Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - One to Watch

This was a great book, but had many retraumatizing moments in it that were crucial to the plot, but led me to wish I had done more before I read the book so that I could have better prepared myself and loved it even more

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sapuri123's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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weird_but_fucking_beautiful's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Chick lit is not one of my go to genres, but I must admit that “One To Watch”popped up on my radar when it was first published in 2020. I’m not particularly a fan of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, but the premise of a plus sized woman trying to find love on a reality show appealed to me. I placed it on my TBR but I kept funneling it to the bottom. This book resurfaced when I chose it to fulfill one of my prompts for my reading challenge. I’m actually glad I did. I was fully invested in Bea’s journey and the potential outcome. Bea is so relatable in how she projects her own self perception and thought processes onto potential suitors that she becomes her own worst enemy. Her journey from her hesitation at first about appearing on the show “Main Squeeze” to it’s final “kiss off” is fraught with self doubt and uncertainty, but at the same time what she discovers about herself is what eventually saves her life. The story packs a powerful message that so many women and young women could benefit from. You are more than just a body. Your heart and soul is your true essence, your true gift to the world. The rest is just the disposable gift wrap.

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landawn's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

(Rounded down)
Things I liked:
- representation
- some relatable moments
- mixed media

Things I disliked:
- Bea felt very one-dimensional - everything about her seemed to directly tied to her being fat, or single (which again, indirectly related to her size). I’m all for representation and including that as a main plot point, but where was the rest of her personality, or hobbies?
- the plot doesn’t feel original at all. I get that it’s not trying to hide that it’s based off the Bachelor, but the author didn’t even TRY to make any of it unique.
- the ending. Who she ends up with felt too neat and tidy to me. Give me a real conversation/apology!
- Bea’s internalized fat-phobia

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caseyrich's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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goldenas's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The plus sized representation and diversity among the contestants was great to see. But Bea was a little hard to root for when

we start the first chapter with her having intentional sex with an engaged man who then doesn’t even bother to respect her enough to either end his engagement or talk to Bea. The worst part? She is hung up on this man for the majority of the book! So infuriating

She also is deeply insecure. Now I’m all for showing realistic mental thoughts about how we feel about our bodies (we aren’t confident 100% of the time) but constantly projecting or acting as if a non plus sized man would never love her made it hard to not want to shake some sense into Bea. Especially when her family loves and supports her. I wanted to cry at how sweet and loving Stepdad and Bea are. Also why is the Black contestant young and directionless (a Walmart version of Barnett) & the Asian contestant a little too reserved ? The asexual rep was a nice surprise.

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thebabybookworm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was fun to listen to, I really appreciate the narrator’s charm and talent. The book would have benefits from a little more character development, especially from the supporting roles, but I really likes this book. It would make a great movie! I recommend this book.

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