Author: Crystal Maldonado
Genre: Coming of Age; Romance, Young Adult
Publication Date: February 2nd, 2021
Publisher: Holiday House
Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat.
People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter.
But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? UGHHH. Everything is now officially a MESS
Rating
*A Thank you to Edleweiss+ for allowing me to read this. This is my honest and unbiased review*
Hello Fellow Readers,
Sorry for my absence this week but it's been busy here for me. This weekend I had to move my library, and convert it to a nursery so it was a bit bittersweet. We also had to do a lot of spring cleaning and it's a lot to do for being 6 months pregnant but it needs to be done. Anyway enjoy the review.
I was very excited to read this book, not only is the cover absolutely gorgeous but the story seems so relatable and Charlie was such a breath of fresh air. A nice, fun and (once again) relatable teenage. Of course, Charlie is self-conscious, this is due to her fitness and health obsessed mother who is constantly drawing attention to the food Charlie is eating and her weight. Charlie is also comparing herself to her best friend Amelia and a very pretty, athletic girl who is constantly being chased by boys (including Charlie's crush). Plus, Charlie has never had a boyfriend much less never been kissed.
What I loved about this story was that the romance was cute, but Maldonado gave equal time to Charlie's friendship and focused, also, on the relationship with her mother. I love when authors are able to balance their characters and plot well. Maldonado's writing is fun and easy, although I really did not like the arguement between Amelia and Charlie which was the reason why Charlie had strife with Brian. Also, I felt we didn't get too much in the way of closure with Charlie and her mother.
Overall, a very delightful coming-of-age story.
I was a chubby teenager, so I’m always happy to see books with fat kids as the stars. I’m glad you mostly liked this one. Good luck with the baby preparations!
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