Sugar

There is a lot of pain with important discussions to consider, like body-shaming, bullying, the various forms of abuse, etc. But sometimes it felt like the author was trying to drive the points home too hard or wanted to create horrific scenes for shock value only. The book touched on enabling, meth usage, and mental illness but did not cover any of those to a degree I would have liked. While Sugar ends her story on a high note, the end gives a message that fat people can only find love and happiness in weight loss and better lifestyle choices like exercise and diet. It's a well-meaning message, but it's also insulting. Fat people deserve to be loved no matter why they're fat or if they are trying to lose weight. Even loved Sugar for who she was, and their relationship was sweet and wonderful to read for the most part. The last 15% of the book left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Props to the author for not including numbers in this story about weight.

I got this book as a free Kindle download, so I gave it a try. Trope after trope is trotted out, and the book feels tired by the 5th chapter. If the author cut the number of times that she referred to the protagonist as fat in half, it would still be too often to contribute positively to the plot. Enter the new kid from out of town who takes an unusual interest and you have just this complete cliche. The feminist in me hates that Sugar needs the attention of this boy to feel worthwhile. In the end, self-empowerment is, I suppose, a worthy goal for a book, and it's true that the unlikely duo might appeal to a starry-eyed YA reader, but as an adult, I'm glad I didn't pay for the book. I gave 2 stars because if you knew a 13 year old girl struggling with weight she might still enjoy the book, and there is a dearth of overweight characters in non-fiction for girls to relate to.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. But this reads like a person who has never been fat and it sounds insincere. Fat girls desrve stories where people who like them get to experience love. They deserve stories where they aren't the punch line. The deserve stories where they being told that can be both fat AND beautiful. It is possible FYI. I was really hoping that this would be a story where the fat girl doesn't have to lose a bunch of weight at the end to feel like she is worth a damn. After Sugar has magically transformed herself into a "curvy girl with fat only in the right places" she only then suddenly realizes that weight doesn't really matter. I thought this was lazy and unrealistic. The truth is, if Sugar were to gain all the weight back she would go back to back to being self-loathing and pathetic. She didn't teach us anything. To any fat girl reading this: Life doesn't start when you've reached your goal weight. Life is happening now. So you should wear what you want to wear now and eat what you want. Fall in love now if you want to. Weight doesn't have to be a crutch and it shouldn't be.
Fat girls deserve so much more than this mess of a book.

This story was so depressing! If I ever want to be this sad again, I will just stick a fork into both eyeballs! This would cause physical pain, but would not make my heart HURT! I read for enjoyment, not to make myself sad and depressed.

Spoiler Alerts:
I really don't know how to start with this review. I felt that this was nothing more than overweight people be stereotyped! I really was liking this book up until Hall kills off Even. The book took a turn & it went downhill from that point on. Sugar really didn't grieve her best friend at all. Yes, I DID NOT like Hall killing off the hero but at least do some of the characters justice in this book. We had...overeating, mental abuse, physical abuse, drinking, drugs, love (just a little then he dies), therapy, daddy & mommy issues, mean girls, body shaming & oh lets not forget two possible rapes. Then there is the end where she is getting ready to leave to go out west to fulfil Even's dream & the book ENDS!!!! I'm just glad this was on KU. I would not have been happy with outright purchasing this book. I really do believe the author could have done more if she wasn't stereotyping.

I wish I could go back in time and not read this. I wish there was a warning for what happens. I realize some people love reading about sadness and death. Sad love stories are really popular and they get turned into movies. Unfortunately, this is not a love story. I thought it was going to be a love story. It was a let down.

When the in depth descriptions of food was finally over, I was genuinely relieved. I'm not overweight, but like a lot of people I'm self-conscious about it. I have been taught not to be happy with my weight, and I really related to Sugar, I felt at home in her shoes. The gratuitous descriptions about food made me sick and anxious. It really got me thinking about portion control and dieting. The author must have intended for the reader to feel repulsed by food, and also by Sugar's frequent consumption. I wish I knew how it felt or how to help Sugar in some way as I was reading. All I felt is disgust rather than any connection with Sugar. These scenes were like something out of a gory horror movie for anyone with anxiety towards weight and dieting? Maybe, it's just me though. It was torture, but I still had hope.

I've never read abuse or domestic violence like this before from family members. I really felt in place in Sugar's life then. I really related to her emotionally, and I'm grateful the author gave this topic a voice. That's what I'll never forget about this story. I desperately wanted Sugar to throw flaming hot food on her brother for punching her or throwing at her. I wanted her to stand up for herself in the cruelest way possible. But, Sugar never exploded. I don't know where she put or defused her anger after these situations. She talked to no one about it either. She didn't have any confidants. I don't think that's very realistic there. She never calls the cops. It doesn't sit well with me that this was chosen. As there may be other victims of abuse who read this, and witness these things happening to Sugar of no consequence to the abusers.

I genuinely felt her mama was someone who could be real behind closed doors. Chapter by chapter, I was waiting for her to die. Unfortunately, she outlived Even. That happened. Chapter by chapter, I also had this little suspicious that Even might be gay. He never shows any sexual interest in Sugar or any girls for that matter, but the writer doesn't really stop to smell the roses with things like that. No attention to detail or character traits unless it's got to do with Sugar chugging down six pudding cups all at once. They're together a lot, they've shared a bed twice, and he doesn't give her a pinch of side eye. Except one of his "shy smiles" every now and then. Let's say Even takes his sexuality to the grave.

To sum things up, Sugar is extremely self-conscious about her body and her weight. We don't actually know what she looks like or how much she weighs. She "emotionally eats" in response to pain from verbal abuse, and as she says to every emotion she feels. Her desires to overeat are quelled when she's with Even, who, basically, replaces fatty foods for her. It's implied. The depiction of Sugar's relationship with her weight and body is not very good to feed to young readers, it leaves a bad taste it my mouth. And not because of her low self-esteem, but because her shedding her self-hatred was equating with her shedding pounds. There was no goal of getting her to love her body or how she looked. There's this strong aftertaste about this book that weight equals ugliness. Of course, Sugar was being bullied tirelessly about it, but.... Meh, even if Sugar loses all of the weight, there'll be something else that people bully her or talk bad about, what she gonna do then? There's a general lack of self-love.

I was going to truck through it to the end. And then, Even died! Sure, Sugar can exist without him. She doesn't need him to live. He is not her diet, (haha), or her savior. He's just a man. But should she have to? What is the point of his death other than dramatics? She could have gone to therapy and all that with him being alive. In retrospect, he really felt too good to be true with his genuine love and friendship for Sugar, and the author proved me right, I guess. Thanks. Not reading anything for this author ever again.

Oh, I loved this book so much. It just broke my heart. I could not stop reading it or crying!

I love Sugar, I would really love to have a friend like her and the things she goes through! I can't even say.

MY FULL REVIEWS:
http://melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com/2015/11/sugar-by-deidre-riordan-hall.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1446998730

I started out just reading this book while on the treadmill to kill time. I ended up so engrossed in the story I don't even remember how I ended up in bed but next thing I know it's 1 am and I'm finishing the book. Loved it! I laughed, I cried, I want more!

I absolutely loved this book! Made me cry at the end. I've never been bullied in school but the character is so relatable. I just wanted to cheer for Sugar.

The character development in this story is on point. I loved that this story really brought me into Mercy’s world, into her thoughts, into her life. I’m so impressed with multiple characters growth in the span of an about one year. This book casts light on friendships, bullying, poverty, mental health, substance use, and how just one single friend in this world can make all of the difference in the trajectory of a life.