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A review by becandbooks
Every Body Shines: Sixteen Stories about Living Fabulously Fat by Cassandra Newbould
3.0
Trigger warnings:
I loved everything that this anthology stands for and what fiction like this means for young readers. But sadly, as a whole, this collection largely felt repetitive when considering the majority of the stories. Many of the stories follow a typical plot of a young fat main character overcoming and/or being accepted in the face of society's ugly view of larger bodies.
But this doesn't mean that there weren't some absolute standouts that I truly want you to read. In particular, Shatter is a stunning sci-fi short that tackles that becomes so much more hard-hitting than you would originally expect. Or Breathe You In, which may be one of my favourite fairytale retellings of all time.
Newbould has put together something that is critical for all young readers, even if not every story hit me the way I wanted. If you are looking for your next anthology, this should definitely be considered.
Individual ratings
Guilt Trip by Claire Kann 3.5/5
Shatter by Cassandra Newbould 4.5/5
Prom Queers by Alex Gino 4/5
Dupatta Diaries by Nafiza Azad 3/5
Food is Love by Chris Baron 3.5/5
Orion's Star by Catherine Adel West 3/5
Weightless by Sheena Boekweg 3/5
Outside Pitch by Kelly deVos 2/5
Filling the Net by Monique Gray Smith 3/5
A Perfect Fit by Jennifer Yen 3/5
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire by Rebecca Sky 3.5/5
Letters to Charlie Brown by Francina Simone 1/5
love spells & lavender lattes by amanda lovelace 4.5/5
Breathe You In by Hillary Monahan 5/5
Unpleasant Surprises by Linda Camacho 3/5
Letting Go by Renee Watson 4/5
Spoiler
car accident, death, domestic abuse, fatmisia, body shaming, toxic diet culture, drowning, murderI loved everything that this anthology stands for and what fiction like this means for young readers. But sadly, as a whole, this collection largely felt repetitive when considering the majority of the stories. Many of the stories follow a typical plot of a young fat main character overcoming and/or being accepted in the face of society's ugly view of larger bodies.
But this doesn't mean that there weren't some absolute standouts that I truly want you to read. In particular, Shatter is a stunning sci-fi short that tackles that becomes so much more hard-hitting than you would originally expect. Or Breathe You In, which may be one of my favourite fairytale retellings of all time.
Newbould has put together something that is critical for all young readers, even if not every story hit me the way I wanted. If you are looking for your next anthology, this should definitely be considered.
Individual ratings
Guilt Trip by Claire Kann 3.5/5
Shatter by Cassandra Newbould 4.5/5
Prom Queers by Alex Gino 4/5
Dupatta Diaries by Nafiza Azad 3/5
Food is Love by Chris Baron 3.5/5
Orion's Star by Catherine Adel West 3/5
Weightless by Sheena Boekweg 3/5
Outside Pitch by Kelly deVos 2/5
Filling the Net by Monique Gray Smith 3/5
A Perfect Fit by Jennifer Yen 3/5
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire by Rebecca Sky 3.5/5
Letters to Charlie Brown by Francina Simone 1/5
love spells & lavender lattes by amanda lovelace 4.5/5
Breathe You In by Hillary Monahan 5/5
Unpleasant Surprises by Linda Camacho 3/5
Letting Go by Renee Watson 4/5
Note: Review copy received from NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.
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Happy reading! ❤