broomsticksandmagick's review against another edition
4.0
Brian is the sweetest guy ever! So this book was actually good. The plot and the characters were amazing. The problem though the conflict made me think of Charlie as a naive character. I know she NEVER had someone and thinking of herself first is a good push to accepting herself, but it took from the story and created a feeling of anger towards Charlie as she finally had what she desperately wanted but she threw it away. Don't get me started with her mom that woman was a rollercoaster of annoyingness(is this even a word? Sorry!?). She was nice sometimes then bad, good and then bad and lastly good. I like this story it's good for younger readers. I recommend.
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4.5
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4.5
forestcryptid16's review against another edition
5.0
Very cute, very relatable! Wish I had this book when I was a teenager because it was so freaky some of the things Charlie thought were similar to what I was dealing with in high school.
kelseyburnell's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I had read this in high school!! I identified so much with Charlie’s character and my heart ached for her. I loved reading about her journey with body positivity and her relationships with friends and family. Such a sweet book.
damagedglories's review against another edition
4.5
i could not put this book down! i have never felt so connected to a character than when reading this book. i loved having a hopeless romantic main character with the entire plot not revolving around romantic love. it was a very quick read in the best way, and i can see myself picking it up again in a couple months.
arisbookcorner's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
“I’m fat, and I celebrate other fat people, but I don’t quite celebrate me. It makes me feel like a fraud."'
FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA is a very endearing YA book about a fat Puerto Rican girl, Charlie, learning to love herself, falling in love and learning how to address and combat her white mother's fatphobia. Other reviewers have noted trigger warnings so I'll just generally say Charlie's mom's toxic body shaming comments can be hard to read but are also unfortunately authentic. We all know or hae have heard someone utter similar comments to Charlie's mom and it's absolutely devastating. I do wish Maldonado had dived more into the cultural dynamics, in most Latine cultures dieting is less of an obsession. It's not uncommon but it can be slightly more accepting of larger bodies. Charlie is a teen so I didn't necessarily expect her to naturally draw the conclusion that some of her mother's behaviors were a result of white supremacy but I wanted the author to help her get there by interacting more with her Puerto Rican family. My other critique is around the character of Amelia, it felt laughable to me that Charlie, someone portrayed as incredibly empathetic, would think her Black, queer best friend was seen as PERFECT and had it easier than her in high school. I thought Amelia let her off too easily when Charlie's misconceptions are rightfully corrected and race is never brought into the conversation which didn't feel accurate. Especially because Charlie talks about being the only Latina in her school. Other than those issues the romance was adorable, Brian was a convincing awkward teenage love interest who wants to get it right but can't quite get there. And Charlie herself was sweet, her bouts of insecurity and battles over her inner fatphobia made my heart hurt and I loved the triumphant arc of her story. A special YA story with charming characters and a compelling self acceptance message that tried to be inclusive and could have done better but wasn't deeply harmful, just naive when it came to racial diversity.
FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA is a very endearing YA book about a fat Puerto Rican girl, Charlie, learning to love herself, falling in love and learning how to address and combat her white mother's fatphobia. Other reviewers have noted trigger warnings so I'll just generally say Charlie's mom's toxic body shaming comments can be hard to read but are also unfortunately authentic. We all know or hae have heard someone utter similar comments to Charlie's mom and it's absolutely devastating. I do wish Maldonado had dived more into the cultural dynamics, in most Latine cultures dieting is less of an obsession. It's not uncommon but it can be slightly more accepting of larger bodies. Charlie is a teen so I didn't necessarily expect her to naturally draw the conclusion that some of her mother's behaviors were a result of white supremacy but I wanted the author to help her get there by interacting more with her Puerto Rican family. My other critique is around the character of Amelia, it felt laughable to me that Charlie, someone portrayed as incredibly empathetic, would think her Black, queer best friend was seen as PERFECT and had it easier than her in high school. I thought Amelia let her off too easily when Charlie's misconceptions are rightfully corrected and race is never brought into the conversation which didn't feel accurate. Especially because Charlie talks about being the only Latina in her school. Other than those issues the romance was adorable, Brian was a convincing awkward teenage love interest who wants to get it right but can't quite get there. And Charlie herself was sweet, her bouts of insecurity and battles over her inner fatphobia made my heart hurt and I loved the triumphant arc of her story. A special YA story with charming characters and a compelling self acceptance message that tried to be inclusive and could have done better but wasn't deeply harmful, just naive when it came to racial diversity.
krissyronan's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved Charlie's story. There’s a lot of complexity to how a young woman feels about her body is complicated and Charlie makes it feel relatable. The romance is adorable and sweet.
Thank you to Holiday House Books and Goodreads for the advanced copy!
Thank you to Holiday House Books and Goodreads for the advanced copy!
sam_anker_'s review against another edition
1.0
I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t actually finish this one. Like, I know it’s a book for high schoolers that I willingly picked out, but it felt young. The main character felt childish, and the author would literally write in emojis. Like, SAY “eye roll emoji” and use hashtags.
Also, I’ve been trying to pick books about fat girls and this seems to be a trend amongst all of the ones I’ve read, but it’s so obnoxious when the only character trait is that they’re FAT! Like babe I get it. Why do they have to find love DESPITE their weight? Why can’t they just drop in a “oh I’m a size 20” and then move about as normal. I get it, and to be fair I was more focused on my weight and thought everyone was thinking about that in high school too, but it just annoyed me in this book. And as someone trying to move past this kinda logic, I’m not sure having this weird message pushed in these books is really helpful.
I don’t know what else to say, and also this might be kinda mean but I feel like after reading just the little bit of this book I feel better about my own writing
Also, I’ve been trying to pick books about fat girls and this seems to be a trend amongst all of the ones I’ve read, but it’s so obnoxious when the only character trait is that they’re FAT! Like babe I get it. Why do they have to find love DESPITE their weight? Why can’t they just drop in a “oh I’m a size 20” and then move about as normal. I get it, and to be fair I was more focused on my weight and thought everyone was thinking about that in high school too, but it just annoyed me in this book. And as someone trying to move past this kinda logic, I’m not sure having this weird message pushed in these books is really helpful.
I don’t know what else to say, and also this might be kinda mean but I feel like after reading just the little bit of this book I feel better about my own writing
teranmbaker05's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. Its definitely a YA novel, not as mature as it could be. I love the romance in this book. It’s kinda just good mediocre!