This was a really enjoyable read and I loved the central character, Lori. This is a story about school, belonging, and family, and it deals with these things with realism and depth.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I had tried this one a couple of times and just couldn't get into it, however, I believe this will reach so many people who need to hear this story and I really hope it gets to them and they carry it with them.

I have tried to read this book three times now as I really wanted to love it given the fact that I really want to champion plus size rep in books however I found this to be so hard to read. The writing style was just so full of clichés and I just didn't want to pick it up.

Lori has just moved to a new school that seems like a stereotype of every American High school where girls are thin and pretty with glossy hair and OTT school spirit and the boys are impossibly handsome, sporty and have six packs. Will a big girl who likes art ever fit in?

I applaud what the author is trying to do here, and it’s amazing to read about a girl who doesn’t fit into certain stereotypes succeeding in a world where once upon a time she wouldn’t. However, I can’t get past all the clichéd coincidences that just seem to happen and some unbelievable plot points that would never occur in real life.

I think representation is important, so I think for many teenagers, it will be nice to be able to pick up a book and see a part of themselves in Lori. However, it was all just too fantastical and clearly not grounded in reality, which is a huge shame.

The book does promote some really positive messages but it lacked any real depth. I wanted her to dig under the surface but it just didn’t come. The plot was also incredibly thin on the ground and Lori became irritating and maddening at times.

I don’t know, I was somewhat disappointed.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Lori Palmer is a plus sized artist hoping to attend a prestigious art school. But after her parents divorce, a big move and looking after her autistic brother her voice seems to be lost. ⁣
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Starting her new school does not get off to a good start. Sweaty and nervous she definitely makes a first impression but probably not the one she'd have liked!
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For me Lori was a very relatable character. Being a bigger girl and struggling with weight really spoke to me. Although her lack of confidence is where we differ. ⁣
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The first 30% of this book took some time to warm up. I wasn't sure if I was going to carry on. It was very high school drama and that's just not a subject I tend to read about. But that's just down to personal taste not the books content. However after the initial hump I really got into the book!!!⁣
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It wasn't a classic 'big girl loses weight and gets hot' kinda book. Lori worked with a therapist to learn to love the body she's in which was really refreshing! Some of the advice given in the book was amazing and anyone struggling with their self identity I'd urge you to read this! ⁣
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Not only did she learn to love herself she also found a way to confront her parents about their break up and talk to about how it effected her. Something I can imagine is very difficult! ⁣
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She also used her paintings to spark a movement on some very important subjects. Which was thought provoking and very positive. ⁣
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Overall a very uplifting book with a fabulous set of characters ☺️

3.5 stars

Lori is the newest student at Bay Water High and she feels like she doesn’t belong. A talented artist, with her worth being judged on her skills and accomplishments in her last school, this new world of perfect images doesn’t seem to have room for her plus size body.

In response, Lori tries to fade into the background.

Then her brother becomes friends with Jake, the hottest guy at school. Jake isn’t only hot, he is also popular and the star of the school water polo team. He also seems to, inexplicably, like spending time with Lori.

This brings out Lori’s anxiety, which she responds to with a public art piece that starts a movement she had not intended to start. No one knows it was Lori and when the opportunity comes to speak out with more public art, Lori has to decide if speaking up for herself (and others) is worth possibly getting thrust into the public eye and getting into trouble.

I enjoyed this body positive read. I believe it is an important topic that belongs on the shelves of most libraries – private and public.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Children’s UK and Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my impartial review. All opinions are my own.

Big Boned by Jo Watson is now available.

Lori is so relatable and without a doubt everyone will find something that calls to them. A YA novel with so much meaning and a great coming of age story!

I DNF’d this book at 45%

The story was fine although I didn’t feel like it had all that much direction. But mostly I just didn’t like the way it was written. The pacing felt weird and I just couldn’t get into it. The main character was fine but again it’s nothing to write home about. Overall, I just wasn’t very invested and didn’t want to waste anymore time on it if I wasn’t enjoying it

I couldn’t finish this book. I really really wanted to love it but I can’t explain why, it just didn’t connect with me.

“I’ve long suspected that mirrors were invented by some gorgeously, stick thin, yet completely sinister creature just to torment girls like me”

Lori is a funny, sassy (yet she-doesn’t-know), overweight teenager who moves to a different city where everyone is skinny and perfect. Needles to say she doesn’t think she belongs there and has difficulties in accepting herself.
I really liked the book, which was clearly aimed at YA, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The story covered some heavy topics, which were dealt with in a lighter way. I know it was the theme of the book, but I felt like there was way too much body shaming in there, a little over the top in my opinion.
Despite the recurring heavy themes, the story was a bit cheesy at points, but I wasn’t really expecting anything different for a YA.

I really liked the MC, but it was very hard to read how she felt towards her body at the beginning, but the change that she made by the end is just incredible. She finally understands that everyone has insecurities, even the beautiful and skinny.
I wish more people – teenagers and grownups alike – would learn how to appreciate their bodies, because we are all different and it is important that we don’t all look like a copy of each other.
I didn’t give 5 stars, only because the ending was disappointing to me, but literally only the last paragraph. I was very content with how everything was going, and then the author put in that last paragraph that made me cringe and think “NO, just no”.

I haven’t seen this book on IG at all, but I wish it was read more for the messages it contains.
It was my first book ever with a South African setting – Cape Town to be more precise – and I really enjoyed seeing the perspective of a new country.

Trigger warning: suicide, body shaming, panic attacks

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for approving this e-ARC

A must-read coming of age story tackling issues of fatphobia, self-esteem, and learning to love yourself. The protagonist was compelling and I became fully invested in her story.

I love these type of books.
They are real and what life is like at school when you do not fit the mold.
Lori is a lovely character she is warm, bubbly and down to earth. Things change after her parents divorce so Lori has to get used to the changes, its not good when all the girls look like Barbie and have a rich social life.
While taking her brother to school she meets Jake who happens to be really popular.
I really enjoyed reading this book, I read this quite quickly as i really wanted to find out about Lori and how things ended up for her.

Despite being (a lot) older than the target audience, I found Big Boned to be an really empowering read. I was surprised of how much of what Lori learns and what is said by her therapist were things that I really need to hear myself.

Reading partly as an internal monologue, you get a real insight into Lori’s character. I found her to be incredibly relatable and I particularly liked that her journey to happiness wasn’t an easy one or an overnight success story. This made her experiences feel all the more real.

In a world where absolute perfection seems to be the order of the day, I think this is a really important book for all teenagers to read to help them learn to accept themselves and their individuality.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me for arc

I really wanted to enjoy this one but it was just a little bit too young for me so it fell short in that sense but i think it is a really good book for the target demographic and think many young people will find comfort in this book.

I couldn't finish it. I normally love a fat girl protagonist who has a journey of self love. Unfortunately, this book just starts with so much hate I didn't want to carry on. She hates herself, hates anyone skinny, and thinks she's better than everyone else because she's an artist. The scene with her in the bathroom wearing a t-shirt with soup on it was just too cringy.

I loved this story, It was such a relatable story, Lori is such a relatable character and it really made me want to keep going and reading to find out what happened!

Going into this book initially I was apprehensive that this book wouldn't have been written for me. By this I mean, I have some curves but I'm probably still the type of girl that the protagonist, Lori would have called skinny. That being said I was pleasantly surprised as Lori herself seems to come to realise that everyone has their insecurities and in the process we see how her attitude progresses towards her feelings about herself, others and how others percieve her. There was only one point where I had this feeling whilst reading when she mentions that skinny girls wouldn't understand the pain of thighs chaffing and it made me feel a bit less positive and confused about myself but the overall story promotes loving yourself no matter what and throughout most of the story I felt that was what the author was attempting to get across.

Life is not easy for Lori, being uprooted from people that seem to understand you and make you feel better is understandably difficult. I really enjoyed seeing how she handled the transition though and all the twists and turns that came from the move. The way relationships with family was dealt with was very interesting and dealt with in depth, as it was a very complex situation Lori's family had found itself in. I also appreciated how autistic people were represented with the message that they shouldn't recieve hate and hostility, which worked well in conjunction with promoting acceptance of everyone.

This book does not ignore the fact that people are unkind but focuses a lot on perception of the self and I think it is important to see that side of it too, especially as it was key in Lori's character development, which I again think was handled really well. Although this story may be triggering for some, as there is reference to broken homes, bullying, fatfobia and ableism I think this story handled those subjects in a realistic way that was still readable so I would recommend this novel.

I haven't read many South African based YA books so this was a nice change to what I'm used to. Some good neurodiversity, some body positive vibes, some positive therapy views, could have had a bit more on the diversity of population in SA and all the chracters were pretty wealthy but a very enjoyable read with some good messages and a good plotline.

This is one of those books where you're writing the review in your head as you go along. Not always a bad thing but I don't do it as often with books I've enjoyed. This is going to be something of a fractured review as it's now a while since I read it.

I wanted to like this, as the overweight daughter of divorced parents with a neurodivergent younger sibling you'd think I'd have something to relate to. But I just couldn't. Maybe there are some people who loathe themselves as much as Lori, there probably are, but it felt unrealistic to me.

That said, the self-love taught by the therapist was exceptionally well-written and even in a book I didn't relate too that much touched me to the core. Bravo Jo for normalising therapy and teaching good lessons within this book.

There was a bit too much "the pretty boy wouldn't look at _me_, not _me_" for a book that was always going to be a romance. I know people doubt themselves all the time, but also, I know what I signed up for, it's going to be a romance. Pretending like it might not be is a waste of words on the page. A little of course, we prefer a heroine who's not too sure of herself, but it was overdone. Which also made the "I'm not a girl in a romance book who magically gets the hot guy" or whatever the line was particularly frustrating. It's not meta, it's not self-aware, it's ridiculous.

I liked that Lori was able to use her art to create a movement, I liked that she achieved her goals in the end. I think the fact she didn't get into her first art school was expected from the story but was rooted in good story. The writing where she's channelling her art to make these murals was a bit weird. But still a wonderful thing to do, highlighting what is clearly a real problem.

Overall I think it's a book that could have benefitted from one or two more drafts