solaceinprose's review against another edition
4.0
It's very obvious this was published in 2008, because half of the vernacular in this book would not fly by today's standards. However, I did really enjoy this book. Madge was a fun character to read, and I wish I could have been that fabulous at 18. I loved how she owned her fatness, didn't excuse it, and worked it for her. I loved her friendship with Lucas, and I liked how at the end she realized just how unkind she was becoming. I love the slight twist at the end with prom queen. The drinking was a bit much, but I remember being that age and basically partying it up every chance I could when I was out with friends. All in all, this book was a fun read, and I enjoyed it for what it was.
abetterbradley's review against another edition
4.0
After the thought provoking Atlas Shrugged, I needed something fun to clear out my brain. Fat Hoochie Prom Queen was a great choice. First, I can go wrong with a book titled Fat Hoochie Prom Queen. It's set in Florida and it got a bit boring reading the names of clothing designers I'll never be able to afford (yeah, I'm talking about you, Prada). But the book had a laugh out loud moment and any book that can provoke gut busting laughter is awesome. Plus I like a book with some sort of message.
readerpants's review against another edition
4.0
This is the trashiest book I have read in as long as I can remember... and maybe the most size-positive. I have a really hard time slogging through trashy Clique-style books -- I couldn't even finish [b: The Luxe|1254951|The Luxe (Luxe, #1)|Anna Godbersen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1323438343s/1254951.jpg|1243729] -- but I kept reading this one because of moments like this:
- - - -
Oh my God, you should've been at that Halloween party where he puked on Laura's ex-boyfriend. That night was fucking epic. I'd gone in a pink zebra-print dress (which was so short and so tight that it made my ass and thighs hang out all over the place), those hooker heels that hurt like an eighteenth-birthday hangover, and a scraggly severe-bob wig, though it wasn't the perfect color, but who can keep up with hair anyway? Being Victoria Beckham's fat twin was hard work, but it was well worth it that night. [emphasis mine]
- - - -
That last line is one of the funniest things I've ever read... it's like a Weekly World News headline in its pacing (5,000-year-old mummy pregnant; Janitor admits "I'm the father"!). And the whole book reads like the preceding paragraph. The main characters are sober for maybe one page out of ten, and the plot hinges completely on drama rather than character development. They make ridiculously irresponsible choices (at one point, Madge gets wasted and stoned at a party, wanders off by herself in a city she doesn't know, and passes out in a football field with a box of Krispy Kremes). They have scads of money (crazy parties! convertible BMWs! And does any teen anywhere use a "car service" that much? At least it means that they never drink and drive.)
These characters aren't real, or complex, or thoughtful. It's kind of like the anti-Sarah Dessen. Madge is a faux queen with tons of money and fagtastic gay boy friends who live in penthouses (and whose mothers happily ply them with mini liquor bottles) but have no issues outside of being really spoiled. It's a fantasy land, with no negative consequences and unlimited resources.
BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD!
But it was hilarious. And it kept me reading just to see what unapologetically fat-positive thing the author would throw in next. We're not talking HAES-informed here: Madge eats shameless quantities of junk food, drinks like a fish, and wouldn't even consider going to the gym. In this, she's exactly like every other teen in the book. She's closer to Hassan in [b: An Abundance of Katherines|49750|An Abundance of Katherines|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206426s/49750.jpg|48658] than any other character I can think of (except without Hassan's disappointingly self-hating speeches at the end of the book) and I know many size-pos activist folks would be horrified at her unhealthy behavior and reveling in junk food. But listen to this paragraph, right after Madge's explanation of how Bridget Benson, the teen starlet of the moment, went from BFF to enemy after getting a TV-show part that both girls (both of whom were child stars) wanted:
- - - -
And please: don't think she got the part because I'm fat and she's not and I'm an idiot for thinking I'd have a chance at a part that beyond-compare Bridget Benson got. Because for the record, I didn't start getting chubs till after the disastrous audition, when I quit acting and went to normal-kids' school. And before you go on making more assumptions, I didn't pork up because I was depressed or anything. Acting was hard. I wanted to have friends and a more normal existence. And the only reason I got fat is because, well... everyone on my dad's side started gaining weight when they were around my age.
- - - -
OMFG! Have you ever read that before? 'Cause I haven't. You know what she gets from her mom's side of the family? She's "telenovela-beautiful".
And that's it for the body processing, plus she's never objectified or symbolized. She's popular, shameless, confident, and glam. There's even one fascinating point when her prom queen rival uses Madge's dad's heart attack as a way to attack Madge, saying outright that she's too fat and therefore unfit to be prom queen. Madge is furious and decides to strike back. What an interesting choice for the author to have made: to put that statement out there as so low and so obviously outrageous that the reader has to dismiss it out of hand.
I can't believe it, but I think this beats out every other fat book I've read this year in terms of body-positivity, except [b: Skim|2418888|Skim|Mariko Tamaki|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328770750s/2418888.jpg|2426065]. I don't really know how many stars to rate it, since I can't say it holds up in terms of literary quality. But to give it a low rating takes away from my guilty enjoyment of it and author's genuinely novel accomplishment.
I kind of loved it?
- - - -
Oh my God, you should've been at that Halloween party where he puked on Laura's ex-boyfriend. That night was fucking epic. I'd gone in a pink zebra-print dress (which was so short and so tight that it made my ass and thighs hang out all over the place), those hooker heels that hurt like an eighteenth-birthday hangover, and a scraggly severe-bob wig, though it wasn't the perfect color, but who can keep up with hair anyway? Being Victoria Beckham's fat twin was hard work, but it was well worth it that night. [emphasis mine]
- - - -
That last line is one of the funniest things I've ever read... it's like a Weekly World News headline in its pacing (5,000-year-old mummy pregnant; Janitor admits "I'm the father"!). And the whole book reads like the preceding paragraph. The main characters are sober for maybe one page out of ten, and the plot hinges completely on drama rather than character development. They make ridiculously irresponsible choices (at one point, Madge gets wasted and stoned at a party, wanders off by herself in a city she doesn't know, and passes out in a football field with a box of Krispy Kremes). They have scads of money (crazy parties! convertible BMWs! And does any teen anywhere use a "car service" that much? At least it means that they never drink and drive.)
These characters aren't real, or complex, or thoughtful. It's kind of like the anti-Sarah Dessen. Madge is a faux queen with tons of money and fagtastic gay boy friends who live in penthouses (and whose mothers happily ply them with mini liquor bottles) but have no issues outside of being really spoiled. It's a fantasy land, with no negative consequences and unlimited resources.
BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD!
But it was hilarious. And it kept me reading just to see what unapologetically fat-positive thing the author would throw in next. We're not talking HAES-informed here: Madge eats shameless quantities of junk food, drinks like a fish, and wouldn't even consider going to the gym. In this, she's exactly like every other teen in the book. She's closer to Hassan in [b: An Abundance of Katherines|49750|An Abundance of Katherines|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206426s/49750.jpg|48658] than any other character I can think of (except without Hassan's disappointingly self-hating speeches at the end of the book) and I know many size-pos activist folks would be horrified at her unhealthy behavior and reveling in junk food. But listen to this paragraph, right after Madge's explanation of how Bridget Benson, the teen starlet of the moment, went from BFF to enemy after getting a TV-show part that both girls (both of whom were child stars) wanted:
- - - -
And please: don't think she got the part because I'm fat and she's not and I'm an idiot for thinking I'd have a chance at a part that beyond-compare Bridget Benson got. Because for the record, I didn't start getting chubs till after the disastrous audition, when I quit acting and went to normal-kids' school. And before you go on making more assumptions, I didn't pork up because I was depressed or anything. Acting was hard. I wanted to have friends and a more normal existence. And the only reason I got fat is because, well... everyone on my dad's side started gaining weight when they were around my age.
- - - -
OMFG! Have you ever read that before? 'Cause I haven't. You know what she gets from her mom's side of the family? She's "telenovela-beautiful".
And that's it for the body processing, plus she's never objectified or symbolized. She's popular, shameless, confident, and glam. There's even one fascinating point when her prom queen rival uses Madge's dad's heart attack as a way to attack Madge, saying outright that she's too fat and therefore unfit to be prom queen. Madge is furious and decides to strike back. What an interesting choice for the author to have made: to put that statement out there as so low and so obviously outrageous that the reader has to dismiss it out of hand.
I can't believe it, but I think this beats out every other fat book I've read this year in terms of body-positivity, except [b: Skim|2418888|Skim|Mariko Tamaki|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328770750s/2418888.jpg|2426065]. I don't really know how many stars to rate it, since I can't say it holds up in terms of literary quality. But to give it a low rating takes away from my guilty enjoyment of it and author's genuinely novel accomplishment.
I kind of loved it?
ellengoodlett's review
5.0
HILARIOUS! The narrator's voice was funny, different, and totally out-there. I loved all of her crazy expressions and the Spanish she mingled into her rants about life/love/dating, etc. Her best friend, who could easily have fallen into the "gay best guy friend" stereotype, was a rounded character of his own, with a personality, a love life, drama of his own... And I loved him for it. The love interest was great too, a real sweetheart. Even the dreaded enemy-running-for-prom-queen managed to avoid becoming the stereotypical hot blond. Turned out she had issues and emotions of her own!
I won't tell you about the ending, because obviously that would spoil, but it was perfect. Fun, uplifting, and it tied all the characters together. I love this book!
I won't tell you about the ending, because obviously that would spoil, but it was perfect. Fun, uplifting, and it tied all the characters together. I love this book!
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