From the cover:
"Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours."
YES, Libby! I was a touch nervous going into this book because of how much I loved All the Bright Places, but there was no need to be. Once again, Jennifer Niven has delivered.
Libby Strout is starting her junior year of high school, returning to public school after being homeschooled and ultimately ending up housebound following her mother's death when she was 10. Starting high school is a lot for anyone, so Libby is understandably nervous, but she's ready. She has a plan. She's prepared for the anxiety. And she's not going to let anyone stop her from living her life. Because Libby? Is a badass.
Jack Masselin is one of the popular kids at school. Everyone wants to be him, but nobody knows that he has a secret. Jack can't recognize people by their faces, and his prosopagnosia has become the defining feature of his life. Everything, from what he does during the day to who his friends are, all centers around keeping his face blindness a secret. He has engineered a life he can live in survival mode, but this carefully constructed existence is about to be shattered.
After Jack, in a misguided effort to spare her humiliation, drags Libby into a shitty high school "game" his friends cooked up and the two of them find themselves in group counseling together, the two are shocked to find themselves drawn to each other. Libby is confident, fearless, and speaks her mind, which is exactly what Jack needs. Jack turns out to be introspective and creative, and Libby is realizing that the boy she wrote off at the beginning of the school year might actually be someone she could fall for. Will their burgeoning relationship survive the tumultuous waters of high school? Or is this a relationship that is doomed to fail?
Seeing Libby and Jack blossom alongside each other is a delight, but if you ask me the real MVP of this book? Dusty Masselin, Jack's youngest brother. This little dude just...my heart. He is such a beautiful soul, and being totally honest, I could read a whole book just following him as he goes about his day being a sweet, kind, heartwarming tiny human. Dusty deserves all the happiness in the universe, and if I could meet any character in this book and give them a hug or a high five, it would be him. If you don't read this book for anyone else, read it for Dusty.
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