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alyssa2012's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Bullying
Minor: Biphobia
sreddous's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The first 50 pages or so are... a bit un-subtle. I felt like the dialogue was too "the characters turn to the camera and Tell the Audience Important Things" and not as much natural dialogue exchanges. This book could have used another edit -- there are a few phrases that repeat on the same page here or there and there's a few times some punctuation is missing.
But in general, that's kind of nitpicky, because this "dialogue could be more natural and less 'giving the audience exposition'" stuff is really only distracting in the first chunk of pages. Once the drama and the plot kick in, the things that MATTER about a story like this start to be done SO WELL. This is an astonishingly-effective first-person-perspective story.
Being as generic as possible to avoid spoilers, there are tropes in this book that, if done poorly, can be really annoying -- this toes the line of having "I'm not like other girls" which often makes me DNF a book. It also has the "You LIED to me?? I must Disappear Forever! JK we'll get back together in like two chapters don't worry" setup that so many other books and movies have.
Here's the thing -- these tropes are done SO WELL here. Everyone's behavior, even when they are acting badly and unfairly and they are wrong, is well-built-up-to so that every character's motivation is always clear. It feels really really natural, the decisions everyone makes here.
And that makes it SO easy to actually root for everyone to change and grow. And that's just it: there's fatphobic language and "I'm not like other girls" stuff, but these characters slowly and realistically grow out of it!! It's so satisfying to watch! I loved being in Millie's head because it was exciting to see her go for her dreams, but Callie's POV is a true treasure here -- we get into the head of a bully character and get to see and truly FEEL how out-of-control she is and how emotional and hard that can be.
And then we get to see her change. SO satisfying.
Really good, emotional, triumphant, realistic stuff. I LOVE me a girl-friendship story and this is truly a lovely one.
But in general, that's kind of nitpicky, because this "dialogue could be more natural and less 'giving the audience exposition'" stuff is really only distracting in the first chunk of pages. Once the drama and the plot kick in, the things that MATTER about a story like this start to be done SO WELL. This is an astonishingly-effective first-person-perspective story.
Being as generic as possible to avoid spoilers, there are tropes in this book that, if done poorly, can be really annoying -- this toes the line of having "I'm not like other girls" which often makes me DNF a book. It also has the "You LIED to me?? I must Disappear Forever! JK we'll get back together in like two chapters don't worry" setup that so many other books and movies have.
Here's the thing -- these tropes are done SO WELL here. Everyone's behavior, even when they are acting badly and unfairly and they are wrong, is well-built-up-to so that every character's motivation is always clear. It feels really really natural, the decisions everyone makes here.
And that makes it SO easy to actually root for everyone to change and grow. And that's just it: there's fatphobic language and "I'm not like other girls" stuff, but these characters slowly and realistically grow out of it!! It's so satisfying to watch! I loved being in Millie's head because it was exciting to see her go for her dreams, but Callie's POV is a true treasure here -- we get into the head of a bully character and get to see and truly FEEL how out-of-control she is and how emotional and hard that can be.
And then we get to see her change. SO satisfying.
Really good, emotional, triumphant, realistic stuff. I LOVE me a girl-friendship story and this is truly a lovely one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
lindseyisreading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
rockyroadbutch's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
caitlin_doggos's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Misogyny
balvarez's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
stacy837's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
robyn_fenix's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Bullying
Moderate: Racism and Toxic friendship
Minor: Eating disorder, Ableism, and Acephobia/Arophobia
zoepagereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Not going to lie, I think I liked this one better than Dumplin’. While I didn’t like Callie very much, I preferred the plot and character relationships to the ones in Dumplin’. However, I do feel like the characters did not make big enough deals about the bad stuff Callie did, and I also wished they spent more time on the school budgeting with the football team. Overall, a solid read. 5🌟
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
bendersreads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Minor: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Acephobia/Arophobia