Food, Girls, & Other Things I Can't Have (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
Andy's parents are divorcing. His father is a high powered attorney. To him time is money and Andy can't help feeling that his dad sees their phone conversations in billable amounts. Andy finds comfort in food and overeats to deal with his emotions. It probably doesn't help that his mom is a caterer. His younger sister deals with her own food issues, too. When Andy is sort of befriended by the popular quarterback, he decides to break out of his "fat boy brainiac" stereotype by trying out for the football team. He makes the team and through that experience learns that the "in crowd" may not be all it seems to be. A very sweet and realistic story about an extremely overweight teen trying to find his way in high school. Probably the best book I've read, this book was so powerful to me ... I believe that every teen who is going through trouble can relate to this book, and Andrew isn't alone. Zadoff was so powerful in this novel, and this was such a touching story that anything else didn't matter when I was reading about Andrew's struggles. To be a teen and be 300 pounds must be hard, but even if it isn't a weight problem, every teen can relate to the normal adolescent problems the book displayed in some way. Zadoff truly perfected the craft of a teen novel.
What do You think about Food, Girls, & Other Things I Can't Have (2000)?
For some reason, I liked it better than The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things.
—ERCCRE123
i like the book. it was funny and entertaining, which is why i finished it in 3 days!
—Amie
