Date: February 16, 2025
Author: Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
Genre: coming-of-age literary fiction
I came across this book on my library app. I was perusing for new authors and this title happened to pop up. I must report that I am super digging it. I was up ‘til all hours of the night because I was just so sucked in. I especially love that I am the exact same age as Malaya, (Ma-LIE-ya) the main character, so I could totally understand the culture of the times. (Especially in this era, the supermodel ideal body shape was stick-thin and not in a healthy way either)
Although I’ve never been to NY City I did move to Chicago in 1998 when I was just a baby and was into the same music as Malaya when I first moved there and remember feeling wowed by the big city life. Brings back a lot of memories.
Why I am so extra enthusiastic about this book is because last Friday, 02/14/2025, Valentines Day, I created my first ever fund raiser for New York Cares, on my website. It was very exciting and not planned that way at all. I must say this feels like fate to me.
So, anyway, this was such a powerful story. I can totally understand about loss of willpower as Mz. Sullivan described it and how hard it is to resist when an overwhelming urge crashes into you, leaving little room to do anything but cave to the craving.
This story is of a young girl suffering from morbid obesity. So much as to even make her a candidate at age 16 for gastric bypass surgery. She was shame-eating and hiding empty cartons of food about her room.
I read this book almost straight through in one sitting (minus eating and sleeping and such) if you cannot tell I highly recommend this book and look forward to your comments.