Picture yourself in a lounge chair wearing sunglasses, next to a glistening body of water, with a tall glass of sweet tea. Or a mint julep, if you prefer. This book is in your hands, and you will be unable to put it down. Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, a novel by Stephanie McAfee, is a book that you will give to a girlfriend to read, who will give it to another girlfriend, and so on, until it comes back to you with a broken spine, dog-eared and wavy from water damage.
Ace Jones does NOT lead a charmed life. Hence the word “mad” in the title. Not only does her best friend back out of a planned vacation to Panama City Beach at the last minute, but she risks losing her job because of her ill-tempered principal. Her other best friend is stuck in a love-less marriage, which has gone from verbally abusive to physically abusive. Throw in Ace’s tendency to devour pizza and guzzle beer when she’s upset, and you’ll know why she’s mad and fat.
Ace deals with all these problems and more in a hilarious way. Hilarious to the reader, that is. Ace’s love life is also full of twists and turns. Should she be with the coach she had an affair with, the surprisingly wealthy biker she met in the parking lot of a strip club, or her childhood sweetheart?? Warning to readers…this book does delve into explicit adult themes.
I had trouble with the descriptions of Ace as a teacher (no teacher can take a sick day on the spur of the moment without sub plans, and it seems as though Ace doesn’t teach in the entire book). I also felt like the book was about a hundred pages too long. I read the paperback edition, which had been expanded to 353 pages as opposed to the original 125 page ebook. While perhaps those extra pages improved the story, I felt the ending dragged on for too long.
Overall, though, Diary of a Mad Fat Girl was a quick, easy read, perfect for Spring Break.
Join the Diary of a Mad Fat Girl at BlogHer Book Club!
Disclosure: I was compensated for this BlogHer Book Club review but all opinions expressed are my own.
I actually read that book about a year ago. I didn't like it AT ALL. The characters were completely overwritten as stereotypical, like her friend's husband who gets away with abuse until the very end, very overtly, as if the author wants you to see him getting away with it and everyone knows what he did, even the police officer standing right there.. And the heroine needs some anger management therapy herself. I had queued up another book by the author, but canceled after finishing this one. It just wasn't worth the effort.
I agree…the main character definitely needs anger management classes! You must have read the shorter version…my book went on for quite a long time after Chloe left her husband. You definitely won't want to read the 350 page version!
My recent post Diary of a MAD fat Girl {BlogHer Book Club}
I usually like light reading books like that, so I'm sure I'd love this one. So glad you shared it!~
My recent post Show & Tell What You Eat!
It is a light, fun read!
My recent post Diary of a MAD fat Girl {BlogHer Book Club}
Oh the title got me….too funny…it also seemed to fit into my "Hooky" post…where I was escaping. I am not much of a fiction reader…and I am needing to read more fictions…so thanks for the review
Blessings to you and yours!
My recent post It is Time for Playing Hooky
I don't think I would be buying this book anytime soon. For some reason I have moved away from books like this to 'old-fashioned' books like this (ie set in the olden days).
I wrote about Anne of Green Gables last week…have you ever read that book? It's one of my favorites!!
My recent post Elaine, Anne, and The Band Perry
I'll have to check it out!
My recent post Friday Five: The perfect Spring Break
I’m feeling a little like the title right now with food cravings and giving in! 🙂 Thank you for your honest review. I’ll wait for the movie and turn the ClearPlayer on full force! lol
Sounds like an interesting book… Have to agree, no teacher I know of would take a day off w/o sub plans. I always hated not being in my classroom, wondering what was going on…lol..
I have to join in on the book club!