Life in the Fat Lane
 The novels main character is Lara Ardeche. According to Lara, her family life is perfect because her parents are youthful, beautiful, and involve themselves in every aspect of her and her brother's life. She is elected homecoming queen for her high school, following in her mother's footsteps, and she is her father's "princess". Each morning is a daily routine of waking up in a glamorous home, eating a healthy but delicious home-cooked meal, and working out in her home gym given to the family by their wealthy grandpa. Her best friend Molly is the complete opposite. She is overweight, her family life is a wreck, her nickname is "the Mouth", and has a sarcastic sense of humor. After being elected homecoming queen, Lara notices a rapid weight change. Each week she gains over ten pounds. No matter how much she works out, diets, or even starves herself there is no way around the weight gain. Her thin and perfect mother begs Lara to do anything she can to keep the weight off and her father eventually stops calling her "princess". Every one of Lara's so-called friends abandons her, except for Molly and Lara's boyfriend Jett. Within months, Lara gains 100 pounds. After seeking over fifty medical doctors, she is diagnosed with the rare and incurable disease "Axell-Crowne" syndrome, a severe metabolic disorder. Her relationship with Jett begins to deteriorate, along with her entire family's relationship. Lara's dad announces that he is having an affair. In order to try to hold up the last strings of the family, the family moves to Michigan from Nashville to begin a new start, but Lara is having an even harder time at this high school. People refer to the once 100 pound girl as the "obese girl" and nobody believes that she truly has a rare but severe disease. Lara begins taking piano classes in her new home to occupy her boredom and is introduced to a new group of friends. Once enrolled in the piano classes, she meets some of the most genuine people who do not use looks as a mean of creating friendships. She spends time with a boy who is blind who appreciates Lara for her true self. Lara begins accepting herself and believing in who she is. She has different perceptions on what relationships need to have in order to sustain. The weight is slowly coming off, but Lara finally realizes a thin body is not the key to happiness.