REVIEW #155: 45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. Barson

Title: 45 Pounds (More or Less)
Author: K.A. Barson
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Release Date: July 11th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 272 pages
Source: Library

Summary from Goodreads:
Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:

She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her Aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks, and wants Ann to be her bridesmaid.
So Ann makes up her mind: Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less) in 2 1/2 months.

Welcome to the world of infomercial diet plans, wedding dance lessons, embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—-and some surprises about her NOT-so-perfect mother.

And there’s one more thing. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin-—no matter how you add it up!

Unfortunately, 45 Pounds predictability really put a damper on this short, easy to read book. Just short of 300 pages, the story flew by but ultimately left me disappointed.

A lot of topics and scenes in the book seemed stereotypical and cliché. My biggest headshake/eye roll moment was when Anne went to a party and had her drinks spiked…. Guess what happened…. If you guessed she got sick all over the cute guy she liked, you win!

I completely understand and can see the parts of the story where she feels made fun of at school by mean girls and then struggling with her mother’s skinniness. The rough relationship with her dad, his transgressions, and divorced parents felt a bit forced into the storyline. I also felt that the humor was not great. Not to say some parts of the story were not funny, they were funny; it is just they were not laugh out loud funny or at the level of humor I was expecting.

I did like the friendship aspects of the story. Anne’s personal journey allowed her to better connect with a new friend and her mother. I think it gave a good message of allowing Anne to see that there is a right kind of friend, the supportive friend who can help you through struggles and does not judge you.

Overall I think my biggest issue was this story was geared toward a younger YA reader and was very predictable. The humor was forced and felt a bit juvenile. I felt that the main character was all over the place and the true message of the story was buried under a whole lot of drama and unnecessary side stories.