Manning Up

Manning Up is about Jack, a high school football player with an eating disorder. Jack struggles with feelings of not letting anyone down--his mom, his sister, his coach, or his teammates. When Jack decides to use steroids, his body issues take a drastic turn.

A really good football book in easy poetry form for reluctant readers. The language is almost too simplistic for even some of our lower high school readers, but definitely good for middle school. Discusses male eating disorders and steroid abuse. Wrapped up a little too quickly and too nicely--I wish there was more depth.

I was attracted to reading this book as it is a Hi Lo book which roughly means, when I googled it to explain it correctly, I found the following explanations “A hi-lo book, broadly defined, is a title that offers highly interesting subject matter at a low reading level. A number of publishers have focused on producing these books, though they often take slightly different approaches to creating the products that best fit a particular market.” Also, another description I have come across is, ““Books where stuff happens…but easy to read. Not a book for kids.” This is a common readers’ advisory question for reluctant or struggling teen readers (and their adults). Such readers often feel keenly the gap between the books they are able to read, and the topics they *want* to read. Must they read from the children’s section, with its juvenile topics and the same titles they would have picked in grade school? Not at all. This is a gap that hi/lo books aim to fill.”

I really like the cover of this book and in fact, generally like the covers of Hi Lo books as the ones I have come across are bright, colourful and certainly draw your eyes and attention to them. The genres listed for this book are Children’s fiction, Teens and YA and it does fit those genres but as an adult I still enjoyed reading this book, I would say personally I think the book is aimed at the teenaged end of children’s fiction rather than under 12’s though.

The books main character is Jack a high school soccer player who is already really good though he does watch what he eats fairly carefully. Where his team mates go for milkshakes and burgers after school, Jack will go along but by moving table to table, talking to different team mates he manages to get away with not eating anything and no one noticing he isn’t eating too. The soccer coach is constantly pressuring the team to play better, train harder to get to the championships. Though he is already a great soccer player when he see’s other team members receiving medication to help them bulk up more than he is already naturally with his gym sessions. Jack soon discovers the side affects of taking medication is a real problem.

Jack lives with his mum and sister Beth as his dad died years before. Jack sort of considers himself as the man of the house and takes a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He tries his hardest to be strong and doesn’t share his emotions and feelings very well. Jack worries about hi sister Beth being bullied at school, and worries when he hears his mother sat crying at the kitchen table surrounded by bills. He really takes on the whole family’s problems and issues. When his friends at school are counting the days to the end of school, thinking about who to ask to the homecoming dance and talking about going away to college and what they want from the years ahead, Jack cannot seem to get excited for leaving school and cannot see what his future will be.

I won’t go any further into the details of the book but I have to say I felt really pulled into the book. Even though it is a fairly short book it is a very quick read. I really didn’t want to put it down and became quickly attached to the character of Jack. The story and plot come across really realistic and I think this book would be a great one to be read in schools to prompt conversations.

To sum up, I have to say I adored the characters in this book. The book illustrates perfectly that body dysmorphia and eating disorders are not exclusive to females. This book tells the story of a fantastic football player called Jack who doesn't believe he is good enough.

I absolutely fell in love with this book from the very beginning! Coming from a small town a little bigger than Comfort, the setting in this book I felt as if I was super connected to the characters. When I was in high school I was apart of the Friday night lights scene as a member of marching band. Football has always been a huge part of my life so I loved absolutely every minute of this book. I knew the pain he was feeling because I kept visualizing my hometown. It was beautifully written and I will continue to read her works. I highly recommend it!!

This review is based on an ARC of <i>Manning Up</i> which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (West 44 Books).

3.75 stars

For such a short novel I spent a lot longer thinking about this one than I do with most books. Jack's story has a haunting and introspective air that I didn't imagine I'd find in a football story. (I don't read many male-centric YA books though, so what do I know?)

<i>Manning Up</i> is a novel-in-verse and therefore very reminiscent of some Ellen Hopkins classics. I definitely would recommend this read to Hopkins' fans! I'm really glad to have found another author similar to Hopkins with gritty, raw plotlines and almost unbearably real narrators. I hope there will be more to read from Bee Walsh in the future! The only downside I have in comparing Bee Walsh to Ellen Hopkins is that <i>Manning Up</i>, being so much shorter than any Hopkins novel, seems more like an outline or draft in comparison. If this novel was more fleshed out it could easily have been 4 stars or higher for me.

Lastly, I just want to point out how important a story this one is. When we think about eating disorders most people probably assume that it mostly affects women and girls. This story goes to show otherwise. Boys worry too much about their looks as well. Despite coming from an entirely different walk of life from Jack I could relate heavily to his thoughts and struggles. This is some fantastic expression in writing (even though it made me sad lol.)

I really enjoyed this novel-in-verse from Bee Walsh, I just wish it would have lasted longer!

Good book. The writing style was not quite my thing but overall the stories and characters were very good and well planned and thought out

I love that this story talked about guys with body dysmorphic disorder. If you see books on the subject, they're usually about girls who suffer, but more and more guys are being diagnosed with this as well. The story was well done and I was happy that it had hope and healing. The poetry style was cool, but I wish there were more so we could really get into it and see Jack's journey in depth.
Good subject manner and I loved the family aspect of the plot.

This is an important book for middle school aged readers. Reading this books may help students understand that everyone is dealing/struggling with something in their lives, even if we cannot see it. Additionally, Walsh tackles a tough topic and will help younger readers realize that eating disorders can present themselves in many different ways and can affect anyone.

This book was amazing for me to read as a female. I was pleasantly surprised by how the topic was presented and how the main character was believable. Great book for young men who may begin to doubt their bodies and not understand how they feel about themselves.

Great book written in verse, probably one of my favorites. This novel tackles male eating disorders, which is something that isn’t talked about much. Fast read that is definitely an eye opener!