Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

13 reviews

bookishmillennial's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

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.

Content Warnings

thehomiemona's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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speterson47's review

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4.0

Charlie isn't afraid to accept that she is fat, but she doesn't think her mom ever will. Charlie is in high school, dealing with the typical stresses of classes, working part-time, and finding a date to the dance. When her dad was still alive, she felt like things were a lot easier. After he died things changed, especially between her and her mom.

Her best friend Amelia is loved by everyone, but Charlie says she doesn't mind sharing her with her other friends and wonderful family. Can Charlie get over their differences to maintain their life-long friendship?

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aformeracceleratedreader's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I didn't love it like I was hoping to which meant it took me a longer time to finish it than I had hoped, but it was still enjoyable enough. I loved all the representation that was included in the book and I liked the ending.
I would've liked to see more conversations between Charlie and Amelia and Charlie and her mom about the issues Charlie had with them and the issues she had with herself because of what she perceived of them. It seemed like Charlie would just have to suffer the constant low-key emotional abuse from her mom and no one was going to do anything about it.
The characters themselves- some I really liked some I had mixed feelings on. Loved Charlie's cousins. When she said how they would kind of make fun of her for not knowing Spanish reminded me of my cousins making fun of me for not knowing Indonesian. Would've liked to see how Charlie interact with her mom's side of the family though! I overall liked Charlie but there were so many moments in the book where I got annoyed or frustrated with her and rolled my eyes at the things she said/did. Same goes for Amelia but to a lesser extent since she wasn't the main character/focus. Brian was def the most consistently liked main/minor character for me although there were times I was like "he's TOO sweet/perfect/understanding" and i would've liked if Charlie could've gotten out of her own head and realized that he probs gets a lot of her body insecurities because he's chubby/fat too. But she's a teen and I remember when I was a teen and wrapped up in my insecurities. I think I'm just getting old haha

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nytephoenyx's review

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emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.5

I really struggled with this one.

First of all, I want you to know that I have a lot of respect for Crystal Maldonato and her craft in writing this book. She did an excellent job portraying realistic friendships and complicated high school romances. The myriad of family dynamics is fantastic and the variety of representation is lovely to see. As a book, I think Fat Chance, Charlie Vega was fantastically done. Nothing about the writing or the quality of the story made me want to set it aside.

I really struggled personally with the content.

It’s absolutely wonderful that Maldonato has portrayed a plus-sized brown woman and that she has been honest with the pressure and internalized self-hate a society like ours can inspire. Charlie fights the fatphobia around her so hard, but she also carries some of it herself. She confronts it, but it’s not as easy as saying “I’m not going to feel that way anymore“ and Maldonato hasn’t sugarcoated that. It was hard to read, but I think necessary. Many other books would have made embracing self-love seem like a simple task, and it isn’t. It really isn’t. It’s important it was written like this so others who feel like Charlie can see they aren’t alone.

As an adult who still struggles with this, it was difficult for me to see the weight of the emotion and the toxic environment surrounding Charlie. It was heartbreaking to see her go on with life, knowing things weren’t okay but feeling powerless. It’s hard, and it hurts. I had to set the book down for a week to give myself an emotional break. When I came back, reading it became even more difficult. The external and internal pressure bubbled. There were moments when I was so happy for Charlie because she achieved something she wanted and found joy in it. Then to see her crushed time and again? This is not a happy book overall. It’s a little too real sometimes.

It’s important, so important for a book to exist with this kind of experience. I can’t emphasize that enough. There are a lot of hard things in life that folks make seems simple, make seem easy to just “get over“. Life isn’t like that, not really, not for many people. I appreciated the story so, so much. But it hit a little too close to home in a lot of ways, and I struggled to finish it. Charlie‘s pain was a little too heavy for me.

That said, I did finish it because I was hoping for a happy ending. I live for happy endings. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega doesn’t have a picture perfect ending, but it is happier than the rest of the book. Without giving too much away, some open communication goes a long way and things sort of fix themselves, at least for now. Real life isn’t like that, not as pretty, not as easy. But the conversations that are had needed to be had, and Charlie is lucky to have people around her who love her so much.

Overall, it’s a great book. It hit a lot of my personal issues and so I don’t know that I would reread it because of the emotional roller coaster it was for me, but for other people I think this is a wonderful recommendation. It was really nice to see the representation and to read a story that felt like it wasn’t trying to dance around the difficult topics.

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brokenbodybitch's review against another edition

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4.75

Ouchie her relationship with her mom hurted

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bookcrushin's review

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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.

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karcitis's review

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emotional 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

4.5

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aly_young's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

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michaelion's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense 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

she's just like me... 🥰❤

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! 🥰

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