Module 15 - The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Bibliographic Information

Mackler, C. (2003). The earth, my butt, and other big round things. Cambridge: Candlewick Press.

Summary

Virginia Shreves felt like she didn’t belong with her perfect, smart, and thin family.  She thought that she must have been switched with another baby at the hospital the day she was born.  Virginia was upset with herself most of the time because she was fat, had trouble in school and hated athletics.  She often hurt herself, but never enough for anyone to see.  She wrote a fat girl’s code of conduct and rated herself just a little above a dork.

If it weren’t for a wonderful teacher, who understood her feelings, Virginia would have quit school.  School was a struggle, not only with her classes, but being around super-thin girls who make cruel remarks about her.  Her best friend Shannon had just moved, so Virginia felt alone.  Virginia would spend her lunch hour in the bathroom, sitting in a stall, eating Twinkies and reading a magazine.  She wanted to stay away from the crowded lunchroom, where she never had anyone to sit with.  One day she heard three girls talking about her.  One said that she would rather be dead than to be as fat as Virginia.

Virginia liked a boy named Froggy, who played the trombone for the school band.  He started coming over every Monday afternoon.  They enjoyed being together, but they never went anywhere but her bedroom.  She enjoyed his attention, letting him kiss her or place his hand under her blouse.  She always locked the bedroom door, but her parents were never home early.  She was afraid to even speak to him in school because she thought he didn’t want anyone to know they were spending time together.

Her parents should have had some idea about how she felt, but with their busy careers, they didn’t seem to notice.  They did, however, make little remarks about her weight and compared her to Byron, her handsome college brother and Anais, her beautiful skinny sister.  Byron had always been the one who understood Virginia.  Before he went to college they spent hours together.  She adored him.  Anais was older and had joined the Peace Corp.  She was far away in Africa, so Virginia didn’t get to talk to her.

One day, Virginia and Froggy were kissing and making out pretty heavy when her mother came home.  Froggy had to hide under her bed.  Her mom came in and told her to get ready to go for a doctor’s appointment that she had made for her.  When Virginia asked why, her mother told her that she was too fat and needed some help.  Virginia was so embarrassed because she knew Froggy had heard what her mother said.

Virginia went to see Doctor Love and it really wasn’t that bad.  He was very kind and encouraged her to try to be healthy and active.  Virginia started a diet that day.  It was so hard, but she kept at it for several weeks.  Her dad promised her a shopping trip.  Virginia hated to shop.  Her mother always took her to a large size shop called Salon Z where the clothes looked like they were made for an old grandmother.  She wanted something younger and not so plain.

One evening, Virginia was watching TV with her dad while her mother was at exercise class.  Virginia enjoyed being with him, but it was rare.  He always spent his leisure hours with her mother playing golf or traveling.  He usually took Byron to football and basketball games when his office had tickets.  They were having a great time when her dad got a phone call from the college dean where Byron attended.  Byron had been accused of date rape and was being suspended from college.  He would have to move home immediately.  The whole family was shocked.

Virginia couldn’t believe what her brother had done.  It was hard for her to even look at him.  Byron was rude to Virginia after he moved back home, but she didn’t care.  She had had this illusion of him being so great and popular and now she didn’t know what to think.  She got off her diet, and began eating all the time.  She avoided Froggy.  She was just too embarrassed and felt she couldn’t handle any more hurt in her life.

On Thanksgiving, Virginia’s friend Shannon invited her for a weekend in Seattle.  Her parents told her she could not go because they were trying to keep things as normal as possible with Byron’s trouble at college.  A family holiday together was her mother’s idea, but Virginia couldn’t stand to be around Byron.  She was determined to go and purchased her own plane ticket.  When the time came, she insisted they take her to the airport.  Her mother even called the airline to get a refund, but it was too late.  They finally let her go.

When Virginia got to Seattle, she felt like a burden had been lifted.  She and Shannon talked for hours.  They ran around Seattle and enjoyed their time together.  Virginia didn’t even think about her weight.  She enjoyed being friendly and talking to everyone.  Virginia began to feel good about herself.  They decided to do something to commemorate their weekend together.  Virginia gets an eyebrow ring.  Shannon gets her tongue pierced.  “I can’t believe it,” Virginia kept repeating as she stared at her reflection.  It was like she was seeing herself for the first time and it felt very good.  She thought it made her look “unique and interesting”.

Things at home weren’t going too well.  Virginia and her mom were making a lot of snippy comments back and forth.  Her mom even asked her to remove the eyebrow ring, but Virginia told her that “It’s here to stay”.  They go on a shopping trip to a teen shop.  Virginia needed something dressy to wear to one of her mother’s annual Christmas parties.  Nothing seems to fit and the saleslady suggests Salon Z.  Virginia gets so upset, he mom leaves the store.  Virginia kicks the wall leaving an indentation.  She started sobbing and kicks it again breaking her toe.

The next day at school, Virginia can hardly walk.  She decided to go see Dr. Love.  Her toe was broken, so he tapes it up and starts asking her questions about her activities.  He told her that weight is really not the problem.  It’s about feeling good about yourself regardless of your body type.  He suggested that when her toe healed she might try kickboxing.  He said that it was an activity which could help to release anger and build strength and flexibility.

Virginia goes shopping on her own and finds a purple dress that she loves.  Even the saleslady said that it was perfect.  When she brings it home, her mom tells her that purple doesn’t go with her hair.  Virginia decides to go purchase hair dye that matches her dress.  Mom has a fit when she sees the purple hair, but Virginia just grins.  Virginia makes an impressive entrance when she goes to her mom’s Christmas party.  Everyone gushes over her eyebrow ring, purple dress, and hair.  On the way home from the party, her mom tells her that she wished that she would have had the nerve to try something like purple hair when she was younger.  This made Virginia feel very good.

For a New Year’s resolution, she had vowed to do something good for her body and soul.  Virginia starts a kickboxing class.  She couldn’t stand to think about starting another diet.  She is actually excited about going back to school after the holiday break.  She has a plan to start a webzine where people can talk about whatever is on their minds, and has several students who are interested in helping her with this project

Everyone likes her purple hair and even the skinny girls compliment her eyebrow ring.  She even has the nerve to speak to Froggy in front of some people in the hall.  She finally decides not to let her big size ruin or control her life.  She breaks a few rules on her fat girl’s code of conduct and realizes that things are not as bad as she had made them out to be.

Impressions

A lot of memories of my teenage years came back to me as I read this book.  I felt so much pain for Virginia.  Teens have so much pressure, regardless of their size, and they struggle with self esteem and low self-image.  There were a few sexual issues in this story, but with careful wording it didn’t sound too vulgar.  I would recommend this story for older teens.

Reviews

"You can tell that Ani is angry, but at the same time she's also funny and strong and sassy." Though she's talking about punk folksinger Ani DiFranco, fifteen-year-old Virginia could easily be describing herself. Unfortunately, Virginia buries her anger (toward her picture-perfect but dysfunctional family) and is unable to see herself as anything but a fat girl who's kind of smart. When her brother Byron, whom she worships, is found guilty of date rape, Virginia finally begins to acknowledge what her older sister Anais has tried to tell her: that Byron and their parents are far from perfect. Virginia's transition from an insecure girl desperate for her family's approval to a confident young woman might be a little messagey, but it's believable, and she doesn't do it on her own. Support comes from her best friend, from a teacher with eating-disorder experience, from a doctor who stresses health not weight and recommends channeling anger through kick-boxing, and even from the college student her brother assaulted. Readers will cheer Virginia on when she tells her father not to comment on her weight loss ("my body [is] just not yours to discuss"); tells her brother he's "an asshole for date-raping someone"; ignores clothing advice from her appearance-obsessed mother (who recommends "strategic layers and camouflaging colors") and buys a sexy purple dress instead; and realizes that the guy she's been making out with behind closed doors actually wants to kiss her in public. Mackler does a fine job introducing girls to a very cool chick with a little meat on her bones.

(2003, September/October). [Review of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things]. Horn Book. Retrieved from http://www.hbook.com/magazine/reviews/single/sep03_mackler.asp

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. (Fiction. YA)

(2003, June 15). [Review of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/childrens-books/carolyn-mackler/the-earth-my-butt-and-other-big-round-things/?spdy=2003#review

Library Use

Librarians could use this book in a book club for teen girls discussing issues that teenage girls face.

Book Trailer by Diana Pemberton