1 YEAR, 100 POUNDS

The title promises a weight-loss memoir, but readers will find a flawed how-to guide instead.

At 14, Whitney Holcombe discovered she weighed 230 pounds and resolved to change. Starting by walking, she began the hard work and discipline to lose 100 pounds in a year. But after one chapter giving the basics of Holcombe’s story, this work shifts into a guide to losing weight, starting with the proverbial “wake-up call” and setting goals. Losing weight through exercise and eating healthily are addressed with some good information, including workout diagrams and primers on how to read nutrition labels. Unfortunately, Holcombe’s tone throughout the work may well put readers off; it’s an immature, “I know best” voice that evokes bossy trainers like Jillian Michaels. But there’s no empathy for readers’ struggles—her story about appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show and condemning her fellow guests for choosing weight-loss surgery over exercise and portion control is but one example.

This blandly generic weight-loss guide doesn’t have enough heart to connect with readers.