Holding Up the Universe
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5.0 • 5 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From the author of the New York Times bestseller All the Bright Places comes a heart-wrenching story about what it means to see someone - and love someone - for who they truly are.
Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout.
I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.
Once dubbed 'America's Fattest Teen', she is only seen for her weight. Not the girl underneath.
Since her mum's death she's been picking up the pieces in private, alone with her heartbroken father.
But now, Libby is ready. She's ready for high school, for new friends, for love and for every possibility life has to offer.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin too.
Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.
Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the art of fitting in.
What no one knows is that Jack has a secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him.
He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his own brain.
When Jack and Libby meet, they discover that the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel.
Praise for All the Bright Places:
'If you're looking for the next The Fault in Our Stars - this is it' Guardian
'[A] heartbreaking love story about two funny, fragile, and wildly damaged high school kids' Entertainment Weekly
'A do-not-miss for fans of Eleanor & Park and The Fault in Our Stars, and basically anyone who can breathe' Justine Magazine
'At the heart - a big one - of All the Bright Places lies a charming love story about this unlikely and endearing pair of broken teenagers' The New York Times Book Review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At first glance, the premise of Niven's second YA novel, after All the Bright Places, seems dark and improbable: high school junior Libby Strout was once so heavy that she had to be rescued from her house by a crane, senior Jack Masselin has prosopagnosia (face blindness), and they meet when Jack whose friends, girlfriend, and huge Afro are designed to protect the cool-guy persona he uses to disguise his condition goes along with the horrible game of "Fat Girl Rodeo." Libby's size and backstory make her a target, but she can dance again, and she's smart, brave, bitingly funny, and no one's victim (as Jack finds out when she slugs him). Meanwhile, Jack is isolated, angry, and guilty about the compromises he has made. As the semester progresses, they suffer through detention and counseling, Libby makes friends and contends with bullying, Jack opens up to her about his face blindness, and they move carefully into romantic territory. Niven makes the novel's improbable setup work, avoiding the suggestion that happiness lies in thinness as she creates two indelible characters and a heart-stopping romance. Ages 14 up.
