Fat Cat

Oh. My. (Insert deity of your choice here). This is the first book I've read in a while that made me stay up 'till one AM just to finish it. I kept getting busted in class for taking it out and reading it while the teacher was talking, too. It's so good, I can't even tell you. I started it on Monday and finished it in the early hours of Tuesday, and that's not a thin book. I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. Okay, sorry. I'm raving incoherently. On to the review of Fat Cat by Robin Brande.
Cat, a junior in high school, is fat. There's no other way to say it. However, on the flipside she's sassy, fun, smart, and has a great mind for science. This year, she's taking the dreaded/anticipated science class that either makes or breaks your chances in the science field after college. Students blindly pick out a picture from National Geographic and the like, and have to build a seven-month project around that. Cat, hoping for some bug or something that she already knows about, is dismayed when she gets a picture of early humans- Homo erectus. Inspiration strikes, though, when she takes a look at how fit they are: what if that early lifestyle that the hominins ate was the reason they were so, well, skinny? She gets an idea to use herself as a guinea pig; for seven months she'll live as closely as possible to the early hominins. That means giving up technology, eating what would have been available at that time, and adopting the lifestyle. Well, not the live-in-a-cave-hunt-for-meat aspect, but walking everywhere and forgoing makeup, junk food, etc. Supported by her best friend Amanda and spurred on by a need to avenge herself against the guy who broke her heart, Cat has to learn how to live without caffeine, a car, and the internet for half a year. What ensues is hilarious, thought-provoking, and enlightening at times.
Okay, can I say again how awesome this book is? Just kidding, I don't need your permission. Hahahaha! Now you have to be subjected to my endless praise of how good this book is. First of all, I loved that throughout the whole book I never really knew where the plot would go or what would happen next. It kept me on my toes right up until the end. Secondly, every character was really well-written, and incredibly multi-dimensional. You can't help but fall in love with them. I think this would appeal to any girl, no matter your size or shape. It's a truly phenomenal book. You're crazy if you don't read it. So go! Pick it up at Kettleson or Mt. Edgecumbe!