'A beautiful, necessary book' ROXANE GAY 'Echoes of Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman' IRISH TIMES Lizzie doesn't like the way she looks. Though she dates guys online, she's afraid to send pictures: no-one wants a fat girl. So Lizzie starts to lose weight. With punishing drive she counts almonds consumed and pounds dropped, navigating double-edged validation from her mother, her friends, her husband and her own reflection in the mirror. But no matter how much she loses, will she ever see herself as anything other than a fat girl? In this darkly funny, deeply resonant novel, Mona Awad delivers a tender and moving depiction of a young woman whose life is hijacked by her struggle to conform. 'Luminous... Full of sharp insight and sly humour' KATHERINE HEINY 'Honest, searing and necessary' ELLE

A hilarious, deeply resonant and at times shocking novel about the harmful beauty standards imposed on women. A must-read for fans of Lena Dunham, Roxane Gay and Caitlin Moran. Growing up in the suburban hell of Misery Saga (a.k.a. Mississauga), Lizzie has never liked the way she looks - even though her best friend Mel says she's the pretty one. She starts dating guys online, but she's afraid to send pictures, even when her skinny friend China does her makeup: she knows no one would want her if they could really see her. So she starts to lose weight. With punishing drive, she counts almonds consumed, miles logged, pounds dropped. She fights her way into coveted dresses. She grows up and gets thin, navigating double-edged validation from her mother, her friends, her husband, her reflection in the mirror. But no matter how much she loses, will she ever see herself as anything other than a fat girl? In her brilliant, hilarious and at times shocking debut, Mona Awad simultaneously skewers the body image-obsessed culture that tells women they have no value outside their physical appearance, and delivers a tender and moving depiction of a lovably difficult young woman whose life is hijacked by her struggle to conform. As caustically funny as it is heart-breaking, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girlintroduces a vital new voice in fiction.