Body Image & Self-Perception Month

Body Image and Self-Perception Month

In my opinion, at the ages they are, teens are very impressionable. They see these stick thin models air brushed to within an inch of their lives in most forms of media that dictates that "this is what you need to look like to be beautiful" or "perfect" or, in some cases, "normal". There are too many teens out there that have such low self-esteem and self-confidence, and the media - as well as bullies and peer pressure - don't help. The extreme actions taken to be "normal", and the depths of depression they can go to is just terrible, and I think this is such an important issue to be discussed. Being a YA fan, I thought looking at novels that tackle these issues would be a great way to discuss the topic and shed some light on it.

And so Body Image and Self-Perception Month was born; a month long feature hosted by Once Upon a Bookcase where bloggers read novels to look at how young adult authors deal with such an important subject. We looked at novels that cover self-esteem and self-confidence, eating disorders, obesity, physical disabilities and disfigurement, to name a few. The month involved reviews of YA novels covering the topics, discussions on the topics, author interviews and guest posts.

Bloggers Involved:
Jo of Once Upon a Bookcase (OUaB)
Christina of Reading Extensively (RE)
Rebecca of Everything To Do With Books (ETDWB)
Julianne of This Fleeting Dream (TFD)
Molly of A Dazzling Distraction (ADD)
Caroline of Portrait of a Woman (PoaW)
Sasha of The Sweet Bonjour (TSB)
Corina of Reading Through Life (RTL)
Callista of SMS Book Reviews (SMSBR)
Jami of YA Addict (YAA)
Michelle of Fluttering Butterflies (FB)


BI&SP Month Schedule

1st July
Body Image & Self Perception Month is Here! - OUaB
Discussion: Characters and Covers - OUaB
BI&SP Month Event: Skin: EXPOSED - OUaB
Review: Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles - RE
Intro Post - PoaW
Review: Luna by Julie Anne Peters - PoaW
Intro Post - TFD

2nd July
Review: Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison - OUaB
Intro Post - ETDWB
Review: Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham - ADD
Intro post - YAA

3rd July
Interview with Angela Morrison - OUaB
Review: Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley - TFD

4th July
Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn - OUaB
Review: Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield - RTL
Intro post - BBBA

5th July
Review: Pretty Face by Mary Hogan - OUaB
Review: Out of the Fire by Deborah Froese - ADD
Review: Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going - TFD

6th July
Interview with Mary Hogan - OUaB
Interview with Laurie Halse Anderson - TSB

7th July
Review: Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles - OUaB
Review: Deenie by Judy Bloom - PoaW
Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn - ADD
Review: Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell - TFD
Review: Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going - FB

8th July
Interview with Simone Elkeles - OUaB
Review: The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler - RE
Review: North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley - FB

9th July
List of Books Related to Body Image and Self-Perception Month - ETDWB
Review: Jane in Bloom by Deborah Lytton - ADD
Review: Shrink to Fit by Dona Sarkar - PoaW
Review: Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie - TFD
Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson - YAA

10th July
Guest Post from Rhys of Thirst for Fiction: Fear of Rejection - OUaB
Discussion: What About WHO We Are? - OUaB
Guest Post from Deborah Lytton: Blooming - ADD
Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson - TSB

11th July
Review: North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley - OUaB
Discussion: What's the Reason? - TFD

12th July
Guest Post from Julianne of This Fleeting Dream: Families - OUaB

13th July
Review: Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell - OUaB
Review: Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff - ADD
Review: Last Chance by Sarah Dessen - TFD

14th July
Guest Post by Simmone Howell: The Fat Girl's Song: A Rant - OUaB
Contest: Signed Copy of Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell - OUaB
Interview with Allen Zadoff - ADD

15th July
Review: Fairest of Them All by Jan Blazanin - OUaB
Review: The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy - SMSBR
Review: North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley - YAA
Review: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - PoaW
Review: Jumping to Confusions by Liz Rettig - TFD
Review: Tenderness by Robert Cormier - BBBA
Review of Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logstead - RE

16th July
Guest Post: Luisa Plaja's Thoughts - OUaB
Review: Queen of Teen - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others by Sarra Manning - OUaB
Review: Second Star to the Right by Deborah Hautzig - ADD

17th July
Review: The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by CarolynMackler - OUaB
Review: Massive by Julia Bell - TFD
Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn - ETDWB

18th July
Discussion: From Human to Unattainable - OUaB
Review: Izzy Willy Nilly by Cynthia Voigt - BBBA

19th July
Review: King of the Screwups by K.L. Going - OUaB
Contest: King of the Screwups by K.L. Going - OUaB
Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - PoaW

20th July
Review: Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going - OUaB
Discussion: Endings - TFD

21st July
Review: Purge by Sarah Darer Littman - OUaB
Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld - PoaW
Review: Second Star to the Right by Deborah Hautzig - TFD
Review: Skinny by Ibi Kaslik - ADD

22nd July
Guest Post from Sarah Darer Litman: My Struggle with Bulimia - OUaB
Contest: Purge by Sarah Darer Littman - OUaB
Review: Pretty Face by Mary Hogan - RE
Review: Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison - ETDWB
Review: My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters by Sydney Salter - YAA

23rd July
Review: Specials by Scott Westerfeld - PoaW
Review: The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler - TFD
Share Titles with Me - ETDWB

24th July
Review: Losing It by Sandy McKay - ETDWB
Guest Post: Liz Rettig - ADD

25th July
Guest Post from A.M. Vrettos: Writing Skin (Monsters in Bushes) - OUaB
Review: Extras by Scott Westerfeld - PoaW
Review: I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block - TFD

26th July
Review: Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee - OUaB
Guest Post from Suzanne Supplee: Rosie & Me - OUaB
Review: Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates - FB

27th July
Discussion: My Own Body Image and Self-Perception - ETDWB

28th July
Guest Review: Sobibor by Jean Molla - OUaB
Review: My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters by Sydney Salter - OUaB
Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson - BBBA

29th July
Guest Post from Sydney Salter: Mothers and Daughters - OUaB
Review: Fairest of Them All by Jan Blazanin - RE
Interview with Jan Blazanin, author of Fairest of Them All - RE

30th July
Discussion: What Type of Hero/ine do you Prefer? - OUaB
Review: Second Star to the Right by Deborah Hautzig - OUaB

31st July
You're Not Alone (1) - OUaB
You're Not Alone (2) - OUaB
You're Not Alone (3) - OUaB
You're Not Alone (4) - OUaB
Further Reading - OUaB
Body Image & Self-Perception Month has now Ended - OUaB
Three Non-Fiction Suggestions - TFD