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justawesome1's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
rvamburgh's review against another edition
3.0
I’m really happy someone has put together a collection of essays about fat acceptance for a YA audience. My girlfriend and I had a really fun time taking turns reading this entire book out loud to each other (10/10 would recommend doing this with friends or a partner, doesn’t just have to be for kids!). We really enjoyed some of the pieces, but several just felt redundant, and a few were downright problematic. I think the editing could have been more concise and streamlined in the specifics of the message it was trying to convey, particularly considering the vulnerability of the target audience. Liked, didn’t love.
tklassy's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
This was fun. Some contributions dragged and the continued and repeated self-love message got tired. BUT...I would highly recommend this read to others just starting out with fat acceptance or as an introduction to FA and its many guises.
jr_the_pin_witch's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
walrus420's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
libscote's review against another edition
4.0
I read the advanced reader's copy of this book, so I think there were a few things off about it (I think an author bio was missing, and the art was still to come) but this was such a great mix of different essays or stories about the experience of being plus-size that I think will benefit many teens (and adults). I can't wait to get my hands on the finished copy and see the beautiful art.
wishfulfillment's review against another edition
5.0
❖ [booktube wish fulfillment] ❖ [twitter exsixtwosix] ❖
#ownvoices review
I was going to go through each of these essays and give them separate ratings, but by the time I got to the middle of the book, they'd all been 5 stars. This essay collection handles #ownvoices intelligently by focusing on having fat folks talk to us about fat politics, rather than about individualized personal experiences of being fat. Idk how this seems to you, but I have read too many essay collections claiming to be about an #ownvoices topic, but then being just about how a handful of people think and feel. The authors here and well-versed on the topic. They pay attention to what the audience as a whole needs to know, and not just what they want to say, even those authors who wrote letters to their teenage selves. When focusing on an identity and the politics, hatred, and positivity around it, the editor and collaborators created an educational work that is a must-read more than just a dip in the experience pool of the fat identity.
If you're wanting another synopsis:
The editor makes clear in their introduction and throughout the work, the fat folks who wrote these essays are not just size 12 cishet white women! They are trans, nonbinary, queer, bisexual, black, asian, indigingeous, Mexican, survivors of rape, in recovery from eating disorders, disabled, AND SO ON. They discuss how sometimes one or two of their other identities are treated the exact opposite way than their fat identity. One of them even discusses what it's like to meet fatness standards only in their ethnicity but not by US standards, and another discusses what having white-passing privilege is like! I could go on and on!
#ownvoices review
I was going to go through each of these essays and give them separate ratings, but by the time I got to the middle of the book, they'd all been 5 stars. This essay collection handles #ownvoices intelligently by focusing on having fat folks talk to us about fat politics, rather than about individualized personal experiences of being fat. Idk how this seems to you, but I have read too many essay collections claiming to be about an #ownvoices topic, but then being just about how a handful of people think and feel. The authors here and well-versed on the topic. They pay attention to what the audience as a whole needs to know, and not just what they want to say, even those authors who wrote letters to their teenage selves. When focusing on an identity and the politics, hatred, and positivity around it, the editor and collaborators created an educational work that is a must-read more than just a dip in the experience pool of the fat identity.
If you're wanting another synopsis:
The editor makes clear in their introduction and throughout the work, the fat folks who wrote these essays are not just size 12 cishet white women! They are trans, nonbinary, queer, bisexual, black, asian, indigingeous, Mexican, survivors of rape, in recovery from eating disorders, disabled, AND SO ON. They discuss how sometimes one or two of their other identities are treated the exact opposite way than their fat identity. One of them even discusses what it's like to meet fatness standards only in their ethnicity but not by US standards, and another discusses what having white-passing privilege is like! I could go on and on!
lpineo's review against another edition
3.0
I had high hopes going into this, thinking it would be like a teen magazine with autobiographical stories, artwork, poems, other interactive things...but it was 90% stories, the same artwork throughout with a couple other illustrations and a reference section at the end of where to look for plus size clothes. I did think that last clothes section was cool, along with a few of the stories and some art but after reading through half the book the stories started to feel repetitive. Yes, they were from different genders, races, abilities, etc but they still had the same basic idea: I'm fat, I don't let it get in the way anymore, I'm confident and you can be too! While I like the message, as an adult now it didn't really change how I see the world, other fat people or myself. And I'm sad to say I think it would have done even less if I'd read it as a teen. Body positivity and fat acceptance? I would have rolled my eyes, thought 'good for you that you can accept your body but I can't' and moved on. I still really like the idea of this book and hope other people get more out of it than I did.
sierranorgan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
LOVED this book! Such a mix of supporting essays for anyone who finds themselves under the fat spectrum!