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A review by stephbeaudoin20
Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Her Good Side by Rebekah Wetherspoon
This book keeps showing up on recommended to read lists. The algorithms keep saying, hey you, you'll like this. I saw that it was YA and I said no thanks. I don't enjoy YA books. There is nothing wrong with them, or with me for not enjoying them. They are an important group of literature. But just not for me. I was looking for options for The Diverse Baseline Challenge for the Fat Main Character and this book came up again. I borrowed it from the library forgetting that it was YA. I started reading and groaned! But then I kept reading, and kept reading. This book is excellent!
High school teenagers, with drama that fits them, but is not over the top.
They/Them/Their pronouns used fluently and easily.
Straight, enby, gay relationships.
Diversity!
Bethany is fat, and she OWNS it! She knows she is cute, pretty, and awesome. She isn't trying to diet and get smaller. She loves food and doesn't have an unhealthy relationship with it. HOW REFRESHING!!!!!!!!!!!
There is excellent content about Women's sports getting the leftovers. Boy's sports get primetime even though they don't win the championships. The theme of doing what you're good at vs. what you love is super powerful. And teenagers fumbling through life, learning as they go, and finding lifelines and support with each other. This was a wonderful book.
My favorite highlight (of many) was Jacob asking Bethany about Jam. As someone who cans and puts up the harvest, this was so fun to see!
“Wait, what's the difference between jam and preserves?” I ask.
“I'll send you a link. You do not want my passionate take on preserves.”
This is my first book for The Baseline Challenge for the January prompt of a fat main character.
This book keeps showing up on recommended to read lists. The algorithms keep saying, hey you, you'll like this. I saw that it was YA and I said no thanks. I don't enjoy YA books. There is nothing wrong with them, or with me for not enjoying them. They are an important group of literature. But just not for me. I was looking for options for The Diverse Baseline Challenge for the Fat Main Character and this book came up again. I borrowed it from the library forgetting that it was YA. I started reading and groaned! But then I kept reading, and kept reading. This book is excellent!
High school teenagers, with drama that fits them, but is not over the top.
They/Them/Their pronouns used fluently and easily.
Straight, enby, gay relationships.
Diversity!
Bethany is fat, and she OWNS it! She knows she is cute, pretty, and awesome. She isn't trying to diet and get smaller. She loves food and doesn't have an unhealthy relationship with it. HOW REFRESHING!!!!!!!!!!!
There is excellent content about Women's sports getting the leftovers. Boy's sports get primetime even though they don't win the championships. The theme of doing what you're good at vs. what you love is super powerful. And teenagers fumbling through life, learning as they go, and finding lifelines and support with each other. This was a wonderful book.
My favorite highlight (of many) was Jacob asking Bethany about Jam. As someone who cans and puts up the harvest, this was so fun to see!
“Wait, what's the difference between jam and preserves?” I ask.
“I'll send you a link. You do not want my passionate take on preserves.”
This is my first book for The Baseline Challenge for the January prompt of a fat main character.