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igood54's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I wanted to like this book more than I did. The ending was lovely, but most of the book was hard to get through (emotionally).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Bullying
Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder
d0505's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
sad
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
popcornreading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Body shaming, and Eating disorder
skudiklier's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I kind of expected more from this to be honest, but it was still pretty good. I don't really have anything to say about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death and Domestic abuse
krin's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
5.0
Rounding up to five stars. Big Girl is a compelling coming of age story following Malaya through two time periods (around 8 years old and then mid teens). The book brings readers to Harlem in the 1990s up through the earlier periods of gentrification. I guess technically that makes it historical fiction but since I grew up in the nineties that seems wild to me!
The writing is lyrical, mostly narrative with minimal dialogue, giving us a deep insight into Malaya's experience from a close third person POV. This is definitely a low plot, high character development kind of book but the story carries you along beautifully. The most prominent theme of the book involves a lot of food and body shaming which can be hard to read, especially when Malaya was only eight. Yet, it all rings very true and it's an important story to hear. There are also themes of race, family, intergenerational trauma, community and the roles women are expected to play.
The author has the way of sticking in memorable little tidbits of wisdom that make you say "huh!" out loud. Often these tidbits come from secondary characters - all of whom are so brightly written and developed that I would read stories about any one of them!
It might be mildly spoilery to say this but, after dealing with a lot of heaviness throughout the book, it's a relief that it ends on such a hopeful note with Malaya finally being empowered to take up space.
The narrator is excellent with a melodious and captivating voice.
Content warning for all kinds of fat shaming, food shaming and the type of disordered eating that is the result of all the types of things you could imagine happening in the 1990s.
I received an audio Advanced Review Copy from Net Galley and HighBridge Audio in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Eating disorder
kelseykreme's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Bullying, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts
mixedreader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan’s Big Girl tells so much truth about how we talk about weight (particularly on girls/womens bodies) in our homes, with families, and among other women. The aggressions against main character Malaya and her body were difficult to read and yet an important reminder of the regularity and ritual of critiquing those close to us and how we internalize those critiques. Perhaps most strikingly in this novel, Big Girl reveals the generational impact of these messages and their ability to fracture relationships between mothers and daughters.
Malaya deals with so much: watching the crumbling of her parents’ marriage, the social shifts of her friend group, heartbreak in several forms, and endless cruel/ policing comments from her grandmother. I found myself relating a lot to the trauma she experiences and her search for comfort in a variety of ways; food being one of them. Sullivan allows Malaya this comfort inside of a somewhat dissociative space where allows herself to disconnect without self punishment. Over the course of the narrative, we get to watch Malaya move from these unconscious decisions to asserting her self-awareness. While some of her decisions about how she finds comfort shift, Sullivan doesn’t let this dissolve into a “fix her life” story. Malaya gets to be, and there’s healing in that.
Even more beautiful for me as a reader, is that Malaya’s coming into her own is paired with a slow-burn, heart-aching queer love that is it’s own validation.
Approach this book with caution and love if you’ve experienced the trauma Malaya has. I had to go slow. I had to take time as I watched the feelings/ emotions
/desires/ shame/hurt /fear be projected onto Malaya’s body by all the characters around her. But her strength of spirit shines brightest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming
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