Big Girl Small

A few weeks ago I became obsessed with the actor Warwick Davis after watching him drive around the Top Gear track using a pringles can as an extended pedal. As I plunged through the depths of obsession, I became fascinated with dwarfism and watched several documentaries on the subject.

Oddly enough, I found this book by pure coincidence in the midst of all this. I genuinely believed from the title that it would be a story about losing weight, or something to that effect. My surprise when I found out that Judy Lohden was achondroplastic was such that I was immediately hooked and would not stop for the next 24 hours it took me to finish.

I don't usually read books set in high schools, especially not in America, because I can never relate. I've never felt that the world should be divided into "Jocks", "Nerds", "Goths", "Preps" and so on. Big Girl Small manages to write teenagers that feel genuine and multifaceted. I could really relate to characters like Molly. None of them fit the type. Sarah was goth but she was also an activist and a sweet caring friend.

I think this really set the scene for a book that could so easily have become a story about a dwarf being a dwarf instead of a girl being a dwarf and also being a victim of an unfortunate accident that could have happened to anyone. And being a great singer on top of all of that.

The characters were the best part of the story. The relationships were all solid and three dimensional. There is no absolute best friend or absolute enemy, just as in real life. Even characters like Bill whom we only saw a few times were lovable and unique.

The plot was quite predictable as plots go but it was dealt with from a fresh perspective and the characters easily covered for it.

I do believe this might make it to my favorite books list!