Many of our readers know
the award-winning filmmaker and author, e. E. Charlton-Trujillo, from her young
adult novels, FEELS
LIKE HOME and PRIZEFIGHTER EN MI CASA.
We were delighted to get
an advanced ready copy (ARC) of her newest young adult novel, FAT
ANGIE which releases March 12, and to share this copy with one our YA Fresh commenters!
Her sister was captured in Iraq, she’s the resident laughingstock at school, and her therapist tells her to count instead
of eat. Can a daring new girl in her life really
change anything?
“Charlton-Trujillo offers a hard-hitting third novel that swings between incredibly painful low moments and hard-won victories.” Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review
* * * * *
While we don’t often
review books on YA Fresh, I was already a fan of e. E. Charlton-Trujillo’s
writing, and became captivated by the publisher’s blurb referring to it as a “darkly
comic anti-romantic romance,” so I jumped right in as soon as the book arrived.
Right from the get-go, it’s clear that Angie’s problems far
outweigh the average teen’s. She feels
“broken--by her can’t-be-bothered mother, by her high-school tormenters, and by
being the only one who thinks she varsity-athlete-turned-war-hero sister is
still alive.” She has attempted suicide inside the crowded school gym.
Her only solace is junk food--until a new girl, KC, arrives at school
who “is one hundred and ninety-nine percent wow...and who knows too well that
the package doesn’t always match what’s inside.”
FAT ANGIE wasn’t an easy book for me to absorb. I put it down a few times to get a breather
from the high-arcing tension and the characters who could have helped her, yet whose
actions exacerbated Angie’s problems and pain.
Keeping the pages turning through the tough scenes for me was Charlton-Trujillo’s spot-on, wry
prose, and the strong attachment she’d helped me develop to Angie, making me
want to be there for this girl when
others weren’t, and to root her on to the happiness I knew she would find, through
KC, and her own evolving character.
With an age range of 14 and up, I give a full “five stars” to this tough,
yet compelling read.
And I’d like to share a couple “teaser” photos from the book
trailer currently in progress, which I believe to be showing the actresses playing
Angie, and some of her high school tormenters.
When the trailer is available, I’ll be sure to post it here
for full viewing.
So now, for our giveaway.
Please drop down and leave us a comment, simply telling us why you’d like
to win a ARC of FAT ANGIE!
