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jennafur's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Gaslighting, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent
bookishmillennial's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The reason I like to go into books blindfolded is because I like to go in with absolutely zero expectations. This book was a great example of why that worked so well; I of course knew the basics, that this had a fat main character (I read it as part of a reading challenge me & my friend @themargherita.s on IG are hosting, #TheDiverseBaseline), and that the main character was a teenager. That's about it! I was delighted to find a vulnerable exploration of a sixteen-year-old Puerto Rican teen's experience being fat, Brown, and artistic in the Massachussetts suburbs.
This is very much a character-driven novel presented to us as a slice-of-life for Charlie with slower pacing. We meet Charlie's best friend Amelia, who is Black and pansexual (and thin!), Brian, who is Korean and has two moms, and Charlie's mom, who is obsessed with losing weight and makes it crystal clear that she wants Charlie to lose weight too. There is a bit of a plotline around a crush and an award ceremony, but most of the book meanders through as Charlie struggles to find her footing with each of her relationships.
About those relationships:
- Charlie and Amelia: I deeply related to and appreciated the representation of this kind of friendship. It is so clear that Amelia rides hard for Charlie, but she doesn't recognize how her privilege of being smaller/thinner operates in every day settings. She doesn't realize Charlie can't just borrow clothes from her, and that going shopping is not that accessible for people in Charlie's clothing size either. Amelia is also posited as the girl everyone wants, the attractive one, etc. Charlie can't help but feel forgotten and hidden in the shadows behind Amelia's spotlight. Charlie knows Amelia does not have malicious intent, but it's hard to not be jealous of or upset with Amelia when Charlie constantly feels like the "fat friend" or like a direct line to Amelia for people who want to pursue Amelia. I felt their dynamic, and especially their argument towards the end, was so realistic and I loved the complexity of teenage friendships represented here.
- Charlie and Brian: I know a lot of people probably hated their third-act conflict, and I get it. I really do! However, this also felt so realistic for me! It made me cringe, thinking about how much I have let my fear of looking stupid keep me from making choices that actually probably would have felt so fulfilling and nice. Charlie has been made a fool of so many times because of her proximity to Amelia, and she can't help but try to protect herself and her heart when it comes to Brian. I could see exactly where Charlie was coming from, even if it sounds goofy or immature. She is 17, let her be 17??? This totally tracks for how I handled conflict, rejection, and disappointment when I was a teenager (not everything is about me, but I really do get why she made certain choices!). I was also sympathetic to the way that Brian got frustrated with Charlie, and was glad he called her in to really reflect on the choices she was making.
- Charlie and her mom (whose name I am forgetting, I'm sorry, I listened to the audiobook and I'm blanking): Woof. Big old woof. To be frank with you, the reason I connected so much to this book was because of the rampant fatphobia that Charlie experienced, and a majority of it was from her own mom. I had been dieting from adolescence up until a few years ago, and along with this, was an eating disorder. The religion of thinness in our culture fucks up people beyond belief; I ache for the 18-year-old Brittany who compared herself to her friends, celebrities, and classmates, who aimed for some unattainable goal to feel worthy and beautiful, as if that was the only thing I had to offer the world. Charlie's mom actively emotionally abuses her throughout the entire novel, and while it was challenging to read, I was so proud of Charlie towards the end for how she moved forward with how she felt about herself and her body, regardless of her mom's expectations and fatphobia. Charlie's mom is not unique; there are plenty of people in this world spouting off some fatphobic bullshit, but I hope with more stories like these, and with more of us speaking out against that harmful rhetoric, that we can foster more body neutrality and body respect, little by little.
My favorite part of the book was the night of Charlie's big birthday party, because it was a turning point for her, as Charlie recognized and named what she needed in that moment to be content.
Ultimately, I don't want to spend my entire life hating my body, and hating myself. This book was a reminder that diet culture fucking sucks the life out of any joy in the room, fatphobia does NO ONE any good, and that love, especially parental love, should not come with conditions. I think I *needed* this book at this specific moment in time, and I'm really grateful I read it.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Alcohol
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
hobbithopeful's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Charlie has come second place her whole life to her skinny and stunning best friend Amelia, boys talk to her just to get to Amelia, and even her Mother seems more focused on complimenting how skinny she is then noticing Charlie. As much as Charlie strives to be body positive and love herself, finding out her new boyfriend actually asked out Amelia first sends her spiraling, and brings up must needed conversations.
I have never read a more realistic depiction of a Mother/Daughter relationship, and it was so heart wrenching. (I cried like a baby reading this) I would have given the world to be exposed to this book as a child, there were absolutely zero stories about fat brown girls in the library when I was a kid, let alone imperfect Mothers. (No, seriously)
I was hoping Charlie's relationship with her Mom would be resolved, but the fact that it isn't just hits harder, and is more realistic than if she just stopped being an emotionally abusive narcissist. (The highs and lows of narcissism and body shaming really took me back to my childhood guys)
If you want to read this please check your content warnings first, especially if you have ever suffered from fatphobia, body shaming, or have general mommy issues.
A must read for anyone, this is a true gem.
Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming
Minor: Death of parent and Homophobia
regent_ace's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Things I love about this book is I loved the conversation the book had for the most part of the struggles of being a plus sized woman/person and how many project that and/or internalized that fatphobia. It's not often that the topic is the main conversation of the book especially while exploring how that struggle personally affects Charlie's relationships with others. I also found Charlie and her friends (Amelia and Brian mostly) really fun characters for the first half of the book and I found both of their relationships to Charlie really fun to read. I enjoyed 75% percent of the book the most and felt that I was really seeing Charlie's growth as a character and her relationships with her best friend and crush getting good development.
However
I began to find myself less invested in Charlie as a character due to her suddenly becoming unlikable as a character after her relationship with Brian. She became increasingly self absorbed and kind of made her self worth tied directly to Brain which was a message I didn't like especially since before her relationship she was on a good journey to learning how to love herself and her body. I also found her fight with Amelia kind of confusing since it tried to frame only Amelia as the bad guy when Charlie was also at fault. I also felt like the whole breakup thing was completely unnecessary and felt that it was resolved wayyy too quickly which I found a common trend in the book.
We spent a lot of the early portion of the book seeing Charlie unhappy with her body but her growth and learning to love herself was put at a halt and than suddenly rushed towards the end which made me a little disappointed and left wanting more. Her relationship with her mother was complicated and toxic for many reasons but then suddenly after one discussion it was just completely patched up? It felt rushed.
Overall I liked this book a lot and found the overall message done well and important but the last third of the book and some of the pacing at the end fell flat for me
Graphic: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Body shaming
monicalaurette's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“Life may be shitty. But in moments like these, everything feels like it might just be all right.”
“And now I’m not sure I ever want to think about loving someone ever again.”
“It’s the first year where I don’t waste my wish on being skinny; I wish for more happy moments like this.”
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Dysphoria, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting
Minor: Toxic friendship and Sexual content
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fatphobia, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexism and Death of parent
olliereadabook's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
chaotic_gremlin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming
Moderate: Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
bookwormbullet's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
michaelion's review
- 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
The only real problem with this book is the sheer amount of current pop culture references. Like, yes it's contemporary, but this book is amazing, wonderful, great, damn near perfect, beautiful, stellar, insert more synonyms here!!! And if not for the pop culture references, I think this book could've been a timeless classic instead of just a modern one.
I wasn't just in the mind of a fat brown teenage girl, I was me again. (Except, I'm black.) Me, just a few years ago. Me, right now. Me, feeling something more than the buzzword representation. I wanna hold this book to my chest and tattoo the letters on to my heart. I want my nonexistent kids to read this book and know they are worthy, they are beautiful, they are loved, and here's the reasonable, sometimes realistically frustrating, sweet book that will show them that, if they didn't know it already.
What a lovely book to start with as my introduction back into reading! 🥰
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Gaslighting