Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this book deals with teen plastic surgery, including one character's breast augmentation. Some procedures -- and side effects -- are detailed. The author brings up lots of issues about beauty, body image, and surgery but leaves it up to her readers to come to their own conclusions, just as her characters do.
Families can talk about the two sisters in the book. They're both born with the same nose, but Allie is happy with who she is, and Cameron feels better after she's made changes. Who do you relate to more? Parents can also use this book as a way to talk about beauty standards and body image. Here's a roundup of Common Sense resources that can help.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kate Pavao
Sure, it's fiction, but FIX is really less of a novel and more of a book to get readers thinking about teen plastic surgery. There are statistics about procedures, descriptions of side effects, and pretty much every female character in the story has gotten -- or is about to get -- something worked on.
What readers will appreciate is that the author doesn't judge the characters. She knows that girls are often in a tough spot because of society's pressures -- Cameron's junior high school life really was hell, and her nose was an, um, big reason why. The author makes it easy to understand both characters' obsession with beauty and their sometimes-painful decisions to change their looks.
In the end, the writing may not always be elegant, but the topics raised in Fix can certainly help parents talk to their daughters about a whole range of body-image issues.
From The Book
At the next light, Allie glanced at her father's familiar profile. His nose was large and hooked, much bigger than hers, yet she'd never heard him mention it before. "If you think your nose is too big, how come you never got it fixed?"
Her father grinned. "I see what you're getting at, Allie, and you have a good point. We live in a superficial world, and it's much harder for women. The double standard isn't fair or right, but that's how it is."
Plot Summary:
The book follows two sisters who are both considering plastic surgery. Overachieving Cameron, who became popular after a nose job, now wants breast implants. Meanwhile, Allie, a down-to-earth soccer player, isn't sure she wants the nose job that everyone is insisting will make her beautiful.
Related Books:
More Topical Books
Perfect by Natasha Friend
Rx by Tracy Lynn
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
|||
ViolenceSome of the surgical procedures are described in detail. |
|
|||
Language |
|
|||
Message |
 |
|||
Social BehaviorThe characters face the pressures that society puts on women to be beautiful -- and come up with different solutions. |
 |
|||
CommercialismPassing references to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Hummer, Entertainment Weekly, and other magazines. |
|
|||
Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoCameron and her friends get drunk at a pool party. |
 |
|||
