You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
basiclich 's review for:
Spoiler Alert
by Olivia Dade
I have needed this book for so, so long. Beautiful, sexy, fun, and heartfelt, SPOILER ALERT made me feel seen in a way I haven't felt in a long time. I fell in love with these characters and I ached for them. The pacing is exquisite, balancing emotional moments with comedy and sexiness brilliantly, with sharp dialogue and full narration. The side characters are interesting, well-rounded, and delightful—from April's friends to Marcus's coworkers. Marcus himself is an absolute darling, and while he's not perfect, he is believable and sweet and lovable, and never makes an unforgivable mistake—and he always apologizes and actively works to make things right. He's truly a gem of a hero.
But April—April is what makes this book. April is smart and confident and funny and sexy and fat. She doesn't hate herself or how she looks. She doesn't seek to change herself for a man or her parents or strangers on the internet. But she also has worries and fears based on her knowledge of society, of what people are like, about how people (friends and family included) have treated her in the past. These worries don't take up her day to day life, but they do come up, and she has moments when they really get to her. This common reality for fat women is handled so well. Seeing a character like April (who has so many wonderful defining characteristics other than her fatness, by the way! She's a geologist! And a fanfic writer! And a cosplayer! ) able to love herself and set boundaries and cut off toxic people who aren't good to her and yet still be vulnerable and self-conscious at times was an amazing experience for me. I'm used to reading about fat girls who essentially hate themselves, and even when those characters learn a little bit of self-love by the end, by that point I've been reminded about how much I should hate myself. In SPOILER ALERT, I was constantly reminded how much I should love myself. And that was extremely refreshing.
Gotta go read everything by Olivia Dade now, bye!
But April—April is what makes this book. April is smart and confident and funny and sexy and fat. She doesn't hate herself or how she looks. She doesn't seek to change herself for a man or her parents or strangers on the internet. But she also has worries and fears based on her knowledge of society, of what people are like, about how people (friends and family included) have treated her in the past. These worries don't take up her day to day life, but they do come up, and she has moments when they really get to her. This common reality for fat women is handled so well. Seeing a character like April (who has so many wonderful defining characteristics other than her fatness, by the way! She's a geologist! And a fanfic writer! And a cosplayer! ) able to love herself and set boundaries and cut off toxic people who aren't good to her and yet still be vulnerable and self-conscious at times was an amazing experience for me. I'm used to reading about fat girls who essentially hate themselves, and even when those characters learn a little bit of self-love by the end, by that point I've been reminded about how much I should hate myself. In SPOILER ALERT, I was constantly reminded how much I should love myself. And that was extremely refreshing.
Gotta go read everything by Olivia Dade now, bye!