Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - Every Body Shines: Sixteen Stories about Living Fabulously Fat

Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Every Body Shines: Sixteen Stories about Living Fabulously Fat by Cassandra Newbould

10 reviews

crabbytaco's review against another edition

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dark inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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bao_bao's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Wow.. What a let down. I had been waiting a while to finally read this anthology of short stories, giving fat people the representation they deserve.

I went into this book thinking that it was going to be about characters that love themselves, body positivity, doing things as a bigger person. Instead I found it to be cruel, sometimes triggering, fat phobia, and harmful to YA readers.

I would say there were about four short stories that actually represented fat people in a decent way. I can't count how many of these stories were about an individual that couldn't fit in the clothes they wanted to. These scenarios are valid but should have been told differently.

I am sure the authors had good intentions but I wish this came out in a more positive way.

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vaniavela's review

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I came here looking for happy, body-positive stories, and ended up consuming a book full of body-shaming stories. Most of the characters deal with fatphobia and body shaming on an ongoing basis, when we were promised stories that celebrated body diversity and fat acceptance.

Guilt Trip by Claire Kann

Fifteen-year-old Mia has struggled with her weight her whole life, but now she has the opportunity to perform with her favorite band.

The main character is manipulative and treats people badly. I understand that it was an important day for her, but there are things people can't control and she didn't seem to understand that. However, the story arc was good despite being a short story.

Rating: 3/5

Shatter by Cassandra Newbould

Bri has died seven times. Each time she was saving her sister Rae's life from Rae's ex-boyfriend Adrian, who tries to hit her with his car.

Bri has died seven times. Each time saving her sister Rae's life from her ex-boyfriend, Adrian, who tries to run her over with his car.

There were a lot of elements, which makes this confusing. The concept is similar to "Happy Death Day," but it's not entirely clear what happens. The ending was unsatisfying.

Rating:2/5

Prom Queers by Alex Gino

Sam, a fat, non-binary high school student, has been asked by her best friend to go to prom with them. Now the problem is finding an outfit they feel good in.

The portrayal of fat people is better than the previous one, as the characters love their bodies. This story highlights the problems fat teens and children face when looking for clothes in a society that praises thin bodies. This book has a non-binary and demiromantic representation, which I really appreciate.

Rating: 4/5

Dupatta Diaries by Nafiza Azad

Jamilah, a fat desi girl, has been shamed by her mother her whole life.

I have mixed thoughts about this. I understand that being bullied as a child can affect your life, but why put someone else through what you went through?

Dupatta Diaries talks a lot about dieting, body shaming and fatphobia, which can be a trigger for some people. This could have had better execution, but instead we get a lot of fatphobic interaction among the family.

Rating: 3/5

Food is Love by Chris Baron

Josh has spent his entire childhood cooking with his grandmother. But now that her mind is slowly fading, Josh's grandmother feels that the only way to express her love is through food, which Josh dreads eating.

This story is similar to the previous one, with main characters having a bittersweet relationship with their family members. This time we don't get a message at the end, which is disappointing.

Rating: 3/5

Orion's Star by Catherine Adel West

After Orion's father abandoned her family when she was a young child, her mother seems to hate Orion.

This is an emotional read about healing from broken relationships and grief. It is a realistic story about a complicated family dynamic.

Rating: 4/5

Weightless by Sheena Boekweg

A fat girl, who after spending her whole life feeling guilty about her weight, is now needed to save the planet.

Set in space in a futuristic setting, this science fiction story would have made a perfect novel. The romance and characters were interesting to read and I would have liked this one to be longer.

Rating: 4/5

Outside Pitch by Kelly deVos

Hayley's mother catfishes a teenage boy, Jett, posing as Hayley.

Why is mothers pretending to be their daughters on the Internet popular now? Why does no one in this story find it problematic that a 40 year old woman catfishes a 17 year old online, pretending to be his girlfriend?

Rating: 2/5

Filling the Net by Monique Gray Smith

After Jacqueline's father passes away, her grieving mother moves the family across the country to a small town.

With a total "She's the Man" vibe, I don't understand why the mother has to move to cope with the situation. Her daughter has lost her father, an important figure in her life, why take the rest away from her? Besides, the guy did the bare minimum, not being sexist.

Rating: 3/5

A Perfect Fit by Jennifer Yen

Elodie is humiliated by her family and friends about her weight, supposedly done for "her sake".

I appreciated her cousin's support in finding the dress. I would have liked this story to focus even more on the mother-daughter relationship.

Rating: 3/5

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire by Rebecca Sky

A girl struggles to get her dream job, which unfortunately comes with a BMI elimination criteria.

I liked how it talked about Australian wildfires, which is important as it is an ongoing issue.

Rating: 3/5

Letters to Charlie Brown by Francina Simone

A girl who feels disoriented by life, and confides her problems to her fictional friend, Charlie Brown.

Writing fictional characters is an interesting coping mechanism and I liked the premise. I didn't like that our protagonist blames the girl in the Scarlet Letter for what happened to her. There are a lot of sexist comments in this story.

Rating: 2/5

love spells and lavender lattes by amanda lovelace

Set in an alternate reality, a girl tries to undo a love spell cast by her friend.

To begin with, I'm not a big fan of the writing style. I love lyrical writing, I find it beautiful, but this story just didn't sit well with me. The use of no capitalization and the substitution of the word "and" for "&" bothered me.

Rating: 2/5

Breathe You In by Hillary Monahan

This was an interesting retelling of The Little Mermaid. I liked the concept of how the earthmakers should die with increasing pleasure, not increasing terror.

Rating: 4/5

Unpleasant Surprises by Linda Camacho

Olivia's life is turned upside down when her best friend suddenly loses weight and becomes more popular.

Advocating against fatphobia in no way excuses body-shaming. Girl-on-girl hatred is normalized here and is utterly devastating.

Rating: 3/5

Letting Go by Renee Watsonp

4 cousins empower each other to stand their ground and take on the world.

I loved the lyrical way this mini story is written. This was heartwarming and so beautiful.

Rating: 4/5

Overall, I would not purchase this book, but it was an interesting read.

TW: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, Eating disorder, Genocide.

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sarahaf712's review

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3.0

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papercraftalex's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

So like most story collections, some were good and some were not so good. It's definitely a YA focus with a good mix of genres, writing styles, and experiences. It's not often that we see fat main characters so that aspect was unbelievably refreshing, however, certain aspects of the stories can be incredibly triggering (especially in reference to fatphobia and disordered eating). My favorite stories were Prom Queers, Weightless, Breathe You In, and Letting Go.

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utopiastateofmind's review

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3.75

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Before I even began, I loved the premise of Every Body Shines. The ways that these stories celebrate fat characters existing and living their best lives. Of being able to read about the little things you might never have thought of in your own life. Used by society as bodies to be shamed or made fun of, Every Body Shines is heartfelt as it both examines fatphobia but also the joys of their lives. How we internalize the fatphobia, how it's passed down to us, but how Every Body Shines celebrates their hopes, futures, and ghosts.

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asparagusisreading's review

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DNF at ?

How?
[] Audiobook
[x] Ebook
[] Physical
I would like to extend a thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an e-arc of this book to read and review.

Why?
[x] Lost interest
[] No time
[x] Something triggering and offensive
Explain: As much as I wanted to enjoy this and recommend it to everyone screaming from the rooftops, unfortunately I found it difficult to get through. The intention of this anthology is to celebrate our bodies, love ourselves, and etc but, due to multiple of the stories not starting off super positive or the stories including triggering content (fatphobia), it wasn't as enjoyable as I hoped. I struggle with loving myself and my body so reading the comments made by other characters, the looks they made, actions done, etc in the stories was hard. It brought down the intended positivity of the book. If I were in a point of my life where negative comments and actions towards bodies didn't bother me as much, then I might have enjoyed this significantly more.

Recommend?
[x]No
[x] Yes
Explain: I think this anthology would be great for many readers however, I would recommend them proceeding with caution due to the content included in some of the stories.

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emma_c11's review

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I really, really hate to write this review. I had so many high hopes for this anthology, and I've been excited for it since it was announced on twitter. But unfortunately, it was not what I expected at all. I think my number one problem is just how much fatphobia is in here. I don't want to dismiss the authors' experiences, especially since I've dealt with fatphobia my whole life. But nearly every single story was about people feeling shamed for who they are, and then at the last moment, magically finding some brief happiness. I was excited for this anthology because I thought it would be different from the normal stories we see when fat people are rarely featured, but I was really disappointed. Additionally, the stories themselves felt weirdly preachy about fatphobia being wrong, etc. I was expecting more stories in where the focus of the story isn't the main character's weight. I get that it's a hard line to walk, between fully focusing on a character's weight and ignoring it, but every single story seemed to solely revolve around body shame until the very end. I wish I could have enjoyed this anthology more, but it just made me disappointed.

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obscurepages's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was already emotional when I read the Introduction. I should have took that as a sign that this book will hurt me and comfort me all at the same time.

This book just hits too hard, hits too close to home. All the fatphobic remarks I've received and experienced, I see it all in this book. And all the frustration and the doubt and the confidence I'm recollecting, I feel it all in this book as well. Every Body Shines showed the different kinds of bias and microaggressions we go through. But it also showed fat people challenging fatphobia, celebrating their bodies, being their own person, and showing that being fat has nothing to do with their worth. I also loved the fact that these stories featured a diverse set of characters (POC, queer) in a diverse set of genres and worlds. It was stunning and I couldn't help but adore each and every single story in their own way.

I have a lot more to say, but I'll save them up for my full review for The Nerd Daily!

TW: fatphobia, misogyny (a few remarks), racism (a few remarks)

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themixedpages's review

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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