The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Last night I went to a talk by Judith Krug, the director of ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom. She was talking about the list of the top 10 banned books of last year, and this was on the list. Krug read and loved this after it was first challenged and her description of the book made me put in on hold immediately when I got home. Virginia is an overweight girl in a very attractive family. She has a boyfriend but is uncomfortable with him because of her weight. Her best friend moves away and on a visit to see her, Virginia takes a few risks that end up paying dividends when she returns home. What really made me want to read this, though, was Krug's description of a subplot involving Virginia's seemingly perfect older brother. When he date rapes a woman at college, Virginia begins to worry obsessively about the victim. The book was banned because of issues of sexuality.