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The melting of Maggie Bean -
Tricia Rayburn
Simon & Schuster, 250p., $5.99. 2007 Reviews:
- Amanda MacGregor (KLIATT Review, May 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 3))
Seventh-grader Maggie Bean has just found out that she weighs 186 pounds. She knows she gained a lot of weight in the past year, but is appalled to see exactly how much. The only way she can get through each week is by stocking up on candy at the drugstore and drowning her sorrows in chocolate all day long. Concerned about her health, Maggie’s parents make her start attending Pound Patrol meetings with her Aunt Violetta. Maggie is not thrilled about being forced to sit around with people much older than her and talk about weight issues. Luckily, she meets Arnie, a boy her age who also attends the meetings. His humor and kindness win her over, giving her a new friend for the first time in quite a while. The meetings do nothing to help her problem, but Maggie has her own plan. Organization and setting goals are Maggie’s strengths, so she draws up a plan for losing the weight. The strength of the story lies in the characters. Maggie is a strong, determined, and infinitely likeable girl. She is rendered with such realism that her personality practically jumps off the page. She struggles with her weight, has setbacks in her plan, and experiences a gamut of emotions as she tries to make herself over. The supporting characters of Aimee, Arnie, and Peter, Maggie’s crush, are all just as well-thought-out as Maggie. They are nuanced and realistic, providing nice counterpoints to the shallow, catty girls who are peripheral characters. Even though Maggie intends to pull off her weight loss plan alone, she is surrounded by caring friends who only want her to be happy, no matter what her weight. Readers will root for Maggie in this engaging, earnest story. Category: Paperback Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2007, Simon & Schuster, 250p., $5.99. Ages 12 to 15.
| Language | Call Number | LCCN | Dewey Decimal | ISBN/ISSN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English (eng) | - |
1416933484 9781416933489 |