Fat Girl On a Plane

Gr 10 Up—This debut novel offers a unique perspective of a weight loss journey. Aspiring fashion designer Cookie Vonn is fed up with being overweight. She is 330 pounds. She feels her weight has caused her supermodel mother to neglect her and her best friend Tommy to stick her permanently in the friend zone. And being fat ensures that her nemesis and her boss's daughter Kennes ridicules her every chance she gets. The last straw comes when Cookie is forced to pay for an extra ticket on a flight to New York where she's applying for a dream job. She decides that losing weight will force the world to treat her better, and she will feel better about herself. After losing 199 pounds, Cookie finally understands that losing weight is not what she needs to feel better about herself. The novel is told in alternating time lines from Cookie's pre- and post—weight loss perspectives. This is a realistic portrayal of the frustrations of weight loss and size acceptance, complete with realistic and authentic depictions of sex, body positivity, and ambition.