Obesity Wars-bookcover

By: Saskia van Ryn

Obesity Wars

Pages: 250 Ratings: 4.6
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If the world turned its back on your best friend for being fat, would you turn your back on him too?


At a time when the obesity problem is headlining at world health conventions, one small nation struggles to find solutions to the rising cost of healthcare. Campaigning on promises to clamp down on obesity, Shape Up – led by the charismatic William Tanner – claims a landslide victory. Honouring its campaign promises, laws targeting fat people are swiftly introduced. Government obesity squads – the GO squads - roam the streets in black vans with a license to enforce the laws by any means, whipping up violence towards fat people.


Teenagers Monty and Levi have been best friends since kindergarten. Levi is smart, funny and loyal – he’s also obese. As the obesity laws become harsher and fat people increasingly disaffected, Monty begins to resent his friend, eventually disowning him. When Levi is brutally beaten by the neighbourhood bullies, Monty hardens himself to the injustice, blaming Levi for not doing more to lose weight.


But when Levi disappears, Monty realises that something more sinister is at play. Recruited to an underground anti-government organisation, Monty seizes the opportunity to fight back in the hopes of finding his friend and restoring balance in a society gone mad.


Saskia van Ryn grew up hearing stories about war and has drawn on her parents’ experiences of fear, oppression and betrayal as inspiration for her first book—Obesity Wars. She started writing in her teens, but it wasn’t until she was drowning in nappies that she rekindled her love of storytelling and began writing again. Saskia lives and works in New Zealand with her husband and three sons.

Customer Reviews
4.6
10 reviews
10 reviews
  • Sara Carter

    This is a scaringly brilliant book! It has a captivating storyline and is well-written, but that is not what makes this book a must-read in 2023. The slow erosion of human rights has happened before, and could again. Obesity Wars shows how quickly a charismatic politician with an engaging message can corral any of us willingly down the road of fanaticism.

  • Anon

    Interesting and easy to read. Engaged with some particularly relevant themes in today's society.

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