Hare Today, Nerd Tomorrow (Ebook Cover)

OK, I purchased this ebook yesterday as the subject matter peeked my interest, and I'm sorry to say that I was somewhat disappointed. That's not to say that I thought the story was bad, I just felt that some areas could have use a bit more fleshing out, and certain character motivations (or lack there of) didn't really add up for me.

Let's begin with the positives:
- First off, the descriptions for Becky's transformation (where given) were excellent! You did a great job of painting a mental image of the changes in both Becky's body and lifestyle.
- Secondly, the illustrations looked very good and were well utilized. They served their purpose in providing visuals to represent key scenes to aid readers while still spacing them out enough so as not to draw attention away from the actual writing.
- Third, the message of not always having to be the best, learning humility, and still being proud of one's accomplishments even when you don't come in first is noble and demonstrated adequately. Unfortunately, I found the execution to be a bit sloppy.

Now for the negatives:
- The pacing lacked flow with either rapid transitions or simply skipping significant periods of time without much description. I mean, you skipped through the summer in one chapter, simply jumping ahead three weeks and then three whole months with little time allowed to let things sink in.
- Overall, the side characters received very little development and felt more like plot devices. They were either stereotypes or jerks. Priscilla and Becky's old friends acted like such bitches when they saw how much Becky let herself go. Then they basically shunned and abandoned her. As for her new friends, overweight yet friendly and accepting gamers.
- Where I felt the story faltered the most was in the handling of Becky's character. She was so obsessed with being the best and coming first all the time that the one she came in second (despite beating out 98 other runners) she spirals into depression and exiles herself from her friends. It made her seem so shallow and petty. Did she really think that everyone would be ashamed of her? Then she just stopped caring about working out altogether. Even if she couldn't run in the months after, Becky wasn't barred from lifting weights, performing sit-ups, and working her upper body. She could probably still go for walks as well. Wouldn't it make more sense if her recent loss would make her want to work harder and push herself further next time? I know she was depressed, but why renounce her diet? Did she just feel like comfort feeding? The texts and calls she got from her friends should've clued her in that they weren't disappointed and still wanted to hang out. Then over she ballooned into a fat pig. That was what turned them against her. As for her new friends, I'm at least glad that they were able to cheer her up, boost her self confidence, and make her feel accepted again. She became more comfortable with her body and found a new interest, learning that she didn't have to worry about everything being perfect and it was OK to just enjoy herself. Unfortunately, I felt every other aspect of her life went downhill. All she seemed to care about was gaming and food. She stopped caring about her health, proper hygiene, or keeping things clean and organized. Why? The fact that she cared so little about what used to mean so much to her just made me feel depressed for her. In this sense, Priscilla actually came across as more noble as she wanted to work out with Becky again and help her to get her life back on track, but Becky rejected this? Instead, she became monstrously obese, went days without washing, let her room turn into a complete pigsty, and left her old life behind altogether! She went from end of the spectrum to the complete opposite. Why couldn't Becky come to some sort of balance? She could be clean and healthy while still allowing time for gaming and treating herself every now and then. Just the fact she had trouble standing up was a clear sign of how unhealthy she had become. For me, that was truly sad. Even if she was comfortable with her size, neglecting her health and hygiene was just gross. Priscilla was sorry for what happened and could really have helped her out, but Becky pretty much went without ever seeing her again, remaining a sedentary, dirty slob. This just made Becky seem less intelligent for me, and in some ways unlikable and shallow. She may have learned her lesson from before, but birthed a mess of new problems. Because of that, I found the ending to be unsatisfying.

Sorry, I know that was an incredibly long winded comment, but I had a lot that I wanted to say about this well described and illustrated, but ultimately flawed and disappointing story. Sorry, those are just my honest feelings.