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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Fun, fast, and a little cheeky! I loved reading about Willowdean Dickson and her struggle with confidence and societal pressure. The writing is funny, the characters are fairly interesting, and you get to read about the South - sort of!
Her struggle to tell her friends and other people how she feels feels really realistic because as a reader, you start to understand why she struggles with a lot of who she is and how she looks. I picked up the book even though I knew I didn't have the same life struggles, but I really liked the concept of reaching a point where you are comfortable in your own skin.
She doesn't always make the right decisions, but who ever does?
“There’s something about swimsuits that make you think you’ve got to earn the right to wear them. And that’s wrong. Really, the criteria is simple. Do you have a body? Put a swimsuit on it.”
Her struggle to tell her friends and other people how she feels feels really realistic because as a reader, you start to understand why she struggles with a lot of who she is and how she looks. I picked up the book even though I knew I didn't have the same life struggles, but I really liked the concept of reaching a point where you are comfortable in your own skin.
She doesn't always make the right decisions, but who ever does?
“There’s something about swimsuits that make you think you’ve got to earn the right to wear them. And that’s wrong. Really, the criteria is simple. Do you have a body? Put a swimsuit on it.”
At first, I was expecting a completely confident heroine in Willowdean, similar to Tracy in Hairspray, where her weight never bothers her. But then, I found a very real person who didn't really consider her weight, until she was in a situation where society pushes her to be skinny. For instance, the store where her best friend works, where she can't fit into a single thing. And then she loses all her confidence, and everything is hard about being overweight. I really felt like I was on the journey with her. I liked Willowdean, and I enjoyed the book, despite it not being what I thought it was going to be at the start. I especially loved the cast of characters. Each of them was so unique, I really felt the realness of them. And I'll take a Peach Butt any day. ;)
3.5/5. The first book I have listened to as an audio in years...which is not usually my favorite way to "read" a book. I enjoyed the overall story, the characters sometimes felt a little flat but overall I would recommend and wonder if reading it would have changed my perspective.
A YA version of Little Miss Sunshine.
So it isn't a perfect book--I thought Willowdean was hit or miss as a character and this never really hit the mark on the 'group of ragtag outsiders bond together and say screw you to the establishment'. Willowdean's relationship with Bo had me rolling my eyes--great that a good-looking, popular guy liked her and didn't care about her size but it did seem a little wish fulfillment-y.
Overall, I wanted to like it, I sort of did, but I felt like there could have been more. It could have been funnier, it could have been more heartwarming, it could have been deeper.
So it isn't a perfect book--I thought Willowdean was hit or miss as a character and this never really hit the mark on the 'group of ragtag outsiders bond together and say screw you to the establishment'. Willowdean's relationship with Bo had me rolling my eyes--great that a good-looking, popular guy liked her and didn't care about her size
Spoiler
and didn't do the teen movie thing which would be to break up with her when peer pressured, only to come around in the end. In fact, Willowdean breaks up with him because of her insecurities.Overall, I wanted to like it, I sort of did, but I felt like there could have been more. It could have been funnier, it could have been more heartwarming, it could have been deeper.
I just did not care about this girl or what happened to her beauty pageant dreams. This might be an appealing book to someone from the south, but I couldn't get into it.
As a fat girl, I spent most of this book crying at finally feeling seen. Loved this book.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced