This was a really heartwarming and emotional journey following Lori's life as she moved to an new city with new people and had to learn to accept herself.

I thought the characters were likeable and relatable and the story was exciting. Watsons writing is easy to read and I loved the rep in the book and I found the whole experience really enjoyable.

"My body has lines and dents and wobbly bits and bits that bulge but its mine. I own it."

I read this book in one day. I just couldn't put it down.

Its a YA romance but I'm in my 30s and took so much away from this book. So much care and love clearly went into portraying the autistic brother made me so happy and the relationship that builds throughout the book between our protagonist and her body just made me want to give myself a big hug.

You'll probably guess where the story is going but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I've had a great day. 5/5.

⭑⭑⭑ 3 stars

themes of:
- romance
- neurodiversity
- self acceptance
- bullying
- artistic movements

"This is one of the hardest parts of having a brother like Zac, few get to see the boys that I see. They only see the 'bad' and make their assumptions based on that. I'm the one always trying to convince them of his other side, the side that isn't abrupt and doesn't scream in public if he has a sensory meltdown. The world is cheated out of this other version of my brother, and maybe that's one of the saddest things."


Goodreads synopsis:
Lori Palmer is the new girl at Bay Water High, where students prize glossy hair, beach bodies, and school spirit above all else. She misses her old school―where her talent as an artist carried more weight than she does―and longs for her old family life, before her parents got divorced and her mom reinvented herself.

So Lori decides that the only way to survive the rest of the year is to blend into the background, but her plans go awry when she discovers that the most popular (and hottest) guy at Bay Water High, Jake, is a volunteer at her brother’s school. When her brother befriends Jake’s sister, Lori is suddenly thrust into his unfamiliar and exhilarating world of water polo, parties, and stargazing.

But with her relationship with her mother deteriorating, old anxieties resurface and Lori finds a new artistic release that unknowingly ignites a powerful movement. When the authorities start asking questions, Lori realizes that finding her voice might have gotten her into a world of trouble…but sometimes standing up for what you believe in is as important as standing up for yourself.

Plot
I enjoyed the plot, it wasn't a twisty-turny sort of novel, but it was a nice unfolding of a teenage struggling with their place in life. The (illegal) art movements sounded incredible and reduced me to tears many times.

Characters & Dynamics
I actually didn't like Lori at first, I felt she was so negative and harsh in her monologue about others. She lived a life in fear of ridicule and yet did nothing but ridicule her new classmates in her own thoughts, so it did take me a while to warm to her. I realise now that this was part of Lori's character arc development as she had been traumatically bullied in the past and needed to learn to be surprised by the goodness in people.

I wasn't a massive fan of the romance between Lori and Jake. But I also think it's because I'm too old for the teenage swooning to be anything other than cringed by it. Lori's gushing about Jake felt repetitive and it simply wasn't my favourite part of the story.

In fact, my favourite part of the story was the dynamics between Lori and Zac. It was raw, refreshing and insightful to hear about their relationship between neurotypical Lori and neurodiverse Zac. I enjoyed the author pushing the theme that more should be done to support neurodiversity in society which I am wholly in agreement with. Lori's care and frustration towards her brother and how best to manoeuvre life with him felt entirely believable, I was extremely invested in their relationship. And I also enjoyed that Lori and Jake bonded over having neurodiverse siblings, it felt a more profound route to build the blocks of friendship.

I enjoyed Lori's blossoming friendship with Thembi and hearing Thembi's own coming-of-age struggles. But my favourite character was Dr Vicky Strider, Lori's therapist. The metaphors of the succulents and the gentle encouragement of self acceptance were a running theme that felt dictated by this character. She was quirky yet effective and I appreciated everything she said. I sincerely enjoyed Lori's appointments with her.

Likes
- The therapist
- Lori and Zac's relationship
- The plot

Dislikes
- The romance
- The resentfulness of Lori's inner monologue towards other people that she had no right to judge

Final Thoughts
Overall, this was a compelling young adult novel full of sunshiney warmth. It was realistic and well written. The dynamics and character development were particularly flourishing and enjoyable.

I'm in two minds about Big Boned by Jo Watson.

I enjoyed the story very much and was quickly drawn in to Lori's world. She was a well defined character, as was Jake. I read the book quickly, always wanting to know what happened next. But I found it hard to believe in Lori's life. There was just too much going on: acrimoniously divorced parents, an autistic brother, a sudden move, her mother's lack of parenting her and her brother for whom she has too much responsibility, her father's abandonment, bullying, low self esteem... One or two of these would have been fine; all of them together , no. I also felt that the turnaround in Lori's life was unrealistic. So, as I said, I'm torn.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book**

I wanted to love this book, there were times when I was reading it and it really made me stop to think about my own "inner bully" and childhood experiences. I recognised parts of myself in Lori. I was determined to give the book a very rare 5 star review but there were a couple of things that knocked it down (spoilers ahead).

Let's start with the things I loved:
Lori - what a wonderful character. Completely believable and charming. I especially loved her relationship with her brother and the way she was trying to find her place in the world.
The boyfriend - a bit too perfect at times but yet had his own weaknesses. Amazing relationship with his sister.
Flawed parents - yes, we exist!
The setting - I really need to read more books set outside of the UK or US. I enjoyed the South Africa location.

Okay, spoilers ahead (you have been warned)... the one major thing and one smaller thing that didn't sit well with me:
Major thing - The use of the word "spaz", even as a joke is not okay. The scene where Lori forces her brother into a hug, even though she knows he doesn't want to, is not okay. This nearly ruined Lori for me. She doesn't learn from these situations, they're not used as a life lesson, they occur and then the story moves on. I don't even know why they're in the book.
Minor thing - So she moves to Paris, she's missing her SA boyfriend because they're in love.... except that in the very final scene she catches eyes with a young man in her lecture theatre and she's clearly interested in him. Insta-love when she already has a boyfriend is a major turn-off for me.

Those things knock it down to a 4 for me. Still a good book and an interesting read but not 5/5 after all.

(this review has already been posted to Goodreads)

As a "big boned" girl, consuming any source of media often comes with an expectation for the lack of plus size representation told in a realistic and honest way. As a "big boned" person, I have also never been able to relate to any character in any book I have read, nor have I felt connected to a character; not in the way I did with Lori in this story.

Lori is a teenage girl who has dreams, and insecurities and family struggles.
Lori is a big boned girl who struggles with the pressure of being a fat girl surrounded by people who don't look like her.
Lori is a character of strength and growth.

There were many things I loved about this book, so I'm going to list them, just as Lori would:
1. The plus size representation (obviously)
2. The ASD and ADHD rep; (though I cannot speak on ASD from a personal point of view and I won't) there was a lot that I could relate to being an older sister to a younger brother on the spectrum, which I deeply appreciated.
3. Jake Jones-Evans, the 'hottest guy in school slash jock' who is actually the sweetest (and respects pronouns. I love him so much)
4. The humour, some parts had me actually laugh out loud (Shark, iykyk)
5. The ROMANCE !!
6. Did I mention Jake Jones-Evans ???
7. The way it doesn't shy away from Lori's family struggles, or her relationship (or lack thereof) with her parents.

Overall, I really loved this book, the only 'fault' I'd give it is that I would have loved chapters in Jake's pov too, but that wasn't the aim of the story, so I digress. It was fun, romantic, real and finally having a character I could relate to was so refreshing. I hope others can read this and feel the same way

I am one of the many women that as a young girl was called, or described themselves as 'big boned'. Which is why, instantly, the title of this book grabbed my attention. I knew that in some way or another, I would relate to parts of this book.

And I did! I saw alot of myself in the mian character, Lori. I definitely empathised a lot with her how she was feeling about herself and the intrusive thoughts she was dealing with. The self-imposed bullying as the book so accurately described (something I didn't see it as until I read it in this book, what a revelation!). This book in the hands of 14-17 year old me would've been so helpful, so I am glad it exists for the young people of today. It will be great for those who aren't 'skinny' or 'slim' to discover that their beauty, their worth, isn't based on their weight, or the number on a scale, because it isn't! And hopefully, this book can help them see that.

Did I have a few issues with this book, of course, no book is perfect. My main one being the ending, it felt for me, a little too rushed, which is a shame because the rest of the book is so well paced. It had great tension building, and plot points needing resolution, that the end felt flat. It was all too neatly wrapped up in a bow. The rest of the book felt so steeped in realism and that's what made it felt so relatable, that despite the books location and the characters wealth being a world apart from my little English countryside life - Lori's life was still messy, and nothing panned out the way she thought it would. Which is how real life works and I enjoyed that aspect. So yes, I got frustrated at the ending.

However, to counteract the 'bed', more of a personal gripe really, we have the good, which is the prominent role diverse characters play. Whilst yes, the majority were just what you would call the supporting cast, they were a intriguing and attention grabbing bunch that definitely made you want to read more about them. Especially Thembi, I wanted to read a whole book about Thembi.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book, and would definitely recommend it to both friends and strangers. It drew me in from the first few pages and then I sped through it wanting to know what happened next. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next project from this author!

4.5 Stars It’s an absolutely incredible coming of age YA, that deals with a lot of important issues (mental health, dysfunctional family relationships, bullying and body image.) Honestly if you’ve ever struggled with your weight or had self-esteem issues about your size then your gonna absolutely love Lori, who is an incredibly realistic, relatable and lovable character. Since I don't read a lot of YA anymore, it takes a lot to really wow me and this one did. I volunteered to read and review an early copy of this. All opinions are my own.

Big Boned is an engaging read that many readers will be able to relate to.

When Lori moved with her family to a new area, she has to start a new school, where everyone seems to have beach ready bodies. Lori has never felt more out of place. But with a little help, Lori starts to find new friends, love and her own voice.

For me, it took a little while to get going, but once it did, I raced through it to the end. I’m sure many readers will find something to relate to in this book, but because of that some elements may be triggering.

I really enjoyed the art theme filtered through the book, and you could really see the world through Lori’s eyes. Her relationships with others were well described. There were perhaps a few convenient plot points, but overall Big Boned was full of feel good vibes. I can already see the movie.

When we meet Lori, her life has just been turned upside down; her mother has uprooted their family from Johannesburg to Cape Town; her dad is staying behind with the woman he left their mother for; she has had to leave her amazing Art school for a generic, preppy school and here lies Lori's first major (personal) issue - how do you fit in in a school of (as she sees it) identikit svelte beach babes and Water Polo players when you've always been the "big boned" one. The one who has to stress about how clothes will look on you, how much of your body will others see, when you sit/kneel down how will your body spread to accommodate, if you get too close to someone will they be repulsed by your rolls and soft parts...
Lori has come from a city and school where she's been more able to blend in and express what she wants of her inner self to a place where she feels she will stand out by just being herself, which makes her want to hide away even more. As someone who also spent most of my teenage/adult years with similar thoughts, I empathised with Lori and the almost stream-of-consciousness checklist of worries that go through her head in the different situations felt very real, so much so that I felt incredibly sad that yet another wonderful (albeit fictional) person was thinking and feeling like this.
We see Lori work through these stresses, while also being there for her younger brother Zac who has autism, and coping with seeing her mom grow into someone she doesn't recognise, all the while feeling more alone than she ever has before.
All of this sounds really serious, and it is (we get to see these thoughts brought to the forefront, but it also normalise seeing a therapist, and working through your worries and anxieties in a productive manner) but Lori as a character is a lovely young woman, and I was rooting for her for the whole novel; the bright spots in the story help balance the more solemn parts. At times it felt like there was a bit *too* much going on for poor Lori (one of those how much more can we throw at the situation kinda things) but it also got across all of the different aspects of life that a teenager has to contend with at any one time, and how overwhelming and confusing it can be.
Overall I enjoyed it, you have a fair idea how things will transpire in general but there is plenty along the way to keep the reader interested and it spotlights some really important things for younger people especially. A good YA read, especially for highlighting the struggle that is body acceptance.

I loved this book. It was refreshing to read a book about a girl my age that doesn’t romanticise being skinny and instead of ‘fixing’ the main character’s body issues, it shows her emotional journey of coming to terms with it, which I loved. The romance was really cute too, but I loved the fact that Lori’s sibling was autistic; I feel as though you rarely get to see the perspective of someone on the spectrum’s sibling, and it was interesting to see. I loved this book and how it dealt with certain issues, and I highly recommend it to anyone!

Thank you so much to netgalley and penguin random house for the ARC of this book.

This was a difficult book for me to read. I completely understand the importance of content warnings and personally it’s something I never look at because I very rarely get triggered by anything, and even when I do it’s just for a little moment and I’m good. I’ve never read a book with the theme of ultimately promoting body positivity, but it being a long windy path to get there, so I really didn’t know that the entire book was going to trigger me and set me off. I know for the future to avoid any books like this and I’m glad I’ve read this now and I know how I feel.

Aside from that, I thought the story was extremely well told, the character of Lori was really well developed - I could clearly see how she was struggling but also just living her life. There were some typical teenage traits that I thought were very well written in.

I had a lot of worries about Jake and Zac, for very different reasons of course, but again, both of their characters went on the journey of the story very nicely.

There were a few other little things that I had issues with, but nothing major that ruined the story. Ultimately, a nice tale, but not for me.

The story begins in "barbie bikini hell" that is Cape town, our protagonist words not mine! Lori Palmer is used to Johannesburg where she seems to have had a happy life up to the age of 17.

 She has a very close bond with her younger brother Zac, who happens to have autism they have moved here to get him into the best special school they could "when you have a sibling with special needs you really celebrate the small things". Also so her mother can get over her divorce after "irreconcilable differences" after the divorce from Lori's father. Sometimes Lori is left as the mother figure in Zac's life.

She soon meets Jake who has a sister at the same special school as Zac and also goes to Lori's new high school, they form a bond as "it's good to talk to someone my age who gets this stuff...never spoken to anyone like this before...sometimes I feel lonely ".

Lori is an amazing artist but not many people know. She does not feel happy at her new school "i started to feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed ". She has no one to confide In but Jake, and we learn how the relationship changes over time. Her therapist tells her to love herself and tell her to write a list of all her good points.

She also befriends Thembi towards the end of the novel, who unlike most of the other 'popular girls' really begins to open up to Lori. Following this there is a grand ending which was well worth the wait!

I really enjoyed this book with all its twists and turns and different elements thrown in for more depth and excitement.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a digital copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. 




Sent from my Galaxy

Big Boned follows our female protagonist Lori as she navigates life after her parents divorce, moving to a completely new city, a new school and caring for her autistic younger brother.. all while dealing with panic attacks, anxiety and crippling low self esteem.

Let me start off by saying I did like this book, I liked the characters and the issues it dealt with, however the writing style wasn’t my favourite. It took me a little while to get in to the story because the writing just didn’t flow for me but once I got used to it, it was a quick, enjoyable read.

I particularly loved the relationships in this book. My favourite was Lori and her brother. I liked how the author showed the different aspects of having a relationship with/caring for someone with autism- the tough, the funny, the overwhelming, the challenging and the sweet times. It can be very hard at times but always worth it, I think the author showed this very well.
I also loved Lori’s friendship with her gay best friends and Thembi. Vicky the therapist was a great character and of course I liked Jake!

The main focus of the story was Lori’s weight, how she felt about herself and the journey to becoming comfortable and confident in her own skin. I thought this was very well done and an accurate representation of the struggles people with such low self esteem/body issues have. Many young girls and in fact women are definitely going to be able to relate to Lori.

Also, a quick shoutout for that beautiful cover!

3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Lori's story! A girl going through so much upheaval in her life, moving, divorcesd parents, autistic brother, moving schools and dealing with body issues. But she finds hope and help in surprising places, and blossoms. Loved it!

Lori, the main character of Big Boned, has a lot of potential to be the perfect protagonist - she is relatable and her inner saboteur all too understandable, making this title an easy and quick read. The other characters in the book are not typical stereotypes which does make the title feel less of a caricature than many coming-of-age, self love titles often do.

Ultimately, the title is heartwarming and touches on a few difficult topics without seeming preachy or overly done and the relationship between Lori and her brother is a joy to read. However, the romance feels a little too sickly sweet at times and this can either be off-putting or a dealbreaker for some readers.

Lori is very much feeling like a (too) round peg in a square hole at her new school and is struggling to deal with her parents break up, looking after her autistic younger brother and her own body issues and mental illness. A great body positive story but what I also liked was the portrayal of how having family members who are neuro diverse can have an effect on teens, and Lori’s caring, protective relationship with her brother.

I don’t think there is enough diversity when it comes to protagonists, and I don’t know many female characters who are average to larger sizes. When I was younger I would’ve loved to read about more chubby or curvy girls and women, ones I could really relate to. The only one that springs to mind is Ellie from Jacqueline Wilson’s Girls In Love series.

So, I was happy to be approved on NetGalley to read Big Boned, a young adult novel by Jo Watson.

Lori Palmer is the new girl in a town full of athletic, glossy teens who seem to value sports teams and school spirit above all else. Self-conscious about her size, Lori is hesitant to get too close to anyone at her new school for fear of past bullying, and manages to make an enemy on her first day.

Things change when she makes a new, unexpected friend at her brothers school, and this opens the door for fun, flirting and finding her voice.

This was a great story with a lot of heart. I found the inclusion of hashtags, abbreviations and @ signs at the start a bit clunky, but I’m sure teenagers will enjoy and embrace that more than I!

I appreciated that Lori had a lot in her life, family dysfunction, a neurodiverse sibling, longing for friends she left behind, seeing a therapist to deal with past trauma and trying to settle into a new school, and all this was happening alongside her inner turmoil regarding her size. I liked that she was a fleshed out character, with talents and passions and intellect, rather than solely focusing on her weight.

Saying that, I also loved that though there was an element of romance, there is a clear message that you need to fall in love with yourself first.

The writing style didn’t blow me away, but the more I read this story the more I enjoyed it, and I was rooting for Lori (and side characters Vicky and Thembi too) throughout. The ending was all tied together a little too neatly, but I didn’t really mind it either.

A great story with an important message, and a character many young people can identify with. Fans of Dumplin’ may enjoy this too!

Big Boned / Jo Watson

I can’t express into words how much I loved this book but I am certainly going to try.. I feel like nothing I say will do it justice!

Lori is now officially one of my new favourite book characters!!

Lori has to go through so much as a teenage girl, and it broke my heart! From being the biggest girl in the room, to looking after her younger brother, I’m sure a lot of people can relate to Lori in some way.. I know I can!

*****

After being uprooted from Johannesburg to Cape Town due to the breakdown of her parents marriage.. Lori struggles with the idea of living in a coastal town where everyone will be tanned, thin, and cool.

Lori’s life is far from perfect, and her family life is even worse, a mom who cares about her business life more than home life and a dad who is about to marry a new girlfriend.. Lori dreads trying to fit in with the students at her new school with their “perfect” lives

To top things off, Lori soon realises she is the biggest person at her new school.. and is slowly falling for a gorgeous guy called Jake…

Will Lori be able to see herself through new eyes.. or will she always feel the way she feels now?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Big Boned is a coming of age book about Lori who has experienced a lot of like changing experiences in a short amount of time.

Overall I enjoyed the book and the characters, I especially enjoyed the main characters relationship with her autistic brother. And I appreciated a slightly older protagonist to some of the other books in this vein that I’ve read.

So why 3 stars? It just didn’t feel original, some topics were touched upon that were important but I wanted more, but already too much was crammed in. Also, I love a happy ending but at some point we tipped into the unbelievable, my enthusiasm wained.