Size 12 is Not Fat - Meg Cabot

Heather Wells has it all. Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two — and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

This is a typical Meg Cabot book: light, hilarious, fluffy, and doesn't require much thinking. She tried to tie in a bit of mystery with the sudden death and crime, but it didn't work out that way. Meg Cabot's style of writing is too basic, fun, and silly to work with a mysterious theme. It was much more of a chick-lit than it was mystery. If you are looking for something intense and fast paced, this book is NOT the one for you.

I used to be a huge Meg Cabot fan- hence the countless Cabot reviews- and this was one of the later books I read. So I was pretty done with the repetitive plot that she has in every single one of her books. Angsty teen girl has problems with weight, popularity, etc. Her friends support her, she becomes popular, she gets the guy and all her problems are solved. The end. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did her others, mainly because the characters were so dumb. Most chick-lit main characters are empty shells, but Heather really was a stupid girl. She almost annoyed me as much as Bella did. ALMOST.

This would be a good book for younger teens (although it is classified as an adult book...) who liked Meg Cabot's other books (esp. Princess Diaries) and series like The Clique by Lisa Harrison.