Niven, Jennifer.
HOLDING UP THE UNIVERSE
New York : Knopf, 2016
IL YA
ISBN 0385755929


(4 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Being a teenager is hard but being a teenager dubbed the “World’s Fattest Teen” is even harder.  Libby Strout has recovered from being cut out of her house to save her life, lost a ton of weight, been to thousands of hours of therapy, and now feels ready to face high school.

Jack Masslen has everyone fooled that he has life all figured out especially high school. In reality he has a secret that has him terrified and is barely managing to survive high school.

Sometimes when you meet someone it changes the world yours and theirs. This is what happens when Libby and Jack meet at MVB High through a cruel prank that lands them both in hot water with the principal, their parents, and each other.  They are forced to do community service and group counseling and they begin to learn about each other and themselves and find that if you look hard enough you really can see someone.  (Oklahoma High School Sequoyah Award, 2018)

Booktalk #2

Libby Strout lost her mother unexpectedly when she was ten years old. She ate her grief away, becoming morbidly obese and a social media spectacle. Jack Masselin is a popular guy, with lots of cool friends, but he’s working hard to hide a secret: he can’t recognize any of them from day to day as the result of a neurological condition that causes facial blindness. Jack and Libby’s worlds intersect after a bullying incident, and their resulting relationship ultimately enriches both their lives in surprising and wonderful ways. (Florida Teens Read (FTR) 2017-2018)

Booktalk #3

Jack isn't a jerk, but he's willing to look like one so people don't know he has Prosopagnosia (face blindness). That way, when he kisses his girlfriend's cousin, he looks like a player rather than someone who just can't tell which one is which. Libby isn't a victim, even though she ate so much she had to be cut out of her second story bedroom and hospitalized after her mom died. They aren't a couple you would expect. They met when Jack's friends dared him to do the Fat Girl Rodeo where he was supposed to hug a heavy girl until she bucked him off. In Libby's case, she didn't just buck him off, she laid him out. In lieu of suspension, the two are condemned to Conversation Circle where they must learn to talk about their problems without resorting to violence. The more they talk, the more they see each other and it turns out some souls are so beautiful, you can't help but recognize their face. There are always two sides to a story, in this romance, you'll get to hear both sides, and it's a story you won't forget. --Jodi Kruse Teacher Librarian, R. A. Long High School Evergreen Book Award Nominees 2018-19

Booktalk #4

After a traumatic event, Libby is ready to take on a normal teenage life. Jack is popular, but he has a secret that could upend his life. Though seemingly different, when stuck in community service together they are both surprised to find how alike they really are.  (Connecticut Nutmeg Award https://www.nutmegaward.org/)