“My eyes are up here.”
There’s a very good chance, especially if you’re a woman or a girl in today’s day and age, that you’ve uttered this phrase at some point in your life. Or at the very least, you’ve thought it.
That’s exactly the case for Greer Walsh, the main character of the soon-to-be-released (due out June 23rd, in fact) YA novel My Eyes Are Up Here by Laura Zimmermann. My Eyes Are Up Here is, at its simplest, about a young woman who’s a sophomore in high school and struggling with some body image issues. But I assure you, it’s also much more than that.
Before I get further into the review, a big, big thank you to Penguin Teen for inviting me to read this e-ARC! I really appreciate it & I’m so excited to have gotten early accesst ot his novel. You all know I love a good YA contemporary!
Now, more about the book:
Our MC, Greer, is known for a few things at school—being incredibly good at math, being the best friend of the eternally outspoken Maggie, and pretty much always wearing the same baggie hoodie.
But the reason she hides inside her baggie hoodie is exactly what she doesn’t want to be known for—the size of her breasts. At such a young age, Greer is already suffering not just from the emotional stress of having inconveniently large breasts (or as she describes them, “bigger than her head”), but also the physical toll, as well. And just the general logistics of getting dressed and going about her day to day life. Despite the fact that she doesn’t want them (she has named them “Maude and Mavis”, by the way) to be her defining characteristic for others, they are very much her defining characteristic to herself. She thinks constantly about how they feel physically, how much they hurt, how to deal with them, how to hide them, and the things they prevent her from doing and enjoying—like playing sports or or dating the cute new guy or buying a nice dress for the school dance.
This contemporary YA follows Greer as she learns more about herself and how she fits into the world around her as more than just the girl with the huge breasts, and learns to accept herself how she is and not let her body image problems stop her from living her life—even if she does have to live it a little differently from other people.
In my opinion, the three best things about this book are the characters, the humor, and the uplifting message.
You all know I love a good character-driven book. I prefer it, actually. The plot could be anything (or nothing, for all I care). To me, if the characters are good enough and are written well, they alone can be the driving force behind a story. And My Eyes Are Up Here is not lacking on wonderful, well-developed characters. Greer Walsh is great as a main character because she is someone a lot of young readers will find extremely relatable—but not just young readers. The way she talks about her image of herself, her own anxiety, and the way she wishes she could fold in on herself are aspects that I think a lot of people can identify with, no matter what their age or what their insecurities. Whether you struggle with body image issues like Greer, or insecurities about anything—skin, voice, hair, the way you talk—the author speaks through Greer about these feelings in a way that you will be able to nod at and say, “Yes. That’s exactly it. I feel that.”
But Greer has a great supporting cast backing her up, too. Her best friend Maggie, for one, is hilarious but lovable. Lovable like a porcupine. Maggie is fierce and woke and ready to fight anyone, anywhere about any injustice. Whether it’s animal rights or feminism or societal expectations or environmental activism, Maggie is there, and she’s loud, and she’s proud, and she will not back down. Everyone in school knows her because she has something to say about everything and while her classmates roll her eyes at yet another of her outbursts, you can’t help but laugh along and kind of quietly cheer her on. In the vein of Gremma from The Hearts We Sold or Reagan from Fangirl, Maggie is exactly the type of BFF you want on your side.
But funny enough, one of the smaller side characters ended up being probably my favorite character in the whole book, and that was Jessa. When Greer eventually works up the courage (and finds the right bra) to try out for the volleyball team, Jessa Timms becomes her JV captain. Jessa is loyal and confident and instead of being a stereotypical, flatly written jock character, she’s a lowkey badass who really stands out. She helps teach Greer that it’s okay to talk about the female body—after all, it is your body. There’s this moment where all the girls leave volleyball practice and Jessa waits with them to make sure every single player on the team gets picked up safely before she leaves, and even though it was a small gesture, it made my little heart grow three sizes too big when I saw how much she cared about her girls and was looking out for them. She’s probably one of the best people in the book. She’s one of those side characters I’d read a whole novel about if there was one.
Jessa has a lot of standout moments in the book, but I don’t want to spoil the whole thing, so you really just have to read it to see how much of a badass she is and how much she helps the other characters throughout.
I also absolutely loved the humor in this book. As you may also know, there are few things I adore more than a snarky YA character, and Greer fits that bill perfectly (as do some of her friends). Despite her insecurities about her breasts, she brings a lot of humor to the situation, as well as a lot of wry, hilarious observations about high school, other people, and the world around her. You will be touched by the messages about self-love and body image in this book—but you will also be laughing your butt off as you go.
Which leads me to my other favorite thing about this book—the overall message. Greer learns a lot throughout the book, and I think readers will, too. Like life, this novel is an ongoing journey of tough experiences and personal growth. But the messages of loving yourself, of female empowerment, and of sticking up for yourself (even when your worst enemy lives inside your own head) are enduring. I think this will be a great book for young readers who are struggling or learning about body confidence. But again, you don’t have to be a teen to appreciate these messages. I felt so uplifted by the confidence and attitude coming out of this book, it was hard not to close my e-reader cover without uttering a triumphant “hell, yeah!” in honor of these characters.
If I were to say anything negative about this book, it would be that Greer mentions her favorite childhood toy a couple times, and I was absolutely horrified. She notes that she used to love playing with her American Girl dolls and at one point says that Maggie’s baseball loving brother Max would pitch them pine cones and they would swing at them with their American Dolls. Horrified by the image of a pine cone exploding into shards across Josefina Montoya’s face, I highlighted the passage on my e-reader in pink and added a digital note that said “YOU DID WHAT?! THOSE DOLLS ARE EXPENSIVE.” So I’m officially either old or frugal or both.
I jest. (I mean I really did make that note, but I’m joking. I had to laugh, both at the passage, and at my own reaction to it.)
I don’t see any reason to rate this any less than five stars. It’s great. My Eyes Are Up Here is out June 23rd from Penguin Teen, and I highly recommend it to any fans of YA, contemporaries, feminism, and body positivity. Zimmermann did some excellent work here, and you will not be disappointed.
Does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Do you plan on checking it out? Let me know in the comments! You know I’d love to talk.