Stephanie Klein (1)Besprekingen

I had purchased and read Ms Klein's other memoir, Straight Up and Dirty, and liked it so much I immediately wish-listed this one. I might have been in a different mind-set by the time I finally got it, or maybe I just don't relate with Stephanie's struggles as a mid-grade pudgy girl, but I wasn't as entertained by this one. I was quite struck by how sexual this young lady was at her age and how much of 'fat camp' is devoted to sexual experimentation..½

Amusing in parts and very moving in parts. I wish the narrative had been a little easier to follow, but overall I really enjoyed it.

I found this book to be sad. This is unusual since it is written with a great sense of humour and honesty. The story of a young girl battling with her weight and her experiences at "fat camp". The sad part was that she was so obsessed with her weight at such a young age (11) and the importance everyone in her life put on her "weight". All else aside, although the author was very honest in the book, I did not like her very much ... this was unfortunate since it was a good book that I found I just didn't enjoy very much. Make sense?

I had mixed feelings about this book. I was never a particularly overweight child, but as a teen and adult, I've certainly experienced my own battles with my weight and accompanying self-image, so I was curious to read about what it was like for someone else.

I definitely empathized with her love/hate relationship with food, sneaking & gorging on those foods, and "well-meaning" comments from family regarding her eating habits & weight.

I didn't find this memoir riveting, but it was interesting to see what a fat camp experience was like for a child so enrolled, and to see how the damage being fat did to her in childhood continues to influence her adult life.

A sad, depressing story of one girl's summer at "fat camp", but more than that, it is the story of one woman's life-long struggle with weight, self-esteem and the expectations of her parents. Well written, what this book really told me is that the author never really got over being an overweight child, and she still struggles with weight issues to this day, even though she is now "normal". A depressing message, and not just for the glimpse into the life of an overweight teen.

This memoir is at it's best when Klein writes about her experiences of being an overweight teenager...and she's not a sad outcast, either! I thought this book depicts a teenager with a pretty confident outlook on life! I didn't like the ending, in which Klein goes off topic to discuss her struggles with her pregnancy as an normal weight adult...preachy, treacly; I just didn't care.

Klein's experiences as an obese kid, and her later adventures as an preteen at fat camp. There's some insight here, and more honesty about her sexual escapades than was probably necessary. I'm no prude, but I thought some of it was excessive, though it may prove the point that fat kids have sex drives too.

If you've been a fat kid, you may identify here. This is a book I borrowed from the library, and for a freebie, I can't complain. But most of it's been said before. And Klein's style isn't particularly compelling.

Loved this book. I found myself highlighting my favorite lines. Being a single gal myself I could totally relate. Klein keeps it real.½

This is one of those situations where my inquisitive nature caused too much information to spoil the experience. I really liked Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp. Sure, I had a few qualms, but overall, I was going to write a solid review supporting the time spent reading the book. But then… I just had to see if the author had a website.

Not only does Ms. Stephanie Klein have a website, it seems the damned thing is mighty popular and was a jumping point for her writing career. That’s fine. I wish I could write well enough to earn such attention. The problem occurred when I saw the beautiful pictures of Ms. Klein adorning her blog. She’s thin and pretty. How could that woman write such an understanding book, one that clearly denotes the pain and effort of carrying rolls of fat on one’s person?

Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp lays all of Klein’s pain and disparagement on the line. She holds nothing back. Her greatest proficiency is prostrating herself. Not only is this a tale of struggling with weight, but a tale of struggling to fit, period. Klein examines her own prejudices where she delineates how fat she’s willing to date and how even the ‘fat campers’ divide into a hierarchy of the more or less repellent. I found it amazing to watch this structural division of misfits who’d normally form the outsiders in the popular cliques. It’s a solid vignette in the coming-of-age genre with Klein emerging victorious, but not unscathed.

Of course there were a few nit-picky qualms. My first was with the editing. Some passages are allowed to become tedious and the beginning and end are almost extraneous to the tale. Due to the overdevelopment in these areas, a few effects are left underdeveloped. My second qualm concerns the uneven skidding between the years that form the fat camp experience. Ms. Klein began with an author’s note explaining that she’d condensed years of fat camp survival into a single year. Her apologetic tone protects her from being Freyed (my term referring to Oprah calling you a liar because you flower-up your memoir), but presumes we readers aren’t smart enough to understand that memoirs come with embellishments… (end of rant).

I’d recommend this book to older teens, anyone who enjoys honest coming-of-age tales, memoirs and especially those who have struggled with weight issues.

Review first published on Many A Quaint & Curious Volume

Loved this book. I enjoyed reading about Stephanie Klein's experiences in this book and immediately had to read her first memoir when I finished. I think every female can relate to aspects of this book and the humor that is found within the pages makes this a delightful read!

I was diappointed with this much anticipated second book by Stephanie Klein. The story was really dragging and I enjoyed her first memoir, Straight Up & Dirty much more. In her first book, the writing was sharp and witty and this one was lacking.½

I would give 3 1/2 stars if I could. I loved the first half, but it seemed to fall apart halfway through. I like how the book doesn't try to make any big conclusions about why the author struggled with her weight or why women in general often struggle with weight issues. It's just one person's story. there are definitely some laugh-out-loud parts, just not enough of them...

A difficult book to read, not because it was poorly written, but because it hit on so many subjects close to home! Klein really strikes a chord with any reader who has struggled with weight and/or currently does struggle with weight.

This book easily could have been a fat-trashing book, but it really focuses on how the author felt as a preteen and teenager growing up with a weight problem. It showed how the taunts of classmates have long term effects and the gentle "help" that family members suggest aren't very helpful at all.

Klein write with compassion. That's important.

There is much to like about Stephanie Klein's Moose. Klein writes rather insightfully and poignantly about her weight and the ways that it affected her self image, particularly as a child. There were a half a dozen (or so) passages that moved me nearly to tears. Klein also writes humorously about growing up in the 80s and I chuckled along at her descriptions particularly about clothes.

These things which I enjoyed quite a bit were cast into shadow by the choppy structure of the book. I am very interested in creative narration, especially in nonfiction books but I found this one to be difficult to follow at times. Also, the peripheral characters were rather weakly drawn. A number of times, I had to go back to figure out who a character was and try ti figure out how I was supposed to feel about that character. I didn't feel like I could clearly identify with many of the campers, counselors and classmates.

Klein has some great insights in Moose but the structure and characters in this account are weak.

Sometimes it doesn't seem all that fair to review a book that happens to be read in the midst of some others you were reading that you thought were brilliant. I'm afraid that Moose falls into that category for me.
As another reviewer states, there are a host of memoirs out there about how we grow up and what we struggled with...I just read "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff and "Tweak" by his son...just to name a couple. There is stiff competition.
I also chuckled at another reviewers term "Freyed" when referring to how Ms. Klein explained how people and events would be condensed. I long ago quit caring how true memoirs were and approach them the same way I do fiction...The bottom line for me is, "is it well written?" AND "do I look forward to picking it up each day?"
Ms. Klein's book does have sections that I think are very cleverly written and offer a true understanding of the self-esteem issues that are the root of every person that struggles with their weight. I particularly liked the way she described the relationship with her Mother and the links between lack of love and rolls of fat.
On my second criteria...looking forward to picking it up each day...for me, the book fell a little short. Truthfully, I just got bored. The story seemed to get repetitive in its telling and I thought to myself, "what more really needs to be said?"
I am a pretty hard grader when it comes to books, so there is nothing wrong with a good solid three. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but I wouldn't tell someone not to read it either.

a funny, painful yet compusively readable book about the author's summer spent at fat camp. i could very much identify with stephanie's portrayal of a teen dealing with weight issues, and thought she did a great job at conveying the pathos of her situation with humor and honesty. i could feel her embarrassment and shame and confusion and finally, her joy when she finally lost her "rolls." i also appreciated her confusion about her parents, and how they treated her b/c of her obesity, part. as it related to her mom's self image and her father's love (or feeling a lack thereof). and i thought it was very true to life that her struggles didn't end when she lost the weight. it was as if that was just the first step in a long line of struggles to find herself.

Moose, A Memoir of Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein was truly a remarkable book. I was so impressed by the author’s honesty in telling about her experiences of being an overweight preteen and teen. Her descriptions of the embarrassment and anger felt by the rejection and names she was called was convincing. I could identify with so much of what was written, the poor body image, the pain of not being accepted just for who you are. I believe that most women have a poor body image; we obsess about those areas that aren’t “perfect” and fail to recognize what is good about our bodies. It’s good to read that these feelings are shared by others.
As other reviewers have pointed out, the only fault I felt with the book was the jumping around from the past to the present and not making it entirely clear what time we were reading about. But with a little extra concentration I would easily work out what the author was talking about.
I feel this is an important book for anyone with weight issues. Her discussion of various eating disorders was extremely interesting. I think teenagers especially should read this book to find they are not alone in their feelings.

I read this book right after I finished Stephanie Klein's Straight Up and Dirty memoir. I have to say that I had a hard time getting into the book because I still had an image of Stephanie in my mind from her first book that did not match the one she was presenting in this book. I also had a difficult time with her description of her mother and father after reading her portrayal of them in the first book as well.

That being said, I thought her account of being overweight as a child and her inability to shed the emotional baggage that comes along, was very thoughtful. I felt a great deal of empathy for her and others I know who have lost a large amount of weight, but continue to struggle with image issues. I also liked that she discusses the importance of realizing that almost all women, regardless of their size, don't feel comfortable in their bodies. Overall, the book wasn't as witty as her first, but I give her a lot of credit for her honest discussion of bulumia, early adolescent sexual behavior and feeling generally unloved.½

(Note: This is a review of an ARC.)

In Moose, Stephanie Klein allows the reader to tag along as she revisits her childhood, detailing negative, damaging, and hurtful experiences that would go on to color the rest of her life. Her crime? Being overweight in a culture obsessed with outward appearances; One that is determined to project its negativity regarding the "wrong" look or body type onto those who don't live up to the standard.

Klein recounts her experiences with candor, humor, and a relaxed, youthful, "it is what it is," "I am who I am" tone, one that immediately put me at ease and just plain made me like her. A great deal of this book is centered around her time spent at fat camp but the book is about so much more than that - a woman trying to cope with self-esteem and body image issues. We all deal with those issues. Okay, maybe not all of us but I'd be willing to bet a good portion of us do which is why this book would appeal to almost anyone, whether you've battled weight issues or not. A lot of the feelings she experiences are universal. And then there are those she experienced that only individuals who have suffered from weight issues would identify with. It's okay if you don't identify on that level, but it's still important to read about the experiences and lives of those who do.

Throughout the book she reflects on her experiences and the lessons learned as a result of them, but is careful not to let them alter her "then" reality. I think it would have been very easy for her to go back and try to "clean up" her actions as a young person based on everything she eventually learned, but she always remained true to her character and I appreciated her resolve to tell it like it is. From the beginning she was very honest about the fact that she's a work in progress and is not interested in viewing her experience with rose colored glasses.

The one problem I did have with this book was how disorganized it was at times. There were one too many instances where the story became rather confusing and hard to follow because of all of the flashbacks, flashforwards, and lack of differentiation. I wouldn't have minded a memory being brought up every now and then, but I feel the book would have been much more effective and enjoyable if the past, present, and future were, for the most part, kept there as the story was being told. Interestingly enough, that wasn't enough to put me off reading the book; Usually it's more than enough. I did take of half a star because of it, though.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. I liked Stephanie, I liked her story, her humor, wisdom, I liked her honesty, and I liked the tone of the book. She did a great job capturing the spirit of a child/teen. She'd probably be very good at writing fiction, specifically young adult fiction.½

Stephanie Klein was an overweight little girl whose well-meaning mother sent her to a nutritionist, and then to "fat camp." Here all the usual dramas of adolescence played out: she fell in love, made friends and enemies, and learned to focus even more on her weight in even more unhealthy ways.
I was thrilled to receive this book for my first early review, since I love memoirs, especially the rare ones that take place at sleepover camp. I loved the tone, the pace, the balance between dialog and narrative, and the pitch-perfect accuracy of teen-age talk - she could have been transcribing from a tape recorder. Just a few things prevented me from giving this book a "5," many of them having to do with context and the arc of the narrative. First, I wish the driving focus had been even more on the camp. Many of the references at the beginning and end to other camps she'd been to, and to kids at school before and after fat camp, were confusing because she dealt with them so briefly. Also, I never got a good sense of her relationship to her sister, who went to the camp with her even though she apparently was not overweight. But these are small points. Klein's writing is so captivating I now want to read her earlier memoir "Straight Up and Dirty."

Entertaining and well-written memoir. Klein is extremely honest and presents her story in a very enjoyable read about being young and divorced and dating again. She examines her life in such a way that you feel like you are right there with her. I'm looking forward to reading her next book, Moose.

These days the shelves at the local bookstore are overrun with memoirs childhood and adolescence - of growing up with alcoholic parents, growing up a nerd, growing up in foster care, or just plain growing up with nothing special to recommend it. Some hit the mark and others are a bit of a disappointment. Stephanie Klein's memoir, Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp is definitely the former. Growing up as a "chubby" kid myself, I could identify with her feelings of isolation, shame, and frustration. At times, they hit a little too close to home. But you don't have to have suffered through a childhood weight problem or be that person who looks in the mirror and sees fat regardless of what the little tag in your jeans says to enjoy this book. Anyone who has feelings of being a little bit "different" will find something to relate to and will appreciate Klein's honesty and wit.

This is an amazing book. Stephanie Klein is a really brave writer, willing to expose the pain associated with growing up overweight. The majority of the book focuses on her first time at "fat camp," and although she had a generally positive experience there, I really liked how she talked about the impact that attending this camp had on her body image throughout her life. Overall, a very good read.

This book is much better than the impression I had of it: it sat on my "to read" list for a long time because I had it pegged as a "guilty pleasure" type book and maybe a little pornagraphic. Yeah, my eyes popped at a couple of things, but mostly it is about what happens to Klein and why. I think it's a great read for anyone at crossroads in her life.½

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