Back in 2010, when My That's English! was just a project, we talked abut 60 Second Recap, a website that hosts video overviews of many book titles, both classic and contemporary. As today we are celebrating The Book Day in Spain, it just seems timely to bring back 60 Second Recap to our attention.
Each title has a 60-second video giving a review of the book. The level of language is a bit high, because the presenter speaks quite fast, but the length of the videos is very short (around a minute) and the YouTube transcription seems to be 100% accurate, which makes me think has been done by the staff behind 60 Second Recap .
The site also offers advice and guidance on how to write essays, which might come in handy for university students.
It’s the moment most girls dream of: Ann’s just been invited to be a bridesmaid in her
Aunt Jackie’s wedding. The problem is, Ann can’t be a bridesmaid. She doesn’t wan to be. At least, not until she loses at least 45 pounds.
I want to say something right up front. This is not a book about a fat girl. I mean, it does follow 16-year-old Ann over the ten weeks that she tries to lose weight so she’ll feel comfortable being a bridesmaid in her Aunt’s wedding. But the real story here is about the journey each of us is on to feel more comfortable in our own skin.
Still, the fact that Ann’s journey centers on her weight is refreshing, in that I haven’t read a lot of books featuring issues specific to overweight protagonists. Ann’s struggles with food, her battle to get more exercise, the prejudice she encounters as a “fat girl,” all rang true, and made Ann a sympathetic main character, in spite of the fact that Ann’s behavior isn’t always likable.
What I enjoyed most about Ann’s story, though, was that Ann’s journey ultimately became about more than just shedding pounds. It became about shedding negative self-image, defeatist thinking, and stereotypes about others. Whether or not Ann makes her weight-loss goal (no spoilers here), I can promise you that she’s lost plenty by the end of this sweet book—and gained only good in return.
