Summary Of Holding Up The Universe By Jennifer Niven
Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
Let's start out with a synopsis. Libby, formerly “America's fattest teen” is about to become a junior in high school. She is still recovering from her mother’s death a few years before but she is determined to live on. She wants to find friends, find love, and, take advantage of every opportunity life offers. Jack has prosopagnosia, a neurological disorder that inhibits him from recognizing people's faces, even the ones of those he loves. He keeps this a secret, and he’s gotten pretty good at it. So good that instead of being authentic, he hides behinds his invented persona of swagger and indifference. On her first day, Libby is greeted tentatively by her classmates because of her absence from school (she was homeschooled for a few years) but as the weeks go on, she becomes a target. The turning point is when Jack’s friends decide they want to play “Fat Girl Rodeo” a disgusting game where someone jumps on the back of a girl and stays on as long as possible. Jack gets pressured into playing. He’s apprehensive but knows he can’t say no or risk losing his reputation. (Quick note: I am in no way saying what he’s doing is okay, I’m just relaying his thought …show more content…
I’m kind of getting angry as I write it.) To make it right, he writes a note to Libby that starts with “I’m not a sh*tty person but I’m about to do a sh*itty thing.” The second he tries to play “the game”
Let's start out with a synopsis. Libby, formerly “America's fattest teen” is about to become a junior in high school. She is still recovering from her mother’s death a few years before but she is determined to live on. She wants to find friends, find love, and, take advantage of every opportunity life offers. Jack has prosopagnosia, a neurological disorder that inhibits him from recognizing people's faces, even the ones of those he loves. He keeps this a secret, and he’s gotten pretty good at it. So good that instead of being authentic, he hides behinds his invented persona of swagger and indifference. On her first day, Libby is greeted tentatively by her classmates because of her absence from school (she was homeschooled for a few years) but as the weeks go on, she becomes a target. The turning point is when Jack’s friends decide they want to play “Fat Girl Rodeo” a disgusting game where someone jumps on the back of a girl and stays on as long as possible. Jack gets pressured into playing. He’s apprehensive but knows he can’t say no or risk losing his reputation. (Quick note: I am in no way saying what he’s doing is okay, I’m just relaying his thought …show more content…
I’m kind of getting angry as I write it.) To make it right, he writes a note to Libby that starts with “I’m not a sh*tty person but I’m about to do a sh*itty thing.” The second he tries to play “the game”