Zara Hagopian is size 22. She has a secret crush on the hottest boy in school, Pablo Fernandez, who has a skinny girlfriend named Holly. Zara hangs out with her best friends Carmelina and Max. They go window shopping in Parramatta and drink hot chocolate in Stockland Mall. Zara learns some of life’s hard lessons when she puts these friendships on the line and goes on a diet to win the boy of her dreams.

The Diet Starts on Monday is the first in a series of novels to be published by Sweatshop. Tamar Chnorhokian is a vital new voice from Western Sydney. Her debut young adults fiction speaks to young Australians with double servings of humour and heart.