cover image A Lot Like You

A Lot Like You

Judith Pinsker. Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, $13.95 (164pp) ISBN 978-0-553-05445-3

Bo has long accepted the fact that she is fat. Then handsome Howard returns to school following a family tragedyhis mother has been killed in a car accident. He is seriously overweight, and when he and Bo become better acquainted, she sees their friendship primarily as an opportunity to help Howard return to ""normal.'' Only after an explosive scene does Bo grant that Howard's feelings for her may be genuine and agree to base their relationship on who he is, not on who she thinks he should be. This is a refreshingly different tack for a YA novel to take but one that ultimately falls short of its mark. Pinsker tells the story with humor and sensitivity, but Bo's lack of self-awareness is not always credible, given the many sophisticated perceptions she voices, and readers are not given sufficient insight as to Howard's motives. Ages 11-up. (February)