zasou_reads's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Child abuse
Minor: Pedophilia and Incest
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a all-too-acfurate deep dive into issues women face every day: body image, beauty standards, and self-worth. The story is about three friends who meet at fat camp the summer they turn 18 before jumping fifteen years into the future. All the women are struggling, but Emerson, we discover, is suffering the most. In the first chapter, we learn that Emerson has died due to extreme obesity. Her dying wish is that her friends, Marley and Georgia, complete a bucket list that they all wrote that one glorious summer.
The rest of the novel alternates between Marley and Georgia, and includes a few of Emerson's journal entries. The women go on a journey of self-acceptance and self-discovery. They learn how to cope with trauma and heart break. They learn how to take responsibility and when to realize that the blame isn't entirely on them. They seek balance, and, through trial and error, eventually find it.
The book is realistic, and often painful. You really feel for the characters, even when you don't agree with them. I knew I was hooked when I found myself talking back to the page and giving my advice as if they could hear me, as if they were my friends.
Though the book has some pretty heavy themes--pun not intended--it ultimately leaves the reader feeling hopeful and happy for the two women.
The rest of the novel alternates between Marley and Georgia, and includes a few of Emerson's journal entries. The women go on a journey of self-acceptance and self-discovery. They learn how to cope with trauma and heart break. They learn how to take responsibility and when to realize that the blame isn't entirely on them. They seek balance, and, through trial and error, eventually find it.
The book is realistic, and often painful. You really feel for the characters, even when you don't agree with them. I knew I was hooked when I found myself talking back to the page and giving my advice as if they could hear me, as if they were my friends.
Though the book has some pretty heavy themes--pun not intended--it ultimately leaves the reader feeling hopeful and happy for the two women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, and Incest
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Mass/school shootings
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