Really Something
Shirley Jump
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Buy *Really Something* by Shirley Jump online

Really Something
Shirley Jump
Zebra
Paperback
352 pages
December 2007
rated 3 of 5 possible stars

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The return of the fat girl

Something doesn’t quite sit right with Really Something. Allie Dean returns to the town where she grew up as a fat girl in order to seek revenge on those who treated her badly - particularly Duncan Henry, who invited her to the prom then stood her up. Allie’s message is that people are the same inside, no matter how they look, yet she seems rather wrapped up in her external appearance nonetheless.

Really Something works well as a ‘returning to your roots’ story, with Allie re-encountering people from her youth and being able to hide her identity from them. However, I found myself troubled by Allie’s message; in some ways she is a good character, helping Duncan’s sister come to terms with disability (although that comes about rather too easily), but she is also unlikeable in the way that she treats her family.

Duncan and Allie don't quite connect for some time, making the romance side of the book a bit disjointed. A side plot about Duncan’s family expectations actually works better than some of the main plot threads. Overall, though, I found the story rather average. Allie may be slim now, but she is the same person inside - and I’m not sure I entirely like that person.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox, 2010

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