Addie Downs has been an overweight girl her entire life. Years of eating in secrecy to hide her frustrations and pains leads to nearly 350 pounds by the time she’s 30 years old. It’s not like her pain isn’t real, as her life has been full of tragedy — in high school, her fit, popular brother is injured in a car accident that leaves him severely brain damaged, her father dies of a brain aneurysm when she is 18 years old, and her mother dies of cancer only a year later. Addie has spent her life hidden away in her home where no one would make fun of her and she can lose herself in her art and food.

The only person who ever managed to draw Addie out of her shell was her best friend Valerie Adler. Valerie moved into Addie’s neighborhood the summer they were 8 years old. A child of divorced parents, she lives with her mother, a beautiful woman whose life revolves around staying slim and finding men to support her. Val is full of life and ideas. She’s not afraid of anything or of speaking her mind. She’s the yin to Addie’s yang, and they become the best of friends until they reach high school and Val becomes a cheerleader and starts hanging around the popular kids. While Val doesn’t abandon Addie (she still invites her along to things), Addie knows she doesn’t belong with that crowd.

One night, Val’s invited to a party at a popular boy’s house. She brings Addie along, but ends up leaving her to herself as she parties with her new friends. Just as Addie’s had enough and goes to find Val and drag her home, Val shows up ready to leave — but she’s looking pale and her hair is messed and her clothes are disheveled. Addie discovers Val was raped by a boy from their school, and, determined to do the right thing for her friend, she tells her mother. But Val doesn’t want to make a scene, and she doesn’t want to lose her new friends, so she denies Addie’s accusation, and accuses her of being jealous. It is the moment their friendship ends. After graduation, Val moves out to California and Addie has to deal with her family’s tragedies, and they don’t see each other again.

Over the years, Addie grows bigger and bigger until one day she decides she’s had enough. She puts herself on a strict diet during the day, and knocks herself out at night with sleeping pills so she won’t binge eat anymore. She takes up swimming and goes faithfully every day. Over the course of a year, Addie loses weight and becomes a normal-sized person. She’s healthier and happier, and she’s determined to make a better life for herself until one night the doorbell rings and her former best friend Val is there with blood on her coat and a plea for help because she thinks she’s just killed the boy from high school who raped her. What follows is a hilarious adventure as the girls find themselves on the run from the local police chief.

I enjoyed this book, though I really didn’t like the character of Valerie much. She irritated me with her vanity and stupidity. I know that Addie was so self-conscious that she held onto that friendship because no one else was interested in being her friend, but Addie comes across as a very smart person, even in her youth. I couldn’t see that she’d take someone as silly as Val very seriously, but I guess desperation makes people willing to put up with a lot.

Apart from Val’s character, I thought the book was very funny and well-written. I liked the way Weiner jumps back and forth between past and present as she tells the story of these girls’ friendship, and why they ended up the way they did. I liked the realism in the characters’ observations of life. I appreciated that there are side characters with their own stories and Weiner weaves them into the main plot and that everything comes together well.

I’ve always been a fan of Weiner’s (except for Goodnight Nobody which I just couldn’t get into, though I may give it another try in the future), and this novel is a lot like her other novels (main character is usually an overweight girl looking to find a happier life). I think I’d like to see her write something different in the future though. I think it’s time she went beyond the “write what you know” mantra and explored new ideas for main characters.