Teenage Waistland

Gr 9 Up—"Your weight is not your problem, it's merely a symptom," says the psychiatrist to a group of teens approved for surgical weight loss. The statement does not immediately stick, even though, prior to their gastric surgery, Bobby had felt the strain of living up to his father's expectations and football legacy, Marcie harbored resentment toward her new stepfamily, and East still mourns her father's suicide and her mother's retreat from the world. Throughout the teens' operations, recovery, and drastic changes in diet, their problems become more complicated as they shed pounds. While these numerous betrayals, revealed secrets, and tragic losses threaten to overwhelm readers, they effectively illustrate the various health risks and emotional consequences involved with the procedure. One senses that the authors felt a need to get all the information out there, and though this results in the characters occasionally straying into medical lecture speak, their internal journeys and external transformations help drive the narrative. An afterword from the director of the Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center is included.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library