Claudia Mills, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves is the only imperfect member of her perfect, affluent, high-achieving, upper-West-side family--or so she thinks, until the day a devastating phone call comes to her parents about her older brother, Byron. Some of the central elements of Virginia's story are overly familiar: the fat girl who has to learn to accept her body, the e-mails to the best friend who has moved away, the child psychologist mother who understands everybody else's children except for her own. Moreover, Virginia's growing independence from her family's ideals and values manifests itself in fairly trite and stock ways: through dying her hair purple and getting her eyebrow pierced. None of this matters. The details of high school life are carefully observed in a fresh, non-cliched fashion, from the eccentric old teacher who sings corny songs for his students, to the creation of a student "webzine" where kids who don't fit in can find their own voice. The phone call regarding Byron introduces explosive and sensitive issues that are relatively new to teen fiction. Most of all, Mackler has created in Virginia such a believable, funny-voiced, deeply pained character that readers will be rooting for her every step of the way, and cheering through their tears at her new-found strength and dignity in asserting herself against her well-meaning but overbearing family. You go, girl! 2003, Candlewick, $15.99. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 12))
Froggy Welsh the Fourth is trying to get up my shirt," begins this eminently accessible journey from self-hatred to confidence. Virginia is 15 and likes fooling around with Froggy, but she's mortified by her fatness, a shame fueled continually by her emotionally distant and pressuring family. Has she been switched at birth? Why isn't she perfect like her adored, overachieving older brother? But her brother isn't perfect after all, and he commits a horrifying act that rocks her world-and prompts her to begin questioning her family's values. Readers will be rooting for Virginia all the way as she moves from isolated TV-watcher to Website-creator with purple hair and an eyebrow ring. Sexuality, refreshingly, is treated as a good thing. Virginia's emotions progress from despondence to anger, joy, and strong independence, all portrayed with clarity. An easy read with substance and spirit. 2003, Candlewick, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Michele Winship (KLIATT Review, July 2003 (Vol. 37, No. 4))
The title alone is enough to pull teens in, but the spunky narrator in Mackler's second YA novel will keep them reading. Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves is a thick girl in a thin world, and a thin family. Being 15 is tough enough, but Virginia's best friend Shannon has moved across the country, and she's trying to figure out if Froggy Welsh the Fourth is actually a boyfriend or just trying to cop a quick feel during their weekly make-out sessions. Her "perfect" family only makes matters worse. Her older, very together sister Anais is in Africa in the Peace Corps, and her brother Byron, the rugby god and straight-A student, is sailing through his sophomore year at Columbia. Her mother, the exercise fiend psychologist, is constantly trying to get her to diet, and her father constantly reminds her how pretty she'd be if she just lost weight. Virginia finds refuge at school with Ms. Crowley, a language arts teacher, and looks forward to visiting Shannon in Seattle over Thanksgiving. Then the world falls apart. Byron is kicked out of school under circumstances that shock Virginia, destroy her image of her "perfect" brother, and send her parents reeling. As she struggles to come to terms with such life-altering circumstances, Virginia realizes that she has been programmed to please others and to go with the flow, and she decides that enough is enough. She books her trip to Seattle, gets her eyebrow pierced, dyes her hair purple, and finally asserts herself to her mother. In accepting herself, she accepts the flaws that really do exist with the rest of her family, including Byron. Funny, touching, and very real, Mackler depicts both the trials and triumphs of adolescence when, like Virginia, we search for, and hopefully find, ourselves. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Candlewick, 256p., $15.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Julie Perdue (Library Media Connection, February 2004)
This is not your average, "fat girl finds faith in herself" story. Virginia has her own code of conduct, her own supportive teacher, and a real will to sort out the difference between the expectations of others and Virginia's expectations of herself to be happy. Common elements in many young adult novels are here: a recently moved best friend, an ambiguous romantic relationship with a male classmate, and the sense of being the "imperfect" child. Virginia's mother is a fascinating character study-the famous teen psychologist whose relationship with her teen daughter is mediocre at best. Readers will empathize with very real affronts to Virginia's sense of self and her own internal battle with her weight versus using food to cope with stress and disappointment. There are refreshing twists to this novel. One twist-original, daring, and very believable-is the fallout from her college student brother's accusation of date rape on campus. Not only did he commit the date rape and move back home, but also Virginia has to rewrite how she views each member of her family because of it and actually meets the victim. Multifaceted, buoyant, and consistent, this solid young adult novel is a must purchase. Highly Recommended. 2003, Candlewick Press, 246pp., $15.99 hc. Ages 12 up.

Vicki Arkoff (Midwest Book Review, "Vicki's Bookshelf" column, November 2003)
Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and a plus-size inferiority complex. She spends all her time on the Web, snarfs junk food and follows the "Fat Girl Code of Conduct." Her stuttering best friend has just moved to Walla Wall, of all places, and her new companion, Froggy Welsh the Fourth has just succeeded in getting his hand up her shirt so Virginia fears he'll next look underneath. In her newest young adult novel, Carolyn Mackler ("Love and Other Four-Letter Words") gets inside the head of an endearingly blunt heroine whose story will speak volumes to teens struggling with their own insecurities and family issues. After all, the other Shreves have their own weighty issues: Mom is an exercise fiend, dad ogles thin women, and older siblings are slim gods. Compared to Virginia they're all picture perfect, but then a shocking phone call changes everything. Mackler's irreverent humor, insight and surprising gravity has created a more-substantial-than-most "chick lit" novel for girls age 14 and up. 2003, Candlewick Press, 246 pages, $15.99.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2003 (Vol. 57, No. 2))
Virginia is lonely and uncertain; her best friend has moved across the country, her talented brother has gone off to college, and her gifted sister has gone off to the Peace Corps, leaving overweight, unaccomplished Virginia with her hard-driving parents. She’s so convinced that her weight makes her unworthy that she’s got a list, "The Fat Girl Code of Conduct," which bitterly sets out her limited expectations and firmly decrees that her exciting sexual grapplings with one Froggy Welsh III ("Go further than skinny girls. Find ways to alert him to this") can never translate into any public relationship ("Any sexual activity is a secret"). When her brother gets kicked out of college for date-rape and her family struggles to adjust, however, Virginia realizes that her perfect family is itself deeply flawed, that she’s not the sole fallible member, and that she has a right to find her own persona even if it conflicts with her parents’ expectations. This isn’t exactly untrodden ground, plot- and character-wise, and some of the proceedings are a trifle clichéd, but Mackler writes with a clarity and impact that lifts her material above the ordinary ("Sometimes my parents are so sure of what’s best for me that I don’t stop to think about what I really want"). The book is knowing about the relationship between image and self-image, and there’s genuine understanding and a welcome absence of condescension in Virginia’s exhilarating change of style as she moves from being her formerly fat mother’s frumpy plus-size proxy to a cool chick at her current size, complete with piercings, purple hair, and thrift-store wardrobe. It’s no particular surprise that Virginia has underestimated Froggy and his genuine affection, but Virginia’s gone through so much to become her own kind of princess that readers will be pleased to see her find her frog. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Candlewick, 256p, $15.99. Grades 7-10.

Monica Irwin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 4))
Virginia Shreves is a sixteen-year-old girl with a problem many girls have. She is overweight. And all of her family is thin and beautiful and smart, so she has always wondered if she was adopted. Virginia has a male friend who she likes kissing but isn’t sure whether he just likes the kissing or actually likes her. Another problem for Virginia is that her best friend, Shannon, has moved all the way across the country. Now Virginia must learn to make friends or learn to hide out in the restroom during lunch. When Virginia’s older brother commits a horrible act at his college and returns home to live again, Virginia must learn to cope with her own anger. Her parents are no help since they seem to have trouble accepting that the wonderful Byron could have done something so awful. Virginia is a thoroughly likable girl who is a realistic character. The problem she faces could be faced by most of today’s girls. Her voice is seen clearly through her narration of events and also through her list of rules which she calls, “The Fat Girl Code of Conduct.” This book is definitely for the more mature reader. It is not a book for everyone, and yet it will be a valuable asset to any high school collection. The characters are real, and the story may enable the reader to learn more about self-acceptance and judging others based upon their appearance. This heartwarming tale is one that will open the eyes of readers to the feelings of those with a lack of self-esteem. One can learn from this book while enjoying the story. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades High school. 2003, Candlewick, 246p., $15.99. Ages 14 to 18.

Jamie S. Hansen (VOYA, October 2003 (Vol. 26, No. 4))
Virginia Shreves has some serious issues with which to deal. Her body and her inferiority complex are both larger than average. Her best friend just moved away from home in New York City to Walla Walla, Washington, and just might forget Virginia completely. Froggy, her potential boyfriend, is a great kisser, but he never speaks to her outside their Monday afternoon trysts. Worst of all, she is convinced that she was switched at birth because her family is a collection of thin, bright overachievers. Her adolescent psychologist mother is a diet and exercise fanatic, and her jet-setting father openly prefers skinny women. Byron and Anais, Virginia's older brother and sister, are slim, brilliant, and successful-hard acts to follow. Subtract the oddball Virginia from the equation and this fabulous foursome equals a perfect family. At least they seem perfect until an unspeakable act and a telephone call change everything, and Virginia learns that people are not always what they seem. Mackler allows Virginia to narrate the story of her family's destruction and struggle for redemption in a voice that is dead-on, whether sassy and self-assured or agonized and self-destructive. Hilarious, insecure, hopeful, clueless-Virginia is a treasure. All readers will wish they could tell her that themselves. From the eye-catching silver foil cover, with title graphics looking like lipstick, to the upbeat ending, this novel is a required purchase for public library young adult collections. The occasional use of strong language and a few mild sexual allusions are appropriate and well done. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Candlewick, 256p, $15.99. Ages 15 to 18.