Trigger Warning: Fat shaming, bullying, eating disorders

Today I’m reviewing the book Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven, a romantic young adult coming of age book. 

The book is about Libby Stout the heaviest teen in America and Jack Masselin a boy with prosopagnosia which is a neurological disorder where a person can’t recognise faces. The book delves into the everyday lives of the characters and the struggles they face with their assorted difficulties with navigating the world. 

The chapters are divided between their points of view, they are meant to be equal but I find Jack’s chapters have a depth that Libby’s does not have. As characterised as the heaviest teen in America I would expect the book to delve into binge eating disorder but they don’t talk about this and only have a brief moment of binge eating relapse. I have found from my research that an eating disorder is similar to another person and not delving into this part of the person is a great disservice to the character progression, there are a few mentions of food rules but otherwise an eating disorder is never mentioned. While Jack on the other hand we get a spotlight focus on his prosopagnosia getting a confirmed diagnosis and the challenges that he faces such as kissing the wrong girl, having trouble in basketball games and the accidental kidnapping incident.  

The quirks and characteristics of the characters make them distinct and become memorable to the reader. Each has a distinct voice and character design so you won’t accidentally mistake one character for another, they both have strong voices and so do the supporting characters in their vapidness, in their shyness and their youth that is present in the text that make you want to knock the character out in flights of anger.

This is presented in such lines as:

• “It’s called Fat Girl Rodeo…you go up to some fat girl and throw yourself around her like you’re riding a bull and you hold on as tight as you can…and whoever holds on longest wins.” (pg.49) “What do you get if you win the rodeo?”. “You win.” 
• “Why did you hit him?” “I was mad.”

You can practically feel the immaturity radiating off the page and the peer pressure that follows along. 

Despite infuriating lines, the book has a wonderful flow to it, the short chapters means that a person with ADHD does not get as bored easily and the language is written for the target market so you won’t get stuck on a word. There are flashback scenes but these chapters are distinct so you won’t get lost in the past which is just as important as the present and the message they create.  

The themes of the book can be reduced to the serenity prayer, “Oh, God, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what can not be helped, and insight to know the one from the other.” For Jack it’s his face blindness that comes from an injury when he was a child and Libby with her weight that is completely in her control. The book goes further into this by making the distinction with the main character Libby and her goal of losing weight and her fear of dying from an aneurysm that her mother died of when she was a child. The problems these two characters face brings them together.

The best way to describe the romance between Jack and Libby is enemies to lovers. Through peer pressure Jack does something stupid which makes Libby more than a little frustrated with him and through a series of forced activities they fall in love but there are difficulties. The thing about being overweight is that it makes you a target and who you go out with makes them a target as well. Libby knows a lot about bullying as she was targeted in elementary school by people based on her looks and Jack has to decide after years of blending whether or not to stand out and Libby is not one for being small.

Libby is a big girl, according to herself and with that label fat shaming is a big part of the story. It carries through every page with the inner thoughts of Libby and her in her actions to being shamed and her reaction to the shame which are a refreshing read if a little cringey.

I give this book two smiley faces with a recommendation to borrow this book rather than buy it. Remember to like and subscribe.