TW: ASSAULT *** a coming-of-age book about a young overweight girl that tries to drown herself next to a beached whale
UPDATE: solved very quickly! thank you everyone! this is such a good book, i thrifted it for $2 and it was one of the best books i've ever read!!! highly recommend!!!
THE COVER: an ocean background, with a painted partial face
the story: a young girl is molested by her upstairs neighbor. her grandmother and mother think she's a whore and enabled it, and her dad eventually divorces her mom. she becomes depressed and gains a lot of weight. she goes to college and becomes obsessed with her roommate's boyfriend. the janitor at this college is a closeted lesbian and attempts to groom the girl. the girl kills the janitor's prized fish.
the girl makes an attempt on her own life by drowning herself next to a dead beached whale, and goes into inpatient therapy and rehab, where she forms a special bond with her therapist, and works on her parental bonds. she gets very good at etch-a-sketch art.
in the end, she ends up having a baby and marries a man that does really like her. it's not the ideal life, but she is happy.