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.