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A review by aleisurelydame
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
emotional
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
This book felt like reading about a friend. I enjoyed that this story didn't shy away from complicated issues, and didn't try to oversimplify how the characters faced their personal challenges.
All of the characters this book focuses on are really complex characters. They don't neatly fall into "good"/"bad" categories. Charlie is such an imperfect, but relatable heroine. She makes mistakes, she struggles with self-love, and has complicated relationships with the people around her (like her mom, her bff, her cousins).
I especially liked the fall-out between Charlie and Amelia because it didn't invalidate either one of their feelings and it actually served as an opportunity for these two friends to understand each other better. I am satisfied with how the relationship between Charlie and her mom played out. It wasn't "resolved", but that relationship was too complicated to resolve by the end of the book.
The romance is very sweet in this story, but I feel like it took a backseat to some of the other relationships... and not in a bad way. I think that's what makes this book so enjoyable. You get a full picture of this young teen girl, her relationship with herself, with love and self-love, friends, and family.
All of the characters this book focuses on are really complex characters. They don't neatly fall into "good"/"bad" categories. Charlie is such an imperfect, but relatable heroine. She makes mistakes, she struggles with self-love, and has complicated relationships with the people around her (like her mom, her bff, her cousins).
I especially liked the fall-out between Charlie and Amelia because it didn't invalidate either one of their feelings and it actually served as an opportunity for these two friends to understand each other better. I am satisfied with how the relationship between Charlie and her mom played out. It wasn't "resolved", but that relationship was too complicated to resolve by the end of the book.
The romance is very sweet in this story, but I feel like it took a backseat to some of the other relationships... and not in a bad way. I think that's what makes this book so enjoyable. You get a full picture of this young teen girl, her relationship with herself, with love and self-love, friends, and family.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia