THE PIG-OUT BLUES

Jodie's widowed mother Vanessa nags her for being fat and overeating, which is probably why Jodie is fat and overeats. In contrast, her friend Heather Simms' family is warm, accepting, and, we're told, intellectual. (From the evidence, they're disgustingly corny.) Jodie does lose weight to try out for Juliet in the high school play, but she faints from hunger as she takes the stage. And Maude St. James, the new girl from England who can't memorize lines, is chosen to play Juliet opposite David Simms, Heather's brother and Jodie's secret heartthrob. So, for Jodie, it's back to pigging out, gaining weight, and having screaming matches with her mother. Then Vanessa, having love problems of her own, goes off to the Caribbean and thinks things over. Jodie, staying with the Simms family while she's gone, eats sensibly and loses weight, David, at odds with Maude and with his father, runs away; and Jodie becomes a hero for knowing where to find him and for talking him into returning. The two return to the Simms home to find Vanessa back from vacation; there's an all-round reunion; and everyone decides to start fresh. The material might as well be reshuffled elements from a YA fiction bank, and for a story that is all about feelings it is sadly lacking in emotional dimension.