One snowy January morning, my old high school teacher and I met at a retro themed diner to catch up. After seeing each on a near daily basis for the last four years, then going through a three month, 2,000 mile separation, we needed to give each other recaps on our lives... or more specifically, recaps on our literary lives. Her recommendation was a book that she was in the process of reading which she said had the ability to make her both laugh and cry. If the prospect of whiplash emotions wasn't enough to sell me, then the plot absolutely was. On my next Target trip, I made sure to pick up my own (signed) copy of Jennifer Niven's Holding Up the Universe.
Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
What Made Me Read This Book? Ms. Zini has an incredible taste in books. I would trust her literary recommendations without a second thought (with the exception of one 9th grade book). But the plot is what truly sold me.
Libby was en route to having her own TLC special. Tipping the scales at nearly 600 lbs at only 13 years old (her weight almost 46x her age), Libby needed a serious intervention to lift her out of the hole which her grief buried her in. And she got it. Literally and figuratively. Jack has it all. Looks, personality, popularity. He has everything except the ability to remember faces. Self-diagnosed with a rare disease which rids him of the ability to remember what people look like, Jack survives by using his swag to mask the fact the he cannot remember the faces of anyone in his life, even his own mother. When these two very different people find their worlds colliding after a strange domino effect, they realize that they may in fact be sharing somewhat similar burdens, and that holding up the universe may be a little easier when you have someone to hold it up with you.
My Rating: ✯✯✯✯ - I've read my fair share of love centered books, but never had I come across one such as this. Though I was familiar with the high school setting, the characters and their experiences bring new life to the traditional trope. I was both pleasantly surprised and completely devastated during this novel depending on which chapter I was on. Its the roller coaster that kept me turning the pages.
Why? I am not an overweight, white female dealing with debilitating grief. Nor am I a half-black, half-white male with a facial recognition disorder. But while reading this novel, I felt so connected to these characters that I could have been both. Niven's dual POV allows the reader to truly feel immersed in the mind of each main character, seeing (or not seeing) whatever they did. I've always known that there is more than what meets the eye with everyone I meet, and this book completely re-solidified that notion. Each character was completely judged off of their exteriors, with no one taking the time to dig deeper - everyone only saw what they wanted to see. This may be behavior expected from teenagers, but even the adults fell victim to the destructive habit. Libby lives life with everyone noticing her weight first, then stopping there not bothering to get to know her any further. Jack doesn't let anyone look to close in fear of being ostracized for a condition he has no control over. Though their particular struggles are some of the most unique that I've read in a while, their feelings of isolation and wants to be accepted are universal. And their dance breaks are amazing.
Favorite Quote: "People are shitty for a lot of reasons. Sometimes they're just shitty people... Sometimes they choose to be shitty to others before others can be shitty to them. So its like self-defensive shittiness... You just don't be shitty"
Hint for next week: Fans write the best fiction