A review by bookobsessedmommy
One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

challenging emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Trigger warning for fat phobia! So this book is about a fat girl who becomes "the batchelorette" on a reality TV show and tries to find love. I'm generally not a big fan of reality TV, but I wanted to give it a shot after liking the True Love Experiment so much. As a general rule of thumb, I avoid internet comments like the Plague, so when the commentary about the shows decision to cast her was so disgusting and vitriolic, I was sick to my stomach. I know this probably an accurate portrayal and I get that the author wants to shock us with the sad reality of how shitty we treat fat people as rule of thumb, but I nearly DNF'd the book. It almost felt like horror if that makes any sense. The most intense hatred directed towards Bea is in the beginning of the book, so once I got past that, I really enjoyed the story. I spent a ton of time yelling at Bea, but I enjoyed following the her journey and couldn't wait to see what happened next. Some of the twists and turns were predictable, others came completel out of left field, but I was still on the edge of my seat for the resolution. I like all the different types of media you get in the audiobook, going between text threads, emails, blogs, and podcasts. Really fun touch.
I loved seeing Ace/aro rep as well!
I would try another book by this author, but I'll be wary of trigger warnings.

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