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Dietland was a fantastic revenge-style feminist story that I picked up on a whim from my library. It follows Plum Kettle, an over-weight young woman who’s tried everything to lose weight and is miserable in her own skin. She’s scheduled for gastric bypass surgery, but she meets the daughter of the woman who formulated a diet she went on many years ago (that turned out to be a con) and this woman says she’ll give Plum a lot of money if she completes various challenges that she sets for her in an effort to make her feel more comfortable in her own skin.

When I started reading this I immediately liked the style of writing, but when Plum met the daughter of her previous diet guru things started to get weird and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue. I decided to give it a bit longer and it veered back into normality and a kickass plot very quickly.

Essentially this was a novel about finding a way to be comfortable with yourself and ignoring the repeated messages we’re given by society that we aren’t enough as we are. The make-up industry was attacked, as was the fashion industry, as were the attitudes of people who think it’s alright to mock an overweight person. I really can’t believe some people abuse overweight individuals; I would never ever do so. What do I care if someone’s overweight and why on earth would it offend me!? Humanity boggles my mind at times.

There were some pretty random threads, but it was all fun and proved to have a point. All-in-all I found this a really fun book that considered some very serious arguments, but did so in a way that just about anyone could enjoy.