Just a Few Inches by Tara St. Pierre
4 out of 5 stars.

“No one should be considered average; it’s a purely mathematical concept, and though math may have its useful purposes, describing who a person is shouldn’t be one of them.”

Goodreads Description: All Carrie Roberts wants is to be a little bit smaller. To fit into the perfect dress for the Valentine’s Day Dance. To look beautiful for her boyfriend, the school’s star basketball player. To keep his jealous ex-girlfriend, a rival cheerleader, away from him. And to be noticed by her classmates. Exercising and dieting don’t work, but an advertisement for weight loss pills promises a quicker solution to her problem. As time runs out, she takes more than the recommended dose until she’s just a few inches slimmer. Heads turn when she arrives at the dance, and the wonderful night with her boyfriend is beyond what she dreamed it would be. Days later, Carrie discovers that her body is changing in ways that should be impossible. While her doctor searches for a cure, she desperately turns to her friends and family for support. Everyone is noticing her now whether she likes it or not, and even the media is intrigued by her incredible story. Getting everything she once wanted has created new problems—problems that are growing more terrifying every day. Because Carrie Roberts is shrinking.

Thank you to Tara for sending a copy of her book Just a Few Inches. I am so glad that I was given to opportunity to read this book. As soon as I read the description, I knew I wanted to read it. It sounded like such an interesting idea and story and I was excited to see how it all unfolded.

Carrie wants to lose a little weight to fit into a dress that she wants to wear to a school dance. She comes across some diet pills and decides to take them, so that she can fit into her new dress. She ends up taking more than she is supposed to and she starts shrinking in height instead. At first the book was a little too weird and I wasn’t sure what to think as I continued to read. It did keep my interest though and I was invested in Carrie and her story.

She tried to be as positive as should could be and she had an amazing support system with her family and friends. I think they played a big part in keeping her moving forward and always looking up. I loved her friends Lauren, Trish, and Evan. They accepted her no matter what was happening to her. Family and friends are everything and especially when you’re going through something so difficult and life changing.

I found myself Googling and looking for comparisons to every time she shrank, so that I could get a better idea of her size. I think at some point in our lives we have all struggled with our appearances and this book deals a lot with body image and I think that’s why it’s so easy to connect with Carrie. She’s a relatable character, she’s a strong character, and she dealt so well with everything she was going through.

Overall, I really enjoyed Just a Few Inches. I thought it was such a cool and interesting story. I laughed a lot, I smiled a lot, I even shed a few tears along the way as well. I would definitely recommend reading this book.

“We all have the capacity for incredible achievements and incredible change, but those come from the inside, and none of it will happen while you’re obsessing about what’s on the outside.”

I hope you have an amazing day! 🙂