the long string of secrets that helped bring her mother to despair. The novel is chilling in its suspense in two main plot lines: how her relationship with Axel grew, and the source of her mother's depression. Pan makes the surreal events hover somewhere between magical realism and hallucination, with lush details of Leigh's time in Taipei providing an expansive look inside Taiwanese culture. With the aid of incense sticks Leigh finds in a drawer and the personal objects she must destroy in order to get to the visions of past, she is able to revisit events and memories - her own and those of her loved ones. This device can sometimes feel forced, but the larger questions it raises - how and why do we remember events? - is compelling. And the slow reveal of Leigh's relationship with Axel and the events that led to her mother's despondency offer a satisfying payoff. The anatomy of any suicide is a painful one for the survivors. But here is where Pan's novel shines most. She never shies away from the awful questions that are left in the wake of such a loss. Who is at fault? Did we love her wrong? How did we fail? But with each flashback and discovery about that long year when she was faling in love - and when her mother was falling apart-what emerges is a story about love with all its limitations and complications, and the story of how a girl and her passions can survive it. "FROGGY WELSH THE FOURTH IS trying to get inside my jeans." So begins Carolyn Mackler's the universe is expanding and SO AM I (BLOOMSBURY, 304 PP., $17.99; AGES 14 and UP), the long-awaited sequel to "The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things" (though it stands on its own, too). And what has happened to the curvaceous Virginia Shreves since last we met? Lor one thing, she's discovered that she's not willing to stick with a boyfriend at all costs, as she might have done earlier. But more important, it's time for Virginia to figure out how to survive as part of an affluent and image-obsessed New York City family. Her brother, Byron, finally faces the legal consequences of participating in a drunken date rape of Annie Mills at Columbia University. Complicating matters is that after a chance meeting at a bagel shop, Virginia starts falling in love with the one guy in the world she shouldn't be dating at all: Annie's brother, Sebastian. The themes of social and familial estrangement and body image that grounded the earlier work remain strong. Virginia's parents continue their toxic focus on body type, fitness and achievement. (This is, after all, the world of going to Harvard, country homes in Connecticut and yoga studios in your backyard - and of wondering if that pesky rape charge will be held against the family at the country club.) Classmates still make crude comments about "thick girls" and the "chubby chasers" who fall for them. Mackler captures the maddening thoughtlessness of it all as Virginia and Sebastian's love blooms during secret dates at well-known New York City locations like the High Line and the Brooklyn Bridge. Lor much of the novel, Virginia is still in mortal combat against her own insecurities and the tendency to see everyone - especially herself - through the lens of body type and beauty. And the male gaze, even from a decent guy like Sebastian, still holds power. But she is, in fact, expanding. She's aspiring, now openly, to be a writer, standing up to her parents' views and decisions , and replacing her list "How to Make Sure Skinny Girls Aren't the Only Ones Who Have Boyfriends" with a more bodypositive focus. If Byron's comeuppance might seem to fall a bit short, especially in the face of the #MeToo movement, Virginia's struggle to access her voice and her agency does not. Readers will root for her as she figures out the conflicting terrain of loving family and loving yourself at the same time. Borget your worries about the zombie apocalypse. It's the casimuertos you should really fear. IN BRUJA BORN (SOURCEBOOKS FIRE, 352 PP., $17.99; AGES 14 AND up) the latest from Zoraida Córdova, Lula Mortiz, freshly returned from her banishment to the underworld realm of Los Lagos, leads an adventure against classmates who've become the bloodthirsty undead. Lula's sweet and mere mortal boyfriend, Maks, dumps her, leaving her longing to find a way to restore things between them to how they've always been. But when a bus crash on the way to a soccer game kills the entire team - and leaves Maks in a coma - Lula, the lone survivor, makes a decision about how far she's willing to go to keep him with her. With the help of her magical sisters, Alex and Rose, she decides to use her healing powers to bring Maks back. Unfortunately, Lady La Muerte, the goddess of death, wants him, too. And magic of this kind brings unexpected consequences not just for Maks, but for all the formerly dead students. The gods - and Lulu's parents - are not at all amused. It's not long before Lula discovers the horrible choices involved in fixing things that her magic has made gravely wrong. Córdova keeps the flame on high as Lulu and her sisters strike risky deals and face demons in an effort undo their mistake. At times, the plot complications are tricky to follow - this is the second book in Cordova's "Brooklyn Brujas" series - but the action is never less than satisfying, and, more, the fantasy is cleverly anchored to the very relatable details of the novel's Latinx characters. There are truth serums disguised as cafecitos, herbs with magical powers, prayer altars and characters hailing from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Argentina. Brooklyn and all its "haunts" are on full display, too: the N train, Coney Island, Prospect Park, Bay Ridge - nowhere is safe! In Cordova's world, the Brooklyn we love is also a borough where particularly evil brujas run bakeries and where old brownstones serve as headquarters for the magical pros who keep order over all things mystical in the tristate area. Pantasy and zombie fans looking for flavor - organ-meat, in particular - will not leave disappointed. meg MEDINA is the author of "Burn, Baby, Burn" and many other books for young readers. Her next novel, "Merci Suarez Changes Gears," will be published in September.
