I enjoyed this and think it will help many young teen (gurls especially) to love themselves for who they are and accept their bodies.

16-year-old Bluebell or 'BB' as she's know to friends and family is fat, and she's pretty okay with this. BB loves her food, really loves it and she also loves herself and her body -however issues arrive after BB has an asthma attack during school exams and is instructed to keep a food diary by her doctor, which turns into a bit more an everyday diary as BB talks about her experience living in a bigger body in a world that has been programmed to think thinner is better.

This is a book I honestly wasn't sure about when I started it as I think I felt a little overwhelmed by Bluebelle's personality at the beginning of the book - there was definitely a personality clash but the more story went on, and the more the reader saw the softer, quieter and more insecure sides of BB than than public persona she parades around in, I liked her a lot more.

This is a book I wouldn't recommend reading if you're hungry or if you're dieting as there are so many food descriptions from yummy shepherd's pie with cheesy mash on top, to mushy, vinegary chips, YUM. There are also some gross food descriptions I could have done without to be honest as well, and there were times BB ate or thought about eating some things that really made me wonder.

I love BB's body confidence and how beautiful she knows she is. She does tend to focus on other people's size, especially if they are smaller like her sister Dove and her manager Alicia - she uses descriptions like bony and sharp to describe these people to over emphasise how thin they are in comparison to her. I was a bit iffy about her lackadaisical attitude towards exercise and her overall health, especially given her asthma, but I'm glad this was sorted by the end of the book and we see BB find joy in moving her body in different ways alongside joy of her curves. As someone who generally hates exercise, I understood her reluctance about it but have to admit that some kind of movement most days is better for us in the long run - and you can be fat and fit!

One of the things I loved most in this book was BB's relationship with her little sister Dove who is very opposite of BB in many ways. The way they looked after each other and had little moments together in sisterly companionship was just very nice, and every time I think of Bum Tills now I will probably laugh out loud.

The book was good. It’s not going to win awards for the best storyline or well written book but there was enough in there to keep me reading and a few places had me chuckling and agreeing in equal measures

Can see what Dockrill was trying to do here by dispelling the whole fat+eating bad food stereotype, but I think the format of a food diary is just a bit too triggering even when trying to use it in a positive light.

I reall wanted to love this book, being a plus size girl myself. I found some of it very true to life. Constantly thinking about food but i found it didnt seem a body positive as i was expecting it to be,

Good read with a strong voice and writing.Good read with a strong voice and writing.Good read with a strong voice and writing.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Bluebell Green is 16, and she's decided she's had enough of school. Rather than worrying about her GCSE results, she's going to get an apprenticeship at her weekend job - if she can convince the manager that is. When her mam drags her to the doctors following an asthma attack, the nurse tells her she needs to lose weight, and keep a food diary over the summer to track what she's been eating. She knows she's fat, and she doesn't care, but in order to placate her mam, she'll go along with it, and will even get a gym membership if she has to. But then her younger sister is injured, and BB loses her love of food, and starts to think that maybe she should make a change to her life.

I hated this book. I'll just admit it, and honestly, if I didn't want to clear it from my TBR, I would've DNFed it extremely early on. BB as a character was extremely immature - I'm not saying that as an adult complaining about a teenager being a teenager, but she didn't act like a sixteen year old, and there were far too many scenes and chapters that I would say was more like a 12 year old. She also had a horrendous relationship with food, and I'm all for being body positive, but she went around it the wrong way. It was like she wanted to shock people - especially the nurse - and would do it in any way possible. And then there was the whole plot line surrounding Dove's accident. BB acted like Dove being in a wheelchair - temporarily - was a death sentence, and the end of the world, and it was extremely ableist, and obnoxious. She also tried to make Dove's accident all about her, when really, it wasn't. Such a disappointing book!

Unfortunately I no longer wish to review this book as the first few chapters did not reel me in. Thank you for the opportunity.

I wanted to love this book more than I did. It was well intentioned, with a good premise and started off ok but just never seemed to go anywhere.

I loved BB as a character, but I was left underwhelmed. It wasn't as fat positive as I expected it to be sadly.

Bluebelle, aka Big Bones, loves food. Every chapter of this book has a food theme, starting with one of my personal favourites - crumpets! This is the food diary that Bluebelle was encouraged to keep following the appointment with the nurse that her mum dragged her to.

Bluebelle is a body confident 16 year old who has a very close bond with her sister and thinks she knows what she wants to do in life. She has just finished her GCSE Exams and wants to start an apprenticeship at Planet Coffee rather than stay on at school. This may (or may not) have something to do with Max who also works there. Dove her sister is the complete opposite of BB. She does not sit still and loves free running/parkour. Somehow Dove manages to eat what she likes and stay slim.

When a family tragedy strikes it prompts BB to reassess her relationship with food and start taking more care of her health.

I really enjoyed reading this warm and funny book. Bluebelle has such an honest voice (it is possibly too honest in places!) There were some moments where I genuinely laughed out loud. I still wonder where the author got the idea for bum tills…

This book will really appeal to teenagers who like reading humour/contemporary fiction.

I’m so surprised that Big Bones managed to get shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, because it’s highly damaging. Bluebelle is an overweight character who loves herself and doesn’t care about her size (something I would normally applaud in YA, as embracing yourself for who you are is an extremely important lesson to teach teenagers) but so much of this book is handled terribly. The first thing that springs to mind is the overly detailed description of how to make yourself be sick, as it would have caused me a lot of problems if I’d read this book at a younger age while I was struggling with my weight. Bluebelle’s general selfishness got on my nerves, and I was very close to DNFing it but I thought something redeeming must happen to merit that shortlist appearance. Sadly, I was wrong.

Whay can I say abouy Bluebell? Her story is brilliant and her attitude is just amazing! Her relationship with food and with her oen body is refreshing and I think a lot of young women could learn from BB. This book was funny, sweet and fast moving. Loved it!

This book started well as BB was a lively character but the story ended up being less fat positive than I could have hoped for..

A well-intentioned novel about a fat girl, not quite as body positive as it might have been, but written with humour and kindness.

Laura Dockrill never fails to impress. Her books always stand out as funny and incredible and beautifully written. The book left me feeling very hungry afterwards so I suggest reading with snacks!

This book had surprisingly interesting format, which had me hooked. I really enjoyed but honestly was nothing overtly special.

A refreshing, honest and funny read that made me feel represented from the start. This is the sort of book that should be made into a Netflix Original as soon as physically possible.

Hilarious! Books like this would not have existed even ten years ago. I'm glad to see honest characters giving more representation to society. Even if you cannot relate to the main character, you learn to empathise and experience for a few hundred pages what is like to live as a fat person is today's society. I think all the supporting characters are magic too.

This is unlike any book I'd previously read and it was incredibly refreshing. In a world where it feels like we are constantly talking about weight and obesity, this book had a really positive attitude towards food and BB, the protagonist, was inspirational and easy to relate to. She loves her body and she loves her food and is not about to change for anybody. Dockrill also had a sensitive and encouraging approach to BB's health issues linked to her weight. I particularly appreciated the non-Hollywood ending. I would definitely recommend this book.