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casandra_lovealwaysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Fatphobia
Not necessarily a full on eating disorder, but you could tell the mother has warped ideas about food, weight, and health.bookcrushin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
fast-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
loved this, and really wish I had a book like this when I was a teen, the fat awareness, and fatphobia was so on point - brought me back to being a teen and having those same feelings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Racism, and Bullying
Minor: Alcohol and Eating disorder
hannah_stoch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Death of parent
watson_my_shelf's review against another edition
4.5
This is the book that my teenage self needed. As someone who as always been on the curvier/plus size, I really really related to Charlie. The author does a good job of showing the internal and external struggles someone living in a larger teenage body experiences. And in such a great way. Charlie is perfectly fine with who she is - she is just trying to get the rest of the world (i.e., her mom) on board with it. We get to see Charlie navigate love, friendships, and dealing with the loss of one parent and a hard relationship with the other.
More stories like this - that encourage teens to be OK living in their bodies just as they are - need to exist. I wish I'd had this book when I was in middle/high school. Plus, we get a cute love story!
More stories like this - that encourage teens to be OK living in their bodies just as they are - need to exist. I wish I'd had this book when I was in middle/high school. Plus, we get a cute love story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, and Death of parent
aleisurelydame's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
This book felt like reading about a friend. I enjoyed that this story didn't shy away from complicated issues, and didn't try to oversimplify how the characters faced their personal challenges.
All of the characters this book focuses on are really complex characters. They don't neatly fall into "good"/"bad" categories. Charlie is such an imperfect, but relatable heroine. She makes mistakes, she struggles with self-love, and has complicated relationships with the people around her (like her mom, her bff, her cousins).
I especially liked the fall-out between Charlie and Amelia because it didn't invalidate either one of their feelings and it actually served as an opportunity for these two friends to understand each other better. I am satisfied with how the relationship between Charlie and her mom played out. It wasn't "resolved", but that relationship was too complicated to resolve by the end of the book.
The romance is very sweet in this story, but I feel like it took a backseat to some of the other relationships... and not in a bad way. I think that's what makes this book so enjoyable. You get a full picture of this young teen girl, her relationship with herself, with love and self-love, friends, and family.
All of the characters this book focuses on are really complex characters. They don't neatly fall into "good"/"bad" categories. Charlie is such an imperfect, but relatable heroine. She makes mistakes, she struggles with self-love, and has complicated relationships with the people around her (like her mom, her bff, her cousins).
I especially liked the fall-out between Charlie and Amelia because it didn't invalidate either one of their feelings and it actually served as an opportunity for these two friends to understand each other better. I am satisfied with how the relationship between Charlie and her mom played out. It wasn't "resolved", but that relationship was too complicated to resolve by the end of the book.
The romance is very sweet in this story, but I feel like it took a backseat to some of the other relationships... and not in a bad way. I think that's what makes this book so enjoyable. You get a full picture of this young teen girl, her relationship with herself, with love and self-love, friends, and family.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
miasreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Eating disorder
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
imstephtacular's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
I really loved a lot of things in this book. I loved the fat representation and the questioning of society and its obsession with thin-ness. I liked the exploration of friendship and the difficulties of navigating high school. I read this in a day- it was so compelling. However, I really wish there had been more about the mother-daughter storyline. I felt like it didn't get properly resolved and the trauma and emotional abuse from Charlie's mother gets excused way too easily. This was my one big gripe with the book overall. I'm glad this book is in the world, but I wanted more from that piece of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent and Grief
jainnyreads's review
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received an e-ARC of this book through Hear Our Voices Tours on Instagram from the publisher on exchange for an honest review.
First I’d like to say that I do not live and have not lived life as a fat person. Therefore it would be disingenuous for me to reflect on this book from that perspective. I’d like to speak more to the mother/daughter relationship in the novel. Essentially, it is SO REAL. You can definitely tell Charlie’s mom has a lot of narcissistic tendencies and so many unresolved issues regarding her own body image and mental health. While I’m not fat, I can definitely relate to having a parent who makes themselves the center of attention and thinks weight gain is the end of the world. Aside from this, I appreciate the interspersed and believable Puerto Rican culture throughout, as well as the candid discussions regarding grief/loss.
This book was absolutely incredible, showcased such a genuinely diverse cast of characters, and felt like I was actually reading about high schoolers. This debut novels leaves me excited to see more from this Own Voices author!
First I’d like to say that I do not live and have not lived life as a fat person. Therefore it would be disingenuous for me to reflect on this book from that perspective. I’d like to speak more to the mother/daughter relationship in the novel. Essentially, it is SO REAL. You can definitely tell Charlie’s mom has a lot of narcissistic tendencies and so many unresolved issues regarding her own body image and mental health. While I’m not fat, I can definitely relate to having a parent who makes themselves the center of attention and thinks weight gain is the end of the world. Aside from this, I appreciate the interspersed and believable Puerto Rican culture throughout, as well as the candid discussions regarding grief/loss.
This book was absolutely incredible, showcased such a genuinely diverse cast of characters, and felt like I was actually reading about high schoolers. This debut novels leaves me excited to see more from this Own Voices author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Eating disorder and Emotional abuse
Minor: Grief
literarymarvel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Such a cute book that tackles body shaming and body positivity themes. I loved Charlie and Amelia and Brian as characters, and the writing was funny and inspiring. It was a bit too predictable, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Eating disorder
Minor: Bullying and Cursing
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