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Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard.
Harder when your whole life is on fire, though.
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.
A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.
Harder when your whole life is on fire, though.
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.
A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 2, 2021
About the author
Crystal Maldonado
7 books636 followersCrystal Maldonado is a young adult author who writes inclusive stories about fat, brown girls. She is the author of The Fall of Whit Rivera, which People Magazine called a “pumpkin-spice-latte-flavored treat”; Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, which was a New England Book Award winner, a Cosmopolitan Best New Book, and a Kirkus Best YA Fiction of 2021; and No Filter and Other Lies, which was named a POPSUGAR and Seventeen Best New YA.
By day, Crystal works in higher ed marketing, and by night, she’s a writer whose work has been published in Latina, BuzzFeed, and the Hartford Courant. She has a degree in English and journalism from the University of Connecticut and lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog. Follow her everywhere @crystalwrote.
By day, Crystal works in higher ed marketing, and by night, she’s a writer whose work has been published in Latina, BuzzFeed, and the Hartford Courant. She has a degree in English and journalism from the University of Connecticut and lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog. Follow her everywhere @crystalwrote.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,294 reviews
February 3, 2021
Hello I am crying this book was EVERYTHING. I loved it so damn much and related sooooo hard to everything that Charlie went through and I just want to give her (and high school Chelsea, tbh) the biggest hug. I cannot wait!!!! to read more from Crystal Maldonado in the future. What a fantastic debut! Also, unrelated to the actual content of the story but demands to be said: this is my absolute favorite cover of 2021 and I will NEVER BE OVER IT. SO GOOD!
CW: fatphobia, dieting, toxic mother/daughter relationships, death of a parent
CW: fatphobia, dieting, toxic mother/daughter relationships, death of a parent
Want to read
July 23, 2020ARE YOU SEEING THIS COVER?
jesus christ.
I LOVE WOMEN.
jesus christ.
I LOVE WOMEN.
February 18, 2021
This book was cute, it’s a really soft YA contemporary about learning how to be happy in your own body. I think this book has a really important message for young adults, but some of this book just fell flat for me. Charlie could be so naive at times it would have me rolling my eyes, but that’s probably just a me problem since this book is intended for young adults. I guess I was just a bit underwhelmed by the end of it, I just wanted more from this story.
Want to read
July 29, 2020Okay but... Why do I feel so powerful just by looking that cover??
I can't wait to read this 😍✨
I can't wait to read this 😍✨
February 19, 2021
TW: Fat Shaming, Gaslighting
I absolutely loved this book, not just because of the amazing representation, but because I saw myself in Charlie. I grew up as the fat friend. I lost my father when I was young and grew up with a mom who didn’t always say the right thing about my size. My mom and I are in a much healthier place now, but seeing Charlie experience the feelings she does brought back a lot of memories and endeared her to me in ways I can’t ever explain.
Her relationship with her best friend was, in my opinion, the centre point of this story. Yes, her mother obviously had a huge impact on the story and so did the romance, but ultimately I think this is a story about the power of friendship and perspective. No one is perfect and just because we see things through our eyes, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other perspectives. And while Charlie’s experiences sometimes are heartbreaking, she is a young woman on the incredibly tough journey of learning how to love herself.
I love YA books that feature realistic friendships and don’t sugarcoat the realities of what it is sometimes like to be the “fat friend”. I think this author captured those insecurities mixed with the love between these two friends beautifully.
This book also features great representation for LGBTQ+ (Her best friend is Pan and it is actually mentioned in the book!!), there are BIPOC characters, and important discussions regarding fat phobia, the toxicity of diet culture, and the common misconception that fat automatically equals unattractiveness are explored.
If you love books with Latina characters who have strong opinions and have great character growths, then I think you’ll enjoy this one. Also, if you like imperfect friendships and really cute romances, then you might also love this one like I did!
Happy reading!
I absolutely loved this book, not just because of the amazing representation, but because I saw myself in Charlie. I grew up as the fat friend. I lost my father when I was young and grew up with a mom who didn’t always say the right thing about my size. My mom and I are in a much healthier place now, but seeing Charlie experience the feelings she does brought back a lot of memories and endeared her to me in ways I can’t ever explain.
Her relationship with her best friend was, in my opinion, the centre point of this story. Yes, her mother obviously had a huge impact on the story and so did the romance, but ultimately I think this is a story about the power of friendship and perspective. No one is perfect and just because we see things through our eyes, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other perspectives. And while Charlie’s experiences sometimes are heartbreaking, she is a young woman on the incredibly tough journey of learning how to love herself.
I love YA books that feature realistic friendships and don’t sugarcoat the realities of what it is sometimes like to be the “fat friend”. I think this author captured those insecurities mixed with the love between these two friends beautifully.
This book also features great representation for LGBTQ+ (Her best friend is Pan and it is actually mentioned in the book!!), there are BIPOC characters, and important discussions regarding fat phobia, the toxicity of diet culture, and the common misconception that fat automatically equals unattractiveness are explored.
If you love books with Latina characters who have strong opinions and have great character growths, then I think you’ll enjoy this one. Also, if you like imperfect friendships and really cute romances, then you might also love this one like I did!
Happy reading!
May 30, 2021
4.5 -> 5.0
Eu amei esse livro! Chorei, fiquei triste, fiquei feliz e senti o quentinho no coração. Quero ser amiga da Charlie!
Gatilhos: gordofobia, "vício em dieta"/shakes, perda de parente, ser a segunda opção (?), relacionamento tóxico de mãe e filha.
Eu amei esse livro! Chorei, fiquei triste, fiquei feliz e senti o quentinho no coração. Quero ser amiga da Charlie!
Gatilhos: gordofobia, "vício em dieta"/shakes, perda de parente, ser a segunda opção (?), relacionamento tóxico de mãe e filha.
April 7, 2021
Ugh. I wanted to like this so much but unfortunately I had a lot of issues. But first the positives; the writing is great in terms of capturing my attention, and keeping me somewhat interested, at least at the beginning. The conversations about fatphobia were important, and I do think this book could help a lot of young teens become more self accepting of themselves and others.
Now, the two main issues I had were the main character Charlie, and the fact that she starts to feel like she’s worthy and loveable is when a boy likes her and that’s not a good message to be sending to young teens; you don’t need a boy to love you in order for you to feel worthy. This would’ve been much more impactful if Brian was a new friend who was confident in their skin and showed Charlie that. Even better if it was a group of diverse women with diverse body shapes showing Charlie that her problems should not be blamed on her fatness and that she doesn’t have to be all about body positivity (because that could turn toxic), but about body neutrality.
Charlie’s characterization was all over the place. At times she was incredibly naive and selfish, self involved and whiney; other times she would sound “mature” even though it also sounded scripted and not organic at all. She really just kept getting more and more whiney. I really wished she and her mom had a much more positive conversation like Charlie had with Amelia. However the way Charlie treated Amelia was messed up and I felt like it was never addressed as Charlie’s fault, but putting blame on Amelia even though she didn’t do anything.
In the whole book, Charlie doesn’t do much, positive or negative actions (other than complain) so character development doesn’t happen until the last 20 or so pages. Sure she has thoughts about her friend that’s not good but she acknowledges those as bad thoughts almost a paragraph later so she doesn’t really need to learn anything later but she doesn’t do anything to grow as a person; she’s also is self deprecating to the point where it seems like she wants to be pitied.
All of the side characters felt one dimensional,
Especially the mother and Amelia. Brian was okay, but he quickly turned pretentious and rude about Amelia and that whole drama between the two was honestly stupid. And what Charlie does was so incredibly immature and just plain idiotic. Communication is key to a healthy relationship and Charlie doesn’t communicate with anyone she “cares” about until it starts making her look like a bad person. Again, quite self involved.
There were a lot of smaller moments throughout that irked me and made me roll my eyes but that’s being nitpicky so I won’t go into too much explanation, but I did update my reading journey with those thoughts so feel free to read those. In conclusion, the dialogue didn’t sound very realistic and organic, but scripted and cheesy. The first half was an average read, started off good but everyone loses dimension and there’s no real plot or conflict to follow and everything kinda randomly happen to further the story to a predictable end.
Now, the two main issues I had were the main character Charlie, and the fact that she starts to feel like she’s worthy and loveable is when a boy likes her and that’s not a good message to be sending to young teens; you don’t need a boy to love you in order for you to feel worthy. This would’ve been much more impactful if Brian was a new friend who was confident in their skin and showed Charlie that. Even better if it was a group of diverse women with diverse body shapes showing Charlie that her problems should not be blamed on her fatness and that she doesn’t have to be all about body positivity (because that could turn toxic), but about body neutrality.
Charlie’s characterization was all over the place. At times she was incredibly naive and selfish, self involved and whiney; other times she would sound “mature” even though it also sounded scripted and not organic at all. She really just kept getting more and more whiney. I really wished she and her mom had a much more positive conversation like Charlie had with Amelia. However the way Charlie treated Amelia was messed up and I felt like it was never addressed as Charlie’s fault, but putting blame on Amelia even though she didn’t do anything.
In the whole book, Charlie doesn’t do much, positive or negative actions (other than complain) so character development doesn’t happen until the last 20 or so pages. Sure she has thoughts about her friend that’s not good but she acknowledges those as bad thoughts almost a paragraph later so she doesn’t really need to learn anything later but she doesn’t do anything to grow as a person; she’s also is self deprecating to the point where it seems like she wants to be pitied.
All of the side characters felt one dimensional,
Especially the mother and Amelia. Brian was okay, but he quickly turned pretentious and rude about Amelia and that whole drama between the two was honestly stupid. And what Charlie does was so incredibly immature and just plain idiotic. Communication is key to a healthy relationship and Charlie doesn’t communicate with anyone she “cares” about until it starts making her look like a bad person. Again, quite self involved.
There were a lot of smaller moments throughout that irked me and made me roll my eyes but that’s being nitpicky so I won’t go into too much explanation, but I did update my reading journey with those thoughts so feel free to read those. In conclusion, the dialogue didn’t sound very realistic and organic, but scripted and cheesy. The first half was an average read, started off good but everyone loses dimension and there’s no real plot or conflict to follow and everything kinda randomly happen to further the story to a predictable end.
March 29, 2021
4.5 ⭐️
pls check back tomorrow for the review bc my brain is fried 🤪
-----UPDATE-----
THIS BOOK IS SO SWEET!!
a great book not only for body positivity, but also for the internal struggle girls face--Charlie often compares herself to her best friend, Amelia, because they're two different sizes. Charlie is plus-size and Amelia is on the skinnier side. Amelia gets all of the attention and Charlie feels like she blends into the wall. Amelia is popular and has a ton of friends while Charlie's the one who gets pointed at and bullied.
I absolutely LOVEDDDD the representation here!! and the book overall read quickly and it was so sweet and touching and light despite what it covered. She has a difficult relationship with her mom, which I feel like almost everyone has gone through at some point (I definitely have), and it certainly doesn't help that her mom pushes this idea of how being skinny will solve all of Charlie's problems. Charlie nips that shit in the bud and I love it.
this reads very YA--there's romance here (Brian is the SWEETEST) and just a lot of great messages for young girls overall.
Some of the writing was a hit-or-miss for me; this has a lot of modern references, which I don't tend to gravitate towards.
Do you need to read this? YES GO GO GO
pls check back tomorrow for the review bc my brain is fried 🤪
-----UPDATE-----
THIS BOOK IS SO SWEET!!
a great book not only for body positivity, but also for the internal struggle girls face--Charlie often compares herself to her best friend, Amelia, because they're two different sizes. Charlie is plus-size and Amelia is on the skinnier side. Amelia gets all of the attention and Charlie feels like she blends into the wall. Amelia is popular and has a ton of friends while Charlie's the one who gets pointed at and bullied.
I absolutely LOVEDDDD the representation here!! and the book overall read quickly and it was so sweet and touching and light despite what it covered. She has a difficult relationship with her mom, which I feel like almost everyone has gone through at some point (I definitely have), and it certainly doesn't help that her mom pushes this idea of how being skinny will solve all of Charlie's problems. Charlie nips that shit in the bud and I love it.
this reads very YA--there's romance here (Brian is the SWEETEST) and just a lot of great messages for young girls overall.
Some of the writing was a hit-or-miss for me; this has a lot of modern references, which I don't tend to gravitate towards.
Do you need to read this? YES GO GO GO
July 27, 2021
We should probably talk about the fact that I finished this book in one day and how it almost had me tearing up at my office desk. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Maldonado did a wonderful job with so many different components of this book. 4.5 Stars
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega focuses on Charlie who is a plus sized high school student. Although Charlie attempts to enjoy school and her personal life, it's clear from her internal dialogue and interactions with others that she struggles with her self-esteem. She has a best friend, Amelia, who she adores, but also envies which doesn't help and then she has an unhealthy relationship with her mother who pushes her extreme weight loss ambitions on her daughter. Although Charlie forms a relationship with her classmate Brian, she begins to spiral more out of control when she realizes that he asked out Amelia first.
Honestly, I related to a lot of things in this book....I mean A LOT. The dynamic between Charlie and her mother isn't far removed from the experience that I have had with my own mother. It's toxic and unhealthy and unfair to Charlie. Charlie's mother spends a lot of time putting down her daughter’s weight or feeling like she can't date certain people because she doesn't look a certain way. It's the one common factor in Charlie's life that continuously brings her down. Personally, this was the one character in the book that I just couldn't get behind. There is some sort of reconciliation but I think that my own trauma prevented me from fully trusting Charlie's mother. There were some other interesting things done with character development in terms of Amelia and Brian. I adored Amelia (she’s Black & queer which was a huge plus for me), but also recognized her flaws. She stood up for Charlie, supported Charlie, and tried to make Charlie realize how loveable she was, but she also made mistakes. What was so beautiful about their relationship was that even after mistakes were made, the two were able to acknowledge what went wrong and attempt to figure things out together as a team. The relationship felt real especially for their age group. Brian was a force to be reckoned with and I adored him as a character. It was clear from the beginning that Brian saw Charlie for who she was in the beginning. While they did have conflict, I fell in love with his character because he never gave up. He respected her feelings, gave her space, and still held hope that things would work out. Honestly, I need a Brian.
Maldonado just handled so many different aspects of this book well including the plus size representation. While Charlie is insecure in a lot of ways, I think that she's insecure in the same way that anyone with any body size could be insecure. She's okay with identifying as "fat." She doesn’t beat herself down, but she struggles with how other people see her and I think that it's valid which made me actually appreciate the plus size representation. I relate to this a whole lot. I am comfortable with my body, but it's still easy for me to get caught up with how the rest of the world may see me. The pacing of this book was interesting, but I enjoyed it. The first part of the story feels as though it's going to go in one direction, but then it focuses more so on the relationship that Charlie has with Amelia, Brian, and her mom. I was extremely happy that it did go in that direction because the beginning part of the book made me angry. Not at Maldonado, but at the idea that certain characters mirror exactly how people in the real world act towards/treat plus sized individuals.
Overall, this was a great debut. I think that it has a lot to offer in terms of character development. There is a different form of intersectionality that we don't always get to see in YA fiction which is a plus-sized, brown young woman. And Maldonado does a beautiful job illustrating how these intersections affect Charlie in a different way than others. There are a lot of themes that teens and adults will relate to and appreciate. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else she will write in the future.
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega focuses on Charlie who is a plus sized high school student. Although Charlie attempts to enjoy school and her personal life, it's clear from her internal dialogue and interactions with others that she struggles with her self-esteem. She has a best friend, Amelia, who she adores, but also envies which doesn't help and then she has an unhealthy relationship with her mother who pushes her extreme weight loss ambitions on her daughter. Although Charlie forms a relationship with her classmate Brian, she begins to spiral more out of control when she realizes that he asked out Amelia first.
Honestly, I related to a lot of things in this book....I mean A LOT. The dynamic between Charlie and her mother isn't far removed from the experience that I have had with my own mother. It's toxic and unhealthy and unfair to Charlie. Charlie's mother spends a lot of time putting down her daughter’s weight or feeling like she can't date certain people because she doesn't look a certain way. It's the one common factor in Charlie's life that continuously brings her down. Personally, this was the one character in the book that I just couldn't get behind. There is some sort of reconciliation but I think that my own trauma prevented me from fully trusting Charlie's mother. There were some other interesting things done with character development in terms of Amelia and Brian. I adored Amelia (she’s Black & queer which was a huge plus for me), but also recognized her flaws. She stood up for Charlie, supported Charlie, and tried to make Charlie realize how loveable she was, but she also made mistakes. What was so beautiful about their relationship was that even after mistakes were made, the two were able to acknowledge what went wrong and attempt to figure things out together as a team. The relationship felt real especially for their age group. Brian was a force to be reckoned with and I adored him as a character. It was clear from the beginning that Brian saw Charlie for who she was in the beginning. While they did have conflict, I fell in love with his character because he never gave up. He respected her feelings, gave her space, and still held hope that things would work out. Honestly, I need a Brian.
Maldonado just handled so many different aspects of this book well including the plus size representation. While Charlie is insecure in a lot of ways, I think that she's insecure in the same way that anyone with any body size could be insecure. She's okay with identifying as "fat." She doesn’t beat herself down, but she struggles with how other people see her and I think that it's valid which made me actually appreciate the plus size representation. I relate to this a whole lot. I am comfortable with my body, but it's still easy for me to get caught up with how the rest of the world may see me. The pacing of this book was interesting, but I enjoyed it. The first part of the story feels as though it's going to go in one direction, but then it focuses more so on the relationship that Charlie has with Amelia, Brian, and her mom. I was extremely happy that it did go in that direction because the beginning part of the book made me angry. Not at Maldonado, but at the idea that certain characters mirror exactly how people in the real world act towards/treat plus sized individuals.
Overall, this was a great debut. I think that it has a lot to offer in terms of character development. There is a different form of intersectionality that we don't always get to see in YA fiction which is a plus-sized, brown young woman. And Maldonado does a beautiful job illustrating how these intersections affect Charlie in a different way than others. There are a lot of themes that teens and adults will relate to and appreciate. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else she will write in the future.
July 14, 2021
4.5 stars!
Want to read
August 26, 2020I love this cover.
I love this title.
I love this synopsis.
2021 needs to come and save us from the mess of 2020 and this book is the first step to recovery!
I love this title.
I love this synopsis.
2021 needs to come and save us from the mess of 2020 and this book is the first step to recovery!
November 15, 2023
this author can do no wrong
December 15, 2021
Ok so I'm not a huge YA reader, but every now and then I'll pick it up for a change of pace. I really enjoyed this book! 4.5⭐ for me!
Charlie is 16 going on 17, she's an overweight brown girl living in the white Connecticut suburbs. She lost her father a few years ago, and her mother is all about getting skinny, and they argue all the time. Her best friend Amelia is beautiful and perfect. Amelia is such a great friend to her though.
Charlie is very self conscious about her weight and always feels inferior to her skinnier friends. When Charlie starts talking to Brian, her high school classmate who also works with her, they definitely feel a connection. He's such a great character, a really sweet guy. Charlie is so happy, but can things possibly go this well for her?! You'll have to read to find out.
Let me say, this book is a very light, contemporary YA. It's an easy read! It's a good book to just escape to, kinda brings you back to those younger days! I thought the friendships and relationships were pretty realistic, and I liked seeing Charlie grow throughout the book!
Charlie is 16 going on 17, she's an overweight brown girl living in the white Connecticut suburbs. She lost her father a few years ago, and her mother is all about getting skinny, and they argue all the time. Her best friend Amelia is beautiful and perfect. Amelia is such a great friend to her though.
Charlie is very self conscious about her weight and always feels inferior to her skinnier friends. When Charlie starts talking to Brian, her high school classmate who also works with her, they definitely feel a connection. He's such a great character, a really sweet guy. Charlie is so happy, but can things possibly go this well for her?! You'll have to read to find out.
Let me say, this book is a very light, contemporary YA. It's an easy read! It's a good book to just escape to, kinda brings you back to those younger days! I thought the friendships and relationships were pretty realistic, and I liked seeing Charlie grow throughout the book!
April 7, 2021
The way I want to scream about this book from the rooftops but also I don't anyone to read it because that would be like baring my soul. Raw. Unedited. Unfiltered.
The way all I want in this moment is to find a time machine so I can send this book back to my sixteen year old self and hold her tight.
The way I managed not to cry during this book but now that it's over I am so overcome.
The way all I want in this moment is to find a time machine so I can send this book back to my sixteen year old self and hold her tight.
The way I managed not to cry during this book but now that it's over I am so overcome.
April 7, 2022
TW fatphobia from family and strangers
This was a very emotional story exploring important social and coming of age themes that I enjoyed all the more knowing it all came from an author who was speaking from her own experiences by way of our main character.
The plot of this story was really quintessential of high school and that period in our lives where we've all struggled with our identities and being comfortable in our bodies. And I think this book did such an amazing job depicting that. I will say, the story felt a little slow in parts. And while I wish there would have been a deeper conversation between Charlie and her mom, I understand that this toxic relationship between a child and a parent is a reality for some. I just felt that it was such a big topic of discussion in the story, I was sort of expecting some payoff from it.
Besides those small things, this story was engaging, thoughtful, emotional, and had an adorable romance.
This was a very emotional story exploring important social and coming of age themes that I enjoyed all the more knowing it all came from an author who was speaking from her own experiences by way of our main character.
The plot of this story was really quintessential of high school and that period in our lives where we've all struggled with our identities and being comfortable in our bodies. And I think this book did such an amazing job depicting that. I will say, the story felt a little slow in parts. And while I wish there would have been a deeper conversation between Charlie and her mom, I understand that this toxic relationship between a child and a parent is a reality for some. I just felt that it was such a big topic of discussion in the story, I was sort of expecting some payoff from it.
Besides those small things, this story was engaging, thoughtful, emotional, and had an adorable romance.
January 30, 2021
I'm torn on this because I liked a lot of this book, but I wanted a lot more from it too. Charlie is a great character and really gets to go through a lot of growth and self acceptance through the story. But I didn't feel like I go to go through it with her. There's a lot of drama, insecurities, and conflict in the story between Charlie and her mom especially, but all the development and resolutions felt weaker and a bit rushed. I think the balance of the story was off for me, so that's why I was a little let down. But this was still a nice story overall, and Charlie and Brian were very cute.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
May 15, 2021
Do you ever read a book that makes you feel so much, pulls at your heartstrings so hard and makes you wish more than anything, that you could place it in the hands of your teen self because you know it would mean everything to her? Yeah. This is one of those books.
This book made me want to cry with anger, happiness and pain. It made me want to shove it into the hands of every teen who's ever felt 'other' or 'less than' because of their size. It made me smile and squee. My heart is so happy that books like this exist. Because, despite being filled with fatphobia, diet culture and body shaming, it's also filled with messages of hope and strength and self acceptance.
The romance was beyond adorable and Brian totally stole my heart. Charlie was a gorgeous, bold and endearing character to follow and I loved the way her friendship and relationship with Amelia developed throughout the book, as well as that with her cousins. Amelia and Kira were also super cute. I found the mother/daughter relationship incredibly difficult to read but I think Crystal approached it with care and honesty. Also, if books about fellow book lovers/writers is you jam, this is totally a book that needs to be on your radar.
I do want to put a big warning that this book does have the potential to be incredibly triggering to some, so I would enter with caution if you're triggered by discussions of weight loss and dieting etc. However, Charlie's journey and authentic approach to body image and fat positivity was an incredibly refreshing and wonderfully empowering read.
TW: fatphobia, dieting, body shaming, toxic mother/daughter relationship, discussions of weight loss.
This book made me want to cry with anger, happiness and pain. It made me want to shove it into the hands of every teen who's ever felt 'other' or 'less than' because of their size. It made me smile and squee. My heart is so happy that books like this exist. Because, despite being filled with fatphobia, diet culture and body shaming, it's also filled with messages of hope and strength and self acceptance.
The romance was beyond adorable and Brian totally stole my heart. Charlie was a gorgeous, bold and endearing character to follow and I loved the way her friendship and relationship with Amelia developed throughout the book, as well as that with her cousins. Amelia and Kira were also super cute. I found the mother/daughter relationship incredibly difficult to read but I think Crystal approached it with care and honesty. Also, if books about fellow book lovers/writers is you jam, this is totally a book that needs to be on your radar.
I do want to put a big warning that this book does have the potential to be incredibly triggering to some, so I would enter with caution if you're triggered by discussions of weight loss and dieting etc. However, Charlie's journey and authentic approach to body image and fat positivity was an incredibly refreshing and wonderfully empowering read.
TW: fatphobia, dieting, body shaming, toxic mother/daughter relationship, discussions of weight loss.
March 16, 2021
Book 73 of 2021 and my first read of March, 2021
I loved this book a lot and it's such an amazing, important, and beautiful book. Lots of serious issues are discussed here, and it's done in a serious tone, but still written in language that's perfect for YA readers.
TW for fatphobia from family and strangers
This was such a cute and important book. An anticipated book that loved up to all my expectations, I'm glad this was what I started my March with!
Charlie Vega is a 17year old fat Latina in high school, dealing with a lot of internal and external issues. It's just her and her mom, following her dad's death (long before the events of the book).
Her mom recently lost a lot of weight and became thin, so she expects the same of Charlie. She tries to force a "healthy" lifestyle on Charlie, change her diet, etc. She also openly shows her preference of Charlie's thin best friend Amelia.
Amelia is a black pansexual girl who's Charlie's best friend. To Charlie, Amelia is everything she's not - thin, hot, and desirable. Charlie has a lot of internalized issues that cause her to compare herself to Amelia a lot.
Charlie tries her best to love herself and be comfortable in her own body. She's a feminist and follows a lot of body positivity insta accounts. She loves their ideals and tries to imbibe them in herself, but it's hard to with a mother like hers.
This book is great on representation and diversity. I loved that it talked about a lot of very important issues, and that the author does this expertly through a YA gaze. Family, love, friendship, self love and acceptance are some of the themes of this book.
I really enjoyed the romance in this one, and the love interest, Brian. Brian is a Korean boy with lesbian mothers, and he's an amazing fit for Charlie.
This, overall, is an amazing book that I highly recommend.
I loved this book a lot and it's such an amazing, important, and beautiful book. Lots of serious issues are discussed here, and it's done in a serious tone, but still written in language that's perfect for YA readers.
TW for fatphobia from family and strangers
This was such a cute and important book. An anticipated book that loved up to all my expectations, I'm glad this was what I started my March with!
Charlie Vega is a 17year old fat Latina in high school, dealing with a lot of internal and external issues. It's just her and her mom, following her dad's death (long before the events of the book).
Her mom recently lost a lot of weight and became thin, so she expects the same of Charlie. She tries to force a "healthy" lifestyle on Charlie, change her diet, etc. She also openly shows her preference of Charlie's thin best friend Amelia.
Amelia is a black pansexual girl who's Charlie's best friend. To Charlie, Amelia is everything she's not - thin, hot, and desirable. Charlie has a lot of internalized issues that cause her to compare herself to Amelia a lot.
Charlie tries her best to love herself and be comfortable in her own body. She's a feminist and follows a lot of body positivity insta accounts. She loves their ideals and tries to imbibe them in herself, but it's hard to with a mother like hers.
This book is great on representation and diversity. I loved that it talked about a lot of very important issues, and that the author does this expertly through a YA gaze. Family, love, friendship, self love and acceptance are some of the themes of this book.
I really enjoyed the romance in this one, and the love interest, Brian. Brian is a Korean boy with lesbian mothers, and he's an amazing fit for Charlie.
This, overall, is an amazing book that I highly recommend.
March 23, 2021
4.5 stars! So good :’)
January 8, 2021
How this book left me simultaneously GUTTED and GRINNING so hard my jaw is still aching I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.
Seriously. This book is my personality, all my fears and dreams and hopes wrapped into one and I kinda wanna sue the author for making me EMOTE when I'm supposed to be a fierce, fabulous ice queen but I can't because I need ALL OF MALDONADO'S FUTURE BOOKS RIGHT THE F NOW.
I just. gah. I beg of you, read this book. You won't regret it. Charlie Vega will steal your heart and you'll end up thanking her.
Seriously. This book is my personality, all my fears and dreams and hopes wrapped into one and I kinda wanna sue the author for making me EMOTE when I'm supposed to be a fierce, fabulous ice queen but I can't because I need ALL OF MALDONADO'S FUTURE BOOKS RIGHT THE F NOW.
I just. gah. I beg of you, read this book. You won't regret it. Charlie Vega will steal your heart and you'll end up thanking her.
February 14, 2022
4.5 stars! I adored this book so very much. Thanks to my Storyseekers anon for recommending it to me!
tw: fatphobia, mentioned death of a parent, mentions of sex, underage drinking, strained relationship with a parent, toxic diet culture, emotional abuse + manipulation, racism
tw: fatphobia, mentioned death of a parent, mentions of sex, underage drinking, strained relationship with a parent, toxic diet culture, emotional abuse + manipulation, racism
January 3, 2021
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I was very interested to read this new YA novel. I wanted to love Charlie Vega and her story with all my heart, but some parts of it just fell flat to me.
Charlie is a smart, caring, strong-willed, and confident girl who truly has a lot to deal with. At home things with her mother seem to be very difficult, the two are drifting apart due to several reasons. Her mother is constantly making remarks about Charlie's weight and this aspect of her home life is understandably proving quite difficult to deal with. I really appreciated how confident Charlie is with her body and that she had the strength to not listen to her mother's insensitive and stupid comments.
Someone Charlie can find solace in is her best friend Amelia, who's always there to support Charlie. I really enjoyed their relationship, it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows and that's what I liked about it, it felt realistic.
But let's also talk about Charlie's relationship with Brian, the first boy who makes her feel truly seen and makes her heart flutter. He was cute and caring, but I thought their relationship was just okay in the end.
It's a good story and I can totally see how it would appeal to lots of people, but in the end it just didn't blow me away as I was hoping.
I was very interested to read this new YA novel. I wanted to love Charlie Vega and her story with all my heart, but some parts of it just fell flat to me.
Charlie is a smart, caring, strong-willed, and confident girl who truly has a lot to deal with. At home things with her mother seem to be very difficult, the two are drifting apart due to several reasons. Her mother is constantly making remarks about Charlie's weight and this aspect of her home life is understandably proving quite difficult to deal with. I really appreciated how confident Charlie is with her body and that she had the strength to not listen to her mother's insensitive and stupid comments.
Someone Charlie can find solace in is her best friend Amelia, who's always there to support Charlie. I really enjoyed their relationship, it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows and that's what I liked about it, it felt realistic.
But let's also talk about Charlie's relationship with Brian, the first boy who makes her feel truly seen and makes her heart flutter. He was cute and caring, but I thought their relationship was just okay in the end.
It's a good story and I can totally see how it would appeal to lots of people, but in the end it just didn't blow me away as I was hoping.
March 28, 2021
I'm sorry but I just did not like this book. I'm definitely not the audience for it because while I consider myself to be a curvier girl, I don't think about my body size, appearance, and have a toxic relationship with my mother everyday. Since the majority of the book focused a lot on her hating herself and her relationship with her mother, I could not relate. It is not the reason why I'm giving it a low rating though but because the conflict resolution in the end and how horrible the characters were to Charlie didn't quite redeem themselves for me. Charlie deserved more triumph and groveling. I enjoyed the romance between our main characters but it was overall okay just for me. I found the book to be really frustrating so it's a 2 star.
March 23, 2021
MAJOR ELEANOR AND PARK VIBESS.
‘That seemingly small moment made me acutely aware of my body and its bigness, and it was then that I realized that being fat is a thing: A Very Bad Thing, according to most.’
So can I just say how absolutely relatable this is? Being fat or “plus size” isn’t something you notice until its brought into your attention. Most importantly, its not something you exactly care about or think its necessary to care about until someone comes up to you and says “you’ll look so much better if you lost a couple of pounds” and I’m unfortunately speaking from personal experience.
Now lets break it down : this book follows Charlie Vega, a fat, shy and awkward teen who navigates high school along with her fun, flirty and all around perfect best friend, Amelia. Problems arise once Charlie finds out that the boy she’s dating asked her best friend out before her and now we read to find out if Charlie come to terms with it or if she can accept the fact that she’s come second best to Amelia yet again.
Can I just say that this was soooo fun and warm and gooyeyy. Like a summer kiss.
In terms of writing, this books, from the beginning, was fairly simple and an easy read. But in terms of character personalities I hate to say that both Amelia and Charlie seemed to find all too well into specific stereotypes and I wasn’t exactly fond of it. Charlie’s shy, awkward nature seems to revolve around the fact that she’s fat and that was something I was PERSONALLY uncomfortable with.
But I thought this book was really cute. At first I imagined it would be too long and dragged out but I honestly didn’t mind it at all. It’s was a very fun and enjoyable read. I love that thoughtout it all Charlie didn’t lose hope or break despite the many hits she took but I did feel like some of the moments in the book were terribly cliche and made me feel like the characters weren’t too flushed out.
But overall I would totally recommend this.I wouldn’t categorise this under romance, I feel that our heroine’s relationship with Amelia was a lot more focused on than her relationship with Brian.nevertheless , It focused on very important topics even though at times the topics were kinda forced into the storyline in terms of commentary and indirect insults in unnecessary times.
And I felt that Charlie at times let her insecurities get the better of her and acted out but I think that’s the best thing about this book. It’s that they were slightly immature and had a loose tongue and they dealt with it.
‘That seemingly small moment made me acutely aware of my body and its bigness, and it was then that I realized that being fat is a thing: A Very Bad Thing, according to most.’
So can I just say how absolutely relatable this is? Being fat or “plus size” isn’t something you notice until its brought into your attention. Most importantly, its not something you exactly care about or think its necessary to care about until someone comes up to you and says “you’ll look so much better if you lost a couple of pounds” and I’m unfortunately speaking from personal experience.
Now lets break it down : this book follows Charlie Vega, a fat, shy and awkward teen who navigates high school along with her fun, flirty and all around perfect best friend, Amelia. Problems arise once Charlie finds out that the boy she’s dating asked her best friend out before her and now we read to find out if Charlie come to terms with it or if she can accept the fact that she’s come second best to Amelia yet again.
Can I just say that this was soooo fun and warm and gooyeyy. Like a summer kiss.
In terms of writing, this books, from the beginning, was fairly simple and an easy read. But in terms of character personalities I hate to say that both Amelia and Charlie seemed to find all too well into specific stereotypes and I wasn’t exactly fond of it. Charlie’s shy, awkward nature seems to revolve around the fact that she’s fat and that was something I was PERSONALLY uncomfortable with.
But I thought this book was really cute. At first I imagined it would be too long and dragged out but I honestly didn’t mind it at all. It’s was a very fun and enjoyable read. I love that thoughtout it all Charlie didn’t lose hope or break despite the many hits she took but I did feel like some of the moments in the book were terribly cliche and made me feel like the characters weren’t too flushed out.
But overall I would totally recommend this.I wouldn’t categorise this under romance, I feel that our heroine’s relationship with Amelia was a lot more focused on than her relationship with Brian.nevertheless , It focused on very important topics even though at times the topics were kinda forced into the storyline in terms of commentary and indirect insults in unnecessary times.
And I felt that Charlie at times let her insecurities get the better of her and acted out but I think that’s the best thing about this book. It’s that they were slightly immature and had a loose tongue and they dealt with it.
December 18, 2021
Wow! This book made me sob at some points because I related so hard to Charlie's experience as a fat teenager. I really loved Charlie's friendship with Amelia and her budding romance with Brian. There were lots of moments here that were so raw and emotional. I'm thrilled teens have more and more books about fat teenagers.
I also want to say that the audiobook performance was wonderful. Carla Vega full embodied Charlie's voice.
Content notes: fat-shaming, diet talk, toxic parent, racial microaggressions
March 27, 2021
review to come!
...
dude, this cover
...
dude, this cover
July 16, 2021
Reread!
I love this book so much. It is just such a stunning coming of age about fat brown girl just trying to figure life out. Charlie is an incredibly relatable character and you just feel for her at every turn. This is one of my favorite books with fat rep because it's just done so incredibly well. It is a major theme of the story, and there is fat phobia, but the overall theme of this book is fat joy and thriving while fat. It's about falling in love and getting through high school and trying on dresses and having great friendships all while fat. It's just super good. If you haven't read this book yet I really urge you to. While our MC is not queer, her best friend is Black and pansexual and her love interest is Korean and his moms are queer. This book has a lot of really good representation and I love a story with a fat MC and a fat love interest. Also Brian is just the cutest ever and he and Charlie deserve the world.
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5+ Thank you to all of you who basically hounded me until I read this. You're amazing and I owe you one because this book is just as phenomenal as I was told. I mean seriously. Every single aspect. The MC isn't queer but her best friend is pansexual and her love interest parents are gay. I don't know that I've really compiled all my emotions yet but imo this is the perfect fat rep. It's beautiful and messy and chaotic and confusing. It's real. I will say Ive met my quota for emotionally abusive mom characters. There's some fatphobia, as in most books with fat MCs, but it isn't so bad that it's triggering if that makes sense. I've read some lately (looking at you Starfish and I'll Be The One) where the fatphobia was so bad that it was physically painful to read. I still loved those but this one is different in the best way. Highly highly recommend.
I love this book so much. It is just such a stunning coming of age about fat brown girl just trying to figure life out. Charlie is an incredibly relatable character and you just feel for her at every turn. This is one of my favorite books with fat rep because it's just done so incredibly well. It is a major theme of the story, and there is fat phobia, but the overall theme of this book is fat joy and thriving while fat. It's about falling in love and getting through high school and trying on dresses and having great friendships all while fat. It's just super good. If you haven't read this book yet I really urge you to. While our MC is not queer, her best friend is Black and pansexual and her love interest is Korean and his moms are queer. This book has a lot of really good representation and I love a story with a fat MC and a fat love interest. Also Brian is just the cutest ever and he and Charlie deserve the world.
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5+ Thank you to all of you who basically hounded me until I read this. You're amazing and I owe you one because this book is just as phenomenal as I was told. I mean seriously. Every single aspect. The MC isn't queer but her best friend is pansexual and her love interest parents are gay. I don't know that I've really compiled all my emotions yet but imo this is the perfect fat rep. It's beautiful and messy and chaotic and confusing. It's real. I will say Ive met my quota for emotionally abusive mom characters. There's some fatphobia, as in most books with fat MCs, but it isn't so bad that it's triggering if that makes sense. I've read some lately (looking at you Starfish and I'll Be The One) where the fatphobia was so bad that it was physically painful to read. I still loved those but this one is different in the best way. Highly highly recommend.
September 16, 2021
do you ever just say fuck it and post the entire rambly review that you wrote late at night?? anyways, vulnerability:
“shoulders back. head held up high. fat, beautiful body and all.”
this book!!!!!!! charlie vega was honestly a book that hit so close to home. i feel like i’ve posted quiet a few reviews lately where i say i felt seen, but this book wins. this book was everything i needed it to be, and though it was quite painful to read at times, i smiled so much. charlie is a fat teen, like me. she’s fat, and immerses herself in the fat positive community, but she struggles to actually think highly of herself even as she praises other beautiful fat bodies. she wants to find love, and dreams about the day that someone will see something in her.
charlie’s voice as a fat teen girl is why we need more fat main characters. there were small scenes, like when charlie was shopping with a friend and didn’t have the confidence to tell her friend that nothing at the store could fit her. i can’t tell you how much i related to her. the way crystal maldonado captured this emotion perfectly, of knowing you’re fat and accepting you’re fat, but not being able to talk openly to anyone about it outside of your own mental space. there’s an unstated thing that outside of the fat community, fat is still an insult. it’s impossible to explain even to the people you love that you are able to accept your body. people think that by pretending they don’t realize you’re fat, they are doing you a favor. charlie’s discussion over her size with her best friend honestly made me emotional. or even simply the way that charlie was involved in the body positive movement, but still criticized her own body. it’s so easy to think other fat bodies are beautiful, but the way charlie faced internalized fatphobia when facing her own reflection i felt so strongly.
this book, though happy and smiley and joyful, was honestly quite triggering for me, simply because of how much i related to some darker parts of it. charlie’s mom pushes her diet culture and toxic/disordered ways of eating onto charlie, convinced that charlie’s life would be better if she was thinner. she thinks that charlie can lose weight through eating better and exercising more and that charlie wants to lose weight, inherently enforcing the belief that being fat is bad. it’s this insane fatphobia that wasn’t even blatant, just societal in it’s representation, that charlie’s mom pushed onto her daughter. while reading charlie struggle with herself because just as she started feeling confident, her mom’s words would backfire her progress, i was like…. fuck. i’m trying so hard to not get too vulnerable, but like i said, like charlie, i’m a fat teen. and like charlie, even as i try to accept my body, i have a mother that doesn’t allow that. there’s this internal conflict that charlie faces between acceptance of herself and inability to due to manipulation and decline in self worth on account of her mom’s actions and beliefs. and i don’t think i’ve ever seen something so deeply rooted inside me this visualized before. even as i’m drafting this review in my notes app, i’m regretting accepting this and giving this part of myself to the world. if you’re reading this.. yeah. past jenn is crying as they write this.
the romance aspects of this book also had me feeling things. charlie wants love. she wants to be seen by others, and the prospect of someone asking her out is something she dreams of. it’s…. it’s this that wasn’t only a beautiful journey of self growth throughout the story, but is evident of her need for validation that is lacking in her own perception of herself. as a fellow fat girl, i get this. i… yeah. i may be jumping to conclusions with this point, and maybe i’m talking more about myself than about charlie, but her reaction when she first gets asked out by a crush of hers speaks a lot to this. inherently, there’s an idea that we’re less worthy of love. that nobody wants us. charlie’s understanding of her value as a human being who deserves respect was beautiful. besides perspective on romance, the overall main romance itself was so amazing. sometimes i forget the value of young adult romance plots, and this just had me so happy. it’s honestly a pretty minor point in the story, and yet i was so happy for charlie.
charlie’s one of those characters who is impossible not to root for. it’s impossible to not want to love her and hug her and she’s one of those characters that i completely wish was real because she’s so damn cool. i’m literally getting emotional talking about her and i’m literally starting to cry while i type this so maybe i’m just being weird but this book was what i needed. charlie is what i needed. i would give my life to hug charlie vega. literal tears rolling down my face rn. literally. i really need some sleep (future jenn: i was writing this at 10:30 pm so)
content warnings: fatphobia, mentioned death of a parent, mentions of sex, underage drinking, racism, a strained relationship with a parent, diet culture, emotional abuse + manipulation
“shoulders back. head held up high. fat, beautiful body and all.”
this book!!!!!!! charlie vega was honestly a book that hit so close to home. i feel like i’ve posted quiet a few reviews lately where i say i felt seen, but this book wins. this book was everything i needed it to be, and though it was quite painful to read at times, i smiled so much. charlie is a fat teen, like me. she’s fat, and immerses herself in the fat positive community, but she struggles to actually think highly of herself even as she praises other beautiful fat bodies. she wants to find love, and dreams about the day that someone will see something in her.
charlie’s voice as a fat teen girl is why we need more fat main characters. there were small scenes, like when charlie was shopping with a friend and didn’t have the confidence to tell her friend that nothing at the store could fit her. i can’t tell you how much i related to her. the way crystal maldonado captured this emotion perfectly, of knowing you’re fat and accepting you’re fat, but not being able to talk openly to anyone about it outside of your own mental space. there’s an unstated thing that outside of the fat community, fat is still an insult. it’s impossible to explain even to the people you love that you are able to accept your body. people think that by pretending they don’t realize you’re fat, they are doing you a favor. charlie’s discussion over her size with her best friend honestly made me emotional. or even simply the way that charlie was involved in the body positive movement, but still criticized her own body. it’s so easy to think other fat bodies are beautiful, but the way charlie faced internalized fatphobia when facing her own reflection i felt so strongly.
this book, though happy and smiley and joyful, was honestly quite triggering for me, simply because of how much i related to some darker parts of it. charlie’s mom pushes her diet culture and toxic/disordered ways of eating onto charlie, convinced that charlie’s life would be better if she was thinner. she thinks that charlie can lose weight through eating better and exercising more and that charlie wants to lose weight, inherently enforcing the belief that being fat is bad. it’s this insane fatphobia that wasn’t even blatant, just societal in it’s representation, that charlie’s mom pushed onto her daughter. while reading charlie struggle with herself because just as she started feeling confident, her mom’s words would backfire her progress, i was like…. fuck. i’m trying so hard to not get too vulnerable, but like i said, like charlie, i’m a fat teen. and like charlie, even as i try to accept my body, i have a mother that doesn’t allow that. there’s this internal conflict that charlie faces between acceptance of herself and inability to due to manipulation and decline in self worth on account of her mom’s actions and beliefs. and i don’t think i’ve ever seen something so deeply rooted inside me this visualized before. even as i’m drafting this review in my notes app, i’m regretting accepting this and giving this part of myself to the world. if you’re reading this.. yeah. past jenn is crying as they write this.
the romance aspects of this book also had me feeling things. charlie wants love. she wants to be seen by others, and the prospect of someone asking her out is something she dreams of. it’s…. it’s this that wasn’t only a beautiful journey of self growth throughout the story, but is evident of her need for validation that is lacking in her own perception of herself. as a fellow fat girl, i get this. i… yeah. i may be jumping to conclusions with this point, and maybe i’m talking more about myself than about charlie, but her reaction when she first gets asked out by a crush of hers speaks a lot to this. inherently, there’s an idea that we’re less worthy of love. that nobody wants us. charlie’s understanding of her value as a human being who deserves respect was beautiful. besides perspective on romance, the overall main romance itself was so amazing. sometimes i forget the value of young adult romance plots, and this just had me so happy. it’s honestly a pretty minor point in the story, and yet i was so happy for charlie.
charlie’s one of those characters who is impossible not to root for. it’s impossible to not want to love her and hug her and she’s one of those characters that i completely wish was real because she’s so damn cool. i’m literally getting emotional talking about her and i’m literally starting to cry while i type this so maybe i’m just being weird but this book was what i needed. charlie is what i needed. i would give my life to hug charlie vega. literal tears rolling down my face rn. literally. i really need some sleep (future jenn: i was writing this at 10:30 pm so)
content warnings: fatphobia, mentioned death of a parent, mentions of sex, underage drinking, racism, a strained relationship with a parent, diet culture, emotional abuse + manipulation
August 16, 2020
↠ 4 stars
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing this arc for reviewing purposes. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega was exactly the kind of insightful and thought provoking read I needed to close off my July. There were so many important themes explored within this story and I enjoyed it all the more knowing that the author was speaking from her own experiences by way of this character.
The storyline and plot were really a testament to high school and that period of time where we all struggle with our identities and strive for authenticity. In certain parts, however, the story felt a little slow for me, and I would have loved if the pace had picked up a bit. I also would have liked a deeper conversation to happen between Charlie and her mother. It felt like any inevitable confrontation between the two of them was overshadowed by the romance between Charlie and her love interest. Given that so much time was taken to show the different sides of their mother daughter relationship, it needed a certain type of closure beyond what was given. Besides that, this book was really stimulating and got me thinking about a lot of different things. Give this a try if that's something you're interested in.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing this arc for reviewing purposes. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega was exactly the kind of insightful and thought provoking read I needed to close off my July. There were so many important themes explored within this story and I enjoyed it all the more knowing that the author was speaking from her own experiences by way of this character.
The storyline and plot were really a testament to high school and that period of time where we all struggle with our identities and strive for authenticity. In certain parts, however, the story felt a little slow for me, and I would have loved if the pace had picked up a bit. I also would have liked a deeper conversation to happen between Charlie and her mother. It felt like any inevitable confrontation between the two of them was overshadowed by the romance between Charlie and her love interest. Given that so much time was taken to show the different sides of their mother daughter relationship, it needed a certain type of closure beyond what was given. Besides that, this book was really stimulating and got me thinking about a lot of different things. Give this a try if that's something you're interested in.
December 29, 2022
This was the book I needed when I was 17, I’ve never related more to a character in my life. To see Charlie struggle with her perception of her body and how she fits into the world was so refreshing. The way she struggled with feeling her most self and bracing for unkindness from others for it. Her relationship with her mom was painful but authentic and it really rang as true given the hang ups that Charlie had and her relation to those when it came to her mama. I will be picking up whatever this author writes next.
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