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Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas

"When Emmett Truesdale is chosen to be a participant in a clinical trial for a new weight loss procedure, he's all in. He starts to shed the weight like magic but, of course, there are side effects, unpleasant, disturbing, frightening side effects. Though the book had many good points about body shaming/the obsession we have over fitting in and being skinny, in the end, the characters and the plot were just overdone and ridiculous." 

⭐⭐

Pros: This was a harsh reality of body shaming and shows the kind of culture that sadly, many people struggle with. If you're not skinny, then you're not worth other peoples time, attention etc. It's a sad fact but it's one that's still very much prevalent.  

Cons: I feel like some of the characters were unnecessarily crass/uncouth, especially Lizette/Emmet himself would always crumble into tears, run away or lash out violently when met with a hard conversation. 

Full Review: 

Emmett Truesdale is a 300+ heavy man who works at Target at night and is trying to get a job during the day as a teacher. He’s constantly judged for his weight, looked down upon and struggles in almost every aspect of his life. After seeing an add on Instagram for a miraculous new weight loss procedure, he attends the seminar and is chosen as one of the participants for the Phase II clinical trial for Obexity.

The fact that he has to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) should have been a huge red flag but, he apparently doesn't care and goes for it anyway. It requires an inpatient procedure and then injections administered at home. Once the drug starts to take effect, the pounds fall off at incredible speeds. His Instagram explodes with new followers, new likes, new comments and he's buoyed by the constant support from nameless, faceless strangers on the internet. In reality, his friends and family seem to have a hard time congratulating him on apparently turning his life around. 

Of course, he's overjoyed at the way things are going. He has a boyfriend, he gets a promotion and people are finally starting to notice him not just for how big he is but for him, who he really is. Of course, it all take a darker turn when the side effects start. He only ever glanced at the documentation given to him about the Phase I clinical trial and noted that short term memory loss and mood swings could be a possiblity and at first, he's willing to shrug these few instances off as nothing serious. Only, of course, it does get serious and things quickly derail. 

Though this book had a lot of good points about body shaming, body positivity and simply struggling to love who you are, however you look, there were times where Emmet and the other characters were just petulant, immature and obnoxious. Also, there was a point in the book where one character said that, this wasn't just about losing weight, it was about getting even. I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes so far back into my head at that line that I could see my brain. 

It had its good points but it also had its ridiculous points and in the end, I just finished it for the Goodreads badge. 

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