Reviewer (text)
Thien-Kim H., Teen Board Member
Mercy Bella “Sugar” Legowski-Garcia is an overweight and bullied half-Puerto-Rican teenager. She spends her days caring for her bedridden Mama and eating to hide her emotions. Stuck in a constant cycle, Sugar has started to define herself by her body. But when she meets Even, a boy who should have been named Evan, he helps her see herself and her life in a different light. Will Sugar be able to change her future for the better?
The book begins with a quote from Sugar's abusive brother Skunk, indicating early on that others’ voices have had more precedence in Sugar’s life than her own. Everywhere she goes, she is bombarded with derogatory insults, and we sympathize with this selfless and vulnerable girl who has little to make her smile. Sugar is obviously intelligent and sweet, yet is relentlessly treated like “chewed gum on the underside of a desk." The stereotypical and one-sided portrayal of the bullying is sometimes difficult to believe, but nonetheless it does its job in showing us (perhaps too obviously) that Sugar is very down on her luck.
Even with the promise of change, getting through the first few chapters can only be compared to lying facedown in a large puddle for several hours. So it’s a relief when Sugar meets Even, a new kid who encourages her to stop underestimating herself, and the tone takes on a more mixed feeling. They go on some uplifting adventures together, and eventually try to mend what’s broken in each other. Yet something about their relationship feels contrived; they are more philosophers than teenagers. Even says things like “if we all looked just alike or worse, acted alike, this world would be a boring place," and he's a breath of fresh air to Sugar considering the shallow people she spends time with and her apparent inexperience with Tumblr. Because of his compassion and her warmth, their connection enriches both their lives.
Many readers will be able to find inspiration in Sugar's emotional journey, particularly because of her vulnerability and self-awareness.
Although Sugar is a thoughtful person with a big heart, I felt detached from most of the characters in this book. Her other friend Brittany was no exception. The first thing we hear from her is a generic text: “OMG. I was invited to Hillary’s birthday party.” She’s a stereotypical sidekick who seems straight out of a scripted music video. Sounding ready to meet Robin Sparkles at any moment, Brittany practically lives at the mall and perkily exclaims, “I totally can’t believe it. I knew Hillary would eventually see how cool I am. I don’t understand what took her so long.” However, after her forgettable early appearances, she is given a more serious storyline that isn’t elaborated on much and feels like an attempt at shock value.
The majority of the side characters also display a remarkable level of shallowness. For instance, popular girl Allie would do remarkably with a career as a venom-spewing antagonist on the Disney Channel: “No matter how much weight you lose or how many days you skip school, you’ll never be pretty… you’ll never be like me.” The characters in SUGAR are more caricatures than people, but for the most part they serve their purposes clearly enough to help convey the positive lessons given. Empathy is strongly promoted and negativity discouraged.
The story centers on finding a way to love yourself in the midst of darkness, which is unfortunately often a very difficult lesson to learn. In an era of more and more anti-bullying efforts, a novel like SUGAR has no trouble fitting in, but it doesn’t do or say anything in a fresh or new way. Serious topics are addressed, like Sugar's draining home life and emotional eating. Though its goals are noble, the generic writing gets in the way of it being more powerful. It tells rather than shows (“all the darkness they showed me guided me toward my own inner light”), with tiresome language (“this layer of flesh hides the real me, even from myself. It conceals emotion and truth”).
Sugar’s character evolves, but the development feels rushed and idealistic; her arc is mainly catalyzed by other people and oversimplification. Still, we cheer for her determination as she struggles to let go of others’ opinions. Many readers will be able to find inspiration in Sugar's emotional journey, particularly because of her vulnerability and self-awareness.
SUGAR contains a strong focus on authenticity. While most characters are one-dimensional and the narrative is preachy, this novel strictly aims to empower, spread positivity and celebrate diversity and kindness.
Teaser
Sugar Legowski-Gracia wasn’t always fat, but fat is what she is now at the age of 17. Not as fat as her mama, or her brother Skunk, but she’s large enough to be the object of ridicule wherever she is. Sugar’s life is dictated by taking care of Mama in their run-down home. But when Sugar meets Even she has the new experience of someone seeing her and not her body. As their unlikely friendship builds, Sugar allows herself to think about the future for the first time, a future not weighed down by her body or her mother. Soon Sugar will have to decide whether to become the girl that Even helps her see within herself or to sink into the darkness of the skin-deep role her family and her life have created for her.
Promo
Sugar Legowski-Gracia wasn’t always fat, but fat is what she is now at the age of 17. Not as fat as her mama, or her brother Skunk, but she’s large enough to be the object of ridicule wherever she is. Sugar’s life is dictated by taking care of Mama in their run-down home. But when Sugar meets Even she has the new experience of someone seeing her and not her body. As their unlikely friendship builds, Sugar allows herself to think about the future for the first time, a future not weighed down by her body or her mother. Soon Sugar will have to decide whether to become the girl that Even helps her see within herself or to sink into the darkness of the skin-deep role her family and her life have created for her.
About the Book
I’m the fat Puerto Rican–Polish girl who doesn’t feel like she belongs in her skin, or anywhere else for that matter. I’ve always been too much and yet not enough.
Sugar Legowski-Gracia wasn’t always fat, but fat is what she is now at age seventeen. Not as fat as her mama, who is so big she hasn’t gotten out of bed in months. Not as heavy as her brother, Skunk, who has more meanness in him than fat, which is saying something. But she’s large enough to be the object of ridicule wherever she is: at the grocery store, walking down the street, at school. Sugar’s life is dictated by taking care of Mama in their run-down home—cooking, shopping and well, eating. A lot of eating, which Sugar hates as much as she loves.
When Sugar meets Even (not Evan—his nearly illiterate father misspelled his name on the birth certificate), she has the new experience of someone seeing her and not her body. As their unlikely friendship builds, Sugar allows herself to think about the future for the first time, a future not weighed down by her body or her mother.
Soon Sugar will have to decide whether to become the girl that Even helps her see within herself or to sink into the darkness of the skin-deep role her family and her life have created for her.
