Something's Wrong with Your Scale : A Romantic Comedy

Ebony Magazine

Whitfield's book shines for its original plot and reflection of everyday people and life experiences.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

From the author of the Blackboard bestseller Beeperless Remote comes a lighthearted tale of self-discovery and weight loss. Overweight African-American Sonny "Chubbs" Walker is in serious denial about his food obsession and his portly new proportions. He's a sweet-natured, down-to-earth wanna-be Buppie, who's just been dumped by his girlfriend after putting on more than 75 pounds. In hopes of winning back his lady and getting a promotion from his current embarrassing position as "loose balls" section manager at Sports Authority, Sonny decides to join FutraSystems weight loss center, where he develops a friendship with fellow dieter Kayla Jennings, a sassy and successful entrepreneur. Sonny is attracted to Kayla, but his deluded ego just can't accept the fact that she's a "big girl," and his buddies, Chet and E, prove themselves to be shallow, wise-cracking goofballs as they advise Sonny not to date Kayla. Sonny grapples with his buddies' opinions and gradually comes to terms with some of the real issues around losing weight: health, feeling good about oneself, and loving someone for who they are. Weight discrimination is a strong and humorously illuminated theme, as Kayla and Sonny are derided by waiters in restaurants, saleswomen in plus-size clothing stores, co-workers, bosses and even each other. Whitfield's hip-hop narrative style places us squarely within Sonny's world, and issues of self-esteem and consumerism are reflected with a very '90s glut of name brand and media references. Rife with the obvious "fat jokes" and an uplifting message about finding happiness in neither food nor fitness alone, this book doesn't take itself too seriously, and its good-natured tone makes for an entertaining, if fluffy, feel-good romance. (Feb.)

Library Journal

Sonny Walker, a nice, hard-working African American, is overweight. Very overweight. His lady friend has broken up with him, unable to accept his rotund appearance any longer. Heartbroken and fed up with the difficulties of being large, Sonny goes to a weight-loss center and signs up for a program of bland food, meetings, and counseling. There he meets the lovely Kayla, who but for her abundant outward appearance could be someone in whom he might take a romantic interest. Kayla turns out to be better for Sonny than he'd ever expected. Whitfield, author of Beeperless Remote (Pines One, 1997), a Blackboard best seller, details the emotions of the overweight with a light, humorous touch. The second half of the story seems rushed, mentioning events and characters that have nothing to do with the main plot, but overall this is a cute book about a difficult problem. Recommended for large libraries seeking solid leisure reading about African Americans. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 8/98.]--Shirley Gibson Coleman, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

Kirkus Reviews

Whitfield's second novel (after Beeperless Remote, 1996), a romantic comedy set in the social swarm of contemporary weight-loss culture, is just about as thin as the characters wish their stomachs were. Sonny Walker, thirtysomething, has been gaining weight. In fact, so much weight that beautiful Marsha dumps him just as he's reaching for another piece of cheesecake. After the breakup, he goes on to gain some more, but then when he's asked to model as a tent at work (a sporting-goods store), Sonny decides some serious weight loss is in order. Signing up with FutraSystem, he quickly gets acquainted there with a shady counselor who realizes that "A hefty guy like you ain't gonna make it on that little bit of food they give you." For a little extra cash, therefore, Sonny can get as much Futra food as he can pack away. But, more important, at that first meeting he encounters Kayla (smart, sassy, and independent). There's only one problem: she's too fat. Nevertheless, they strike up a friendship-the kind that's supposed to offer support if they ever feel the urge to, uh, cheat on their diets. (They cheat, anyway.) Though Sonny feels guilty about his failures to meet the challenge, Kayla is comfy with her own body: she's always been overweight, deriving her self-image from who she is, as opposed to what she looks like. The two build a tender relationship (despite their aversion to dating anybody on the obese side) as Sonny sticks anew to the goals of his diet and exercise regime and Kayla remains happily the way she's always been. For her second outing, Whitfield has built a compelling portrait of young African-Americans in D.C., with humor that's sometimes laugh-out-loud (does anextra-big man really need extra-big condoms?), but there's no emotional resonance also built in, anything that might make a reader cheer on Sonny and Kayla's battle against the bulge-and their thick-thighed romance. Amusing, but little else. .