Something's Wrong with Your Scale

From the author of the Blackboard bestseller Beeperless Remote comes a lighthearted tale of self-discovery and weight loss. Overweight African-American Sonny ""Chubbs"" Walker is in serious denial about his food obsession and his portly new proportions. He's a sweet-natured, down-to-earth wanna-be Buppie, who's just been dumped by his girlfriend after putting on more than 75 pounds. In hopes of winning back his lady and getting a promotion from his current embarrassing position as ""loose balls"" section manager at Sports Authority, Sonny decides to join FutraSystems weight loss center, where he develops a friendship with fellow dieter Kayla Jennings, a sassy and successful entrepreneur. Sonny is attracted to Kayla, but his deluded ego just can't accept the fact that she's a ""big girl,"" and his buddies, Chet and E, prove themselves to be shallow, wise-cracking goofballs as they advise Sonny not to date Kayla. Sonny grapples with his buddies' opinions and gradually comes to terms with some of the real issues around losing weight: health, feeling good about oneself, and loving someone for who they are. Weight discrimination is a strong and humorously illuminated theme, as Kayla and Sonny are derided by waiters in restaurants, saleswomen in plus-size clothing stores, co-workers, bosses and even each other. Whitfield's hip-hop narrative style places us squarely within Sonny's world, and issues of self-esteem and consumerism are reflected with a very '90s glut of name brand and media references. Rife with the obvious ""fat jokes"" and an uplifting message about finding happiness in neither food nor fitness alone, this book doesn't take itself too seriously, and its good-natured tone makes for an entertaining, if fluffy, feel-good romance. (Feb.)