I'd recommend this book to any middle grade or young adult reader looking for a book with lots of laughs, and not laden with romance. And, if you're not satisfied with only the humor inside the book, I suggest checking out peakperspective.com, the blog home of Shelley Sackier.

Opal is a teen girl who is struggling with her weight. She eats and uses food to mask her feelings. Her father has passed away and her mother is always busy, especially now she is starting up a bookstore. When a doctor discovers that Opal is on the brink to be pre-diabetic, her mother decides it is time for a changerHer mother is concerned with Opal's weight, but in all the wrong ways. She buys her diet foods, and skinny jeans, leaves her not-so-encouraging notes in the pantry, and encourages her to start a blog about her journey. Her blog becomes an overnight success and Opal begins to gain a little self confidence. In the meantime, Opal upsets her best friend Summer because of her negativity toward Alfie Adam, the "nude chef" who is leading the charge towards the lunch changes. In an effort to improve her health and win back her best friend, Opal starts cooking and making healthier food choices. Her transformation is not only on the outside, but also on the inside.

This is a young adult novel with a very different approach and plot then most others. This book handles a topic you don't come across in many fiction books aimed at young adults. At first I found the style it was written in a bit odd, and I doubted if I should continue reading because it jumped in all directions in the first few chapters. It was a bit unbelievabla also that Dear Opl got so many followers in just a few months and that her classmates didn't believe it was her writing.and it was quite entertaining though to read Opals healthy change process and progress and I liked the ending of the story!

There's a lot to like about this book, especially in the way it handles grief in younger teens and middle school kids (also: 13 is not middle grade - that's early YA. 8-12 is proper for middle grade.
However, I will take issue that the only healthy body is one that looks thin - I have had numerous students of all shapes and sizes who are fit and athletic. I would have preferred for her pre-diabetic status to become a healthy living story instead of a lose weight story.