Last Updated on September 29, 2022 by ellen
Camp Utopia and the Forgiveness Diet
Author: Jenny Ruden
ISBN: 978-1940192314
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Girls & Women
Release: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Koehler Books
300 Pages
Goodreads * Author’s Website
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About the book:
Sixteen-year-old Baltimore teen Bethany Stern knows the only way out of spending her summer at Camp Utopia, a fat camp in Northern California, is weight-loss. Desperate, she tries The Forgiveness Diet, the latest fad whose infomercial promises that all she has to do is forgive her deadbeat dad, her scandalous sister, and the teenage magician next door and (unrequited) love of her life. But when the diet fails and her camp nemesis delivers the ultimate blow, Bee bids sayonara to Camp-not-Utopian-at-all to begin what she believes will be her “real” summer adventure, only to learn that running away isn’t as easy—or as healing—as it seems.
Camp Utopia and the Forgiveness Diet by Jenny Ruden
Bethany is an overweight sixteen year old whose mother decides she has to spend her summer at Camp Utopia to lose weight. She doesn’t want to go and leave TJ, the boy she’s convinced she’s in love with even though he doesn’t know or return her feelings.
A commercial on TV advertises The Forgiveness Diet – a diet that promises she will lose weight if she just forgives all the people in her life for things they have done. Bethany doesn’t like Camp Utopia or the other girls there. She doesn’t like that she’s the heaviest one at camp. She doesn’t like that they confiscate everyone’s cell phones. She’s convinced that The Forgiveness Diet will make her lose weight even though it isn’t working.
Bethany has a way of looking at life that will really make you smile. She is sarcastic, a bit snarky and very funny. She writes emails on her computer telling people things she really wants to tell them and then saves them to draft without sending them.
Things just keep getting worse at Camp Utopia and Bethany runs away with her roommate. She learns more about life and herself than she ever has before. She falls in love, makes friends and has an adventure.
While Camp Utopia and The Forgiveness Diet is technically a Young Adult book, I highly recommend it for anyone that has always struggled with not being one of the perfect people. Whether your struggle was with your weight, your appearance or just being a little bit different, it’s definitely a book you need to read.
I literally could not put it down and identified with Bethany and her struggles even though weight wasn’t an issue for me. Highly recommended.
Ellen is a mom of a 25-year-old son and 30-year-old daughter. She is Grandma to one adorable toddler. In what little spare time she has, she loves to read, watch movies, and check out the latest toys and games.
Oh this looks good to me. I was a nutrition counselor before nursing and earned my first degree in nutrition. I also know how rough it is for teen and their weight, especially girls and with all the media now, ugh. I’d read this one for sure.
I definitely enjoyed it, Deb. Great book even for adults.
Im sure a lot of teens will really be able to identify with this book!
I’m sure they will, Diane!