Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Book Review: Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne

Celeste Harris loves to eat chocolate cookies. But she hates being called a cow by teen mean queen Lively, that she looks like a watermelon in the Peach Monstrosity of a bridesmaid’s dress she has to wear for her cousin’s wedding, and that her Aunt signed her up to model in the Miss Husky Peach pageant for plus-sized girls. Is it time to "just say no" to junk food?

Let me say right off the bat that I loved Celeste. She completely charmed me with her matter-of-fact voice and her sweet personality. She’s an underdog, but not a complete social outcast and her road to self acceptance is filled with the kind of middle school drama that’s completely relatable.

I was also impressed by the way debut author Erin Dionne handled the sensitive issue of weight loss. Celeste knows that she’s chubby and she is hurt by her classmates’ taunting, but dieting is not really on her radar. A diet ad with a bikini clad woman gives her the idea to try to lose the Husky Peach modeling gig by losing weight so they won’t want her anymore. The desire to eat healthier starts with her and at her friend’s gentle urging, she also becomes more physically active. It all comes off as totally natural and that is quite a feat.

There are many laugh-out-loud scenes – the diet drink fiasco being a particular favorite of mine – and I just had so much fun reading this.

Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies comes out in hardcover tomorrow.
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26 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:19 PM

    Thanks, Lenore! I'm so glad you liked it!!

    -E

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  2. YanFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:26 PM

    It comes out tomorrow!? Wow...

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  3. Lenore AppelhansFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:28 PM

    Yes, it was moved up one month to Feb. 5th.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:29 PM

    I love the title of this book - glad to see it's good.

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  5. ShalondaFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:37 PM

    Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! I am ordering this from Scholastic tomorrow!

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  6. DarleneFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:51 PM

    Great review Lenore. This one sounds really good. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

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  7. StaciFebruary 5, 2009 at 12:45 AM

    The cover alone makes me want to read it!! Sounds great...and girls need more positive body image books to read!!

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  8. Shooting Stars MagFebruary 5, 2009 at 1:06 AM

    Aw, it sounds cute. I like that this issue is dealt with nicely.

    -Lauren

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  9. susanFebruary 5, 2009 at 1:30 AM

    Weight is a huge issue among our youth. I'm not sure if I'm sold on how the author addresses the issue but I can't be definitive till I read the book. Thanks to your review, I'm going to check it out. Thanks.

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  10. NurinFebruary 5, 2009 at 1:55 AM

    Ohh, it sounds good :) I'll add it to my (ever-increasing) wishlist..haha

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  11. TashaFebruary 5, 2009 at 2:43 AM

    I'm looking forward to reading this. The author is coming for a Kids Heart Authors event at the bookstore where I work on Valentine's Day. It will be nice to meet her.

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  12. LindaFebruary 5, 2009 at 4:42 AM

    I'm going to add this to my list too! I can't stand it. My list is getting way too big!

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  13. UnknownFebruary 5, 2009 at 7:09 AM

    Fun cover! You made me curious by being impressed with the author's handling of weight loss.

    cecilia

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  14. AmyFebruary 5, 2009 at 7:55 AM

    Looks like a good one! Cute cover!

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  15. S. KrishnaFebruary 5, 2009 at 5:54 PM

    This book sounds cute! Thanks for the review, I'm adding it to my TBR list!

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  16. Ladytink_534February 6, 2009 at 4:41 AM

    I saw this the other day and the cover caught my attention. Love the title too!

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  17. Joanne ♦ The Book ZombieFebruary 7, 2009 at 7:59 PM

    This sounds great! With the book "Fruit" I was so glad to see that the weight issue of the character was dealt with in a way that made it clear that this is a personal decision to make, regardless of what people think is socially acceptable.
    Anyways, I was thinking it would be awesome to find a book that handles this topic with a female, and "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies" seems to be just what I wanted :)

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  18. juliethreeFebruary 9, 2009 at 12:01 AM

    I have read just about every fiction book on those with weight issues since I was about 14, so this sounds good.

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  19. sweetghost6February 9, 2009 at 4:02 AM

    I have to read this book! I'll add this to my many list of 'to read' books.

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  20. AnonymousFebruary 13, 2009 at 5:48 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  21. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2009 at 1:15 AM

    bought it as soon as I saw it on scholastics, its not coming soon enough!!!

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  22. vvb32 readsApril 29, 2009 at 8:19 PM

    okay, i'm curious now about the diet drink fiasco. sounds like a good one. whether it is a light or heavy read, it gets the weight issue out there and gets people thinking.

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  23. AnonymousMay 17, 2009 at 5:37 PM

    Hi, i did Models don't eat chocolate cookies for my book report. I am more like a 'Kirsten' but good friends may be a 'Celeste'. Thank you for giving me another perspective and hopefully an 'A'!

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  24. AnonymousMay 23, 2009 at 3:08 AM

    I LOVED this book! It's my favorite book ever!

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  25. AnonymousMarch 17, 2011 at 1:03 AM

    LOVED LOVED LOVED IT TANK YOU! SO MUCH

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  26. AmyJanuary 24, 2012 at 11:22 PM

    I LOVE this book. i'm in the 8th grade and i read it and i recemend it to all my friends. it had me lol in the middle of class. it is one of the best books i ever read. i read it over and over again. Thanks Erin for making it one of my favorite books in the world.(O:

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