Cameron Beekman’s life changed when her parents paid for a rhinoplasty the same summer her family moved a hundred and twenty-five miles, from La Jolla to Bel Air. With her hair lightened, her braces off, and free to create a new personality, she went from being the ostracised “Beakface” to one of the hottest and most popular girls in school.
But however happy she is now, part of Cameron is still scarred by the horrendous bullying she endured, and she wonders how her new friends would feel about her if they knew the truth.
Cameron’s younger sister Allie loves soccer. She doesn’t understand Cameron’s obsession with hair, and makeup, and boys, and she feel less close to her ex-model mother because of it. Her whole family have assumed she wants a nose job, just like Cameron, and have arranged for it without even asking her, even though Allie hasn’t ever realised her nose was a problem. But the surgery recuperation time will eat into soccer camp, and coach has told her she won’t make varsity if she doesn’t attend the entire program.
Though the take home message of this book is a given – plastic surgery can’t fix everything in your life etc – the journey is well executed, and the characters are surprisingly well rounded. Margolis captures the adolescent conflict between desire for parental approval and the need to find your own way, the power of bullying and its ramifications, the impact perceived physical imperfection has on the psyche, and how others may not even notice what you see as a huge flaw, and the distress the formerly beautiful can feel as they age.
As I said, the message is a little heavy handed, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fix, and will keep an eye out for more of the author’s work. – Alex
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