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lunelis 's review for:
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
by Crystal Maldonado
While I normally avoid contemporary teen literature for a litany of reasons, this one caught my eye and I thought it might be worth a try.
Like Charlie, I was a fat teen with a difficult relationship with parents, romance, self-love, and seeing her story unfold on page, with many moments striking a chord with me, made for kind of emotional read. I teared up a few times, thinking about my own experiences and how they aligned with Charlie's.
It was nice to see how the author chose to approach things; Charlie doesn't need to get thin to find someone who loves and appreciates her and she doesn't need to get the stereotypical "golden haired football player" character, either. It's nice that Brian was a pretty normal kind of high school kid and that he was also a bigger person than you'd normally see.
My only gripe was that Charlie and her mom's relationship didn't get the growth I wanted--although her mother affirms she'd never prefer or pick anyone over Charlie, the fact that she never had a moment to go "I shouldn't be pushing you to lose weight and instill complexes about your appearance on you." I wanted a moment where she realized how terrible it is to treat anyone the way she does.
Overall, a surprisingly good read. I enjoyed myself and think anyone who feels bad in their body and unloved because of it could find a kindred character in Charlie Vega.
Like Charlie, I was a fat teen with a difficult relationship with parents, romance, self-love, and seeing her story unfold on page, with many moments striking a chord with me, made for kind of emotional read. I teared up a few times, thinking about my own experiences and how they aligned with Charlie's.
It was nice to see how the author chose to approach things; Charlie doesn't need to get thin to find someone who loves and appreciates her and she doesn't need to get the stereotypical "golden haired football player" character, either. It's nice that Brian was a pretty normal kind of high school kid and that he was also a bigger person than you'd normally see.
My only gripe was that Charlie and her mom's relationship didn't get the growth I wanted--although her mother affirms she'd never prefer or pick anyone over Charlie, the fact that she never had a moment to go "I shouldn't be pushing you to lose weight and instill complexes about your appearance on you." I wanted a moment where she realized how terrible it is to treat anyone the way she does.
Overall, a surprisingly good read. I enjoyed myself and think anyone who feels bad in their body and unloved because of it could find a kindred character in Charlie Vega.