Adolescent Novel - Sophie

*FAT CHANCE*

Fat Chance is a great fictional novel for adolescents by Margaret Clark. Despite being initially published in 1993, the adolescent themes addressed; such as social status, body image and hormones are still equally relevant today. The story is narrated in first person by Lisa, a fourteen year old teen who lives with her mother, father and brother in Australia. Lisa is a pretty girl who is overweight due to the unhealthy habits of her family. She dreams of being a model and becoming 'the face', but can't seem to get a handle on her eating habits. How can she when her Mum endlessly serves her greasy fatty food? When her parents surprise her by announcing they have bought a fast food van to set up at the beach, Lisa is mortified. Especially since she has to work as part of the hot dog squad. How will she ever lose weight surrounded by all that food, not to mention be popular when she has to wear an embarrassing pink t-shirt. But funnily enough, Lisa finds she is so busy over the summer working hard in the family business that she loses weight without thinking about it. And her weight becomes the last thing on her mind when Lisa and her friends are part of a freak accident on the beach and wind up in hospital. Lisa makes new friends, learns about responsibility, what is important in life, and even gets offered a modelling contract.
The narrative structure involves several complications, such as the hot dog squad, the beach accident, fights with her best friend and Lisa's brother running away. All of these complications are resolved in the end but in a way that is realistic. We know that Lisa is going to have other obstacles ahead as we all do in life, such as pursuing her modelling hopes and developing the family business.

This is a great read, even as an adult reader I could relate to the feelings and events Lisa describes, remembering what it was like being her age. I think middle to senior school students would really engage with this text given that they are experiencing similar issues in their lives. It is a great story to encourage reluctant readers to read because it is funny, honest and relative. There were several messages for readers to draw from the text. I think Clark wanted teens to worry less about their image and what peers think of them, which is shown by Lisa admitting she likes 'Mike the midget'. Lisa realises that her parents aren't so horrible and that the more responsible she is, the more respect and trust she earns.