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_nem_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Rep: Black MC, Queer Platonic Relationship (not called this in the book but most similar term. Call themselves not girlfriends in book)
This book was great in terms of relationship dynamics. The MC is determined to stand her ground, often to her detrement especially when she has a gran as defiant as her.
This book was great in terms of relationship dynamics. The MC is determined to stand her ground, often to her detrement especially when she has a gran as defiant as her.
lemonbalmgirl's review
funny
hopeful
fast-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
dodiefay's review
4.0
the plot was confusing but the relationships were different and special and (mostly) lovely. good job universe!
ihateprozac's review
4.0
Claire Kann is really out here writing books fighting CompHet and we LOVE TO SEE IT. This book wins so many points from me for showing a queer polyamorous relationship between teens, including one partner who is aro+ace. This book would've been so valuable to me as a teenager!
This book wins even more points for how it discusses fatphobia and toxic familial relationships. Winnie directly calls out fatphobia to her doctor and she addresses toxic diet culture and bodyshaming within her family. It made my heart sooooooar to see this in YA lit!
While there is a cute small-town romance at the centre of this story, I hesitate to categorise this as a romance because for me it's more impactful as a contemporary drama. Winnie struggles with a grandmother who treats her poorly, and Winnie is learning that just because someone is a family member and your elder doesn't necessarily mean they're deserving of your respect, nor should you have to minimise yourself to make them love you. I loooooved how Claire Kann showed that even as a teen you should have agency over who you spend time with, and you shouldn't feel bad for cutting out someone who is actively harming you.
I love the messages in this book so much, I just want to give Winnie and Claire Kann the biggest hug ;______;
The only reason this is a 4-star rather than a 5-star was that there's a steep uphill battle to get into the narrative style and this large cast of characters. Once you're past the first 80 or so pages, you're sweet.
This book wins even more points for how it discusses fatphobia and toxic familial relationships. Winnie directly calls out fatphobia to her doctor and she addresses toxic diet culture and bodyshaming within her family. It made my heart sooooooar to see this in YA lit!
While there is a cute small-town romance at the centre of this story, I hesitate to categorise this as a romance because for me it's more impactful as a contemporary drama. Winnie struggles with a grandmother who treats her poorly, and Winnie is learning that just because someone is a family member and your elder doesn't necessarily mean they're deserving of your respect, nor should you have to minimise yourself to make them love you. I loooooved how Claire Kann showed that even as a teen you should have agency over who you spend time with, and you shouldn't feel bad for cutting out someone who is actively harming you.
I love the messages in this book so much, I just want to give Winnie and Claire Kann the biggest hug ;______;
The only reason this is a 4-star rather than a 5-star was that there's a steep uphill battle to get into the narrative style and this large cast of characters. Once you're past the first 80 or so pages, you're sweet.
kamitsukasero's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
Definitely gets bonus points for good representation/aspec representation that I personally found very on point and endearing. I had trouble getting started with the story but quickly grew attached to the main character. The pacing isn't always at its best, some of the plot points feels strangely rushed or, at times, too forced in terms of exposition, but the audio book really makes it a good experience, I applaud the narrator's performance
mehsi's review
4.0
I received this book from the publisher/tour host in exchange of an honest review.
It is time for summer, and that means that Winnie is all eager to visit Misty Haven where her grandma lives and has a diner called Goldeen (yes, the Pokemon). But her summer is going to be way different than she has planned. With romance, a competition, a kingly/queenly kind of event, trouble, and people trying to get her to lose weight (though she is just happy with who she is, bless her).
The diner was so much fun, there was a dash of fun chaos with the oven constantly going in def-con mode and a grandma who didn’t want to fix it for some reason. We read about food, about karaoke cleaning nights, we see Winnie make deliveries and handle tough customers (the customer is definitely not always right that is how you get these type of people in your restaurant), we read about how the diner looks which I could easily see in my mind and I wished I could visit.
Winnie was such a fun character. She is driven, she has a goal in life, she knows what she wants. It was great to see her have all these plans, all these ideas of what she wants for the future. I would love to visit her diner when she sets it all up.
I am glad that she didn’t mind that she was larger than most people. It is just a shame that others didn’t think so, but I was delighted that she wasn’t just going to let people run over her with their thoughts. Yes, maybe the whole doctor scene was a bit overkill, but I can imagine that she got so pissed. If I came for a darned blood-test and someone would go on and on about my weight and how I would die, I would also flip a table. 😛 Then there was the thing with Sam. While at first I did kind of agree with Sam, not too much, but a little bit. Exercise is never bad in my book (if you can exercise that is), but then she took it too far. It was still sweet of Winnie to go through it because she wanted to do something with Sam (though in the end Winston just tagged along the whole time :P).
I do feel sad that Winnie had such a low self-esteem despite being pretty much OK with having more weight. I was shipping her from the start with Dallas but she is just so awkward and weird with him. She keeps thinking that he doesn’t want her romantically because she is fat and pretty boys don’t go for fat girls. Girl, please. There is a person out there for everyone, and I immediately could see that Dallas was just fine with how Winnie looked. That he was more than happy to spend time with her. So yeah, the parts with Dallas were a bit cringy, but thankfully she did seem to understand that Dallas wasn’t going anywhere, though it took her a while to see that. I would have definitely liked some more sweet moments with Dallas (though there were still quite a few as Dallas isn’t one to give up, and he was so so sweet towards Winnie. Helping her out when things didn’t go well, listening, making sure to do the right thing).
The competition, it was a shame that it happened near the end, I had expected it to get a bit more of it, but it was still terribly fun to read about it, see who is going to the finals, and see who is getting picked. I am so happy that Winnie pushed through and that she did that for someone in her life. Thanks to her that person has a wonderful opportunity and a great future ahead of them.
While I am still very much wondering what is going on between Kara and Winnie. Is it romance? Is it friendship? Is it both? I did like seeing the two together, though I wish we had seen more of Kara before the summer. Now we quickly see her be jealous of Dallas, be angry at Dallas and it defined how I saw Kara throughout most of the book. There are some hints of a Kara that I did love and that I could see why Winnie is so smitten by her. Like how sweet she was to make a whole freezer full of gluten-free food for Winnie (yes, really). Or that she was there to listen when Winnie needed someone. Or how dedicated she was in the whole king/queen thing.
Normally I am not a fan of a love triangle, but in this one it fit. I was both shipping Winnie with Kara, but also Winnie with Dallas. It felt all natural for these three to be together in a way. I guess you could call it polyamory, and I was delighted with how things were written. I loved how Winnie was quite clear on her intentions and also kept telling Kara or Dallas that she loves them both, that she would like them to get along, that she wants both of them in her life. And this may sound like she can’t choose, but that is not how it felt to me. It felt right, and I was just awwing.
There was at times a bit too much thoughts going on and not so much actually happening, which I wasn’t a too big of a fan of. I am not one to enjoy thought-driven stories. Give me plot! Give me a story! Let something happen that isn’t in someone’s head.
The grandma? Oh boy. Don’t get me started on that witch. She was just the worst. Making snide comments about her grandchild’s weight, pushing her to diet and do exercise. Restricting her from several things for no apparent good reason. One could say she has a strong personality, I would just call her a bitch. I do wonder if she has always been like this, given what Winnie’s parents say yes, but given that the previous years all went OK, I wonder what changed. Despite that Winnie is 18 years old, an adult, she treated Winnie like a child. She even called her child. And sure, hey, the lady is like 70/80 years old and 18 is nothing to her, but a bit more respect would have been nice.
The ending was really nicely done, yes it was sad that it had to end like this, but I guess we could have seen it coming from early on. It was wonderful to end it with all of them in the car, talking over, saying I love you’s. Aww!
All in all, I had a wonderful time reading this book. Yes, sometimes I was shaking my head at it all, but mostly I was rooting for the characters, hoping for the romance to get somewhere and cheering when romantic things happened, I loved how positive it was, shipping the characters, and laughed during the sillier moments. I would recommend it.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
It is time for summer, and that means that Winnie is all eager to visit Misty Haven where her grandma lives and has a diner called Goldeen (yes, the Pokemon). But her summer is going to be way different than she has planned. With romance, a competition, a kingly/queenly kind of event, trouble, and people trying to get her to lose weight (though she is just happy with who she is, bless her).
The diner was so much fun, there was a dash of fun chaos with the oven constantly going in def-con mode and a grandma who didn’t want to fix it for some reason. We read about food, about karaoke cleaning nights, we see Winnie make deliveries and handle tough customers (the customer is definitely not always right that is how you get these type of people in your restaurant), we read about how the diner looks which I could easily see in my mind and I wished I could visit.
Winnie was such a fun character. She is driven, she has a goal in life, she knows what she wants. It was great to see her have all these plans, all these ideas of what she wants for the future. I would love to visit her diner when she sets it all up.
I am glad that she didn’t mind that she was larger than most people. It is just a shame that others didn’t think so, but I was delighted that she wasn’t just going to let people run over her with their thoughts. Yes, maybe the whole doctor scene was a bit overkill, but I can imagine that she got so pissed. If I came for a darned blood-test and someone would go on and on about my weight and how I would die, I would also flip a table. 😛 Then there was the thing with Sam. While at first I did kind of agree with Sam, not too much, but a little bit. Exercise is never bad in my book (if you can exercise that is), but then she took it too far. It was still sweet of Winnie to go through it because she wanted to do something with Sam (though in the end Winston just tagged along the whole time :P).
I do feel sad that Winnie had such a low self-esteem despite being pretty much OK with having more weight. I was shipping her from the start with Dallas but she is just so awkward and weird with him. She keeps thinking that he doesn’t want her romantically because she is fat and pretty boys don’t go for fat girls. Girl, please. There is a person out there for everyone, and I immediately could see that Dallas was just fine with how Winnie looked. That he was more than happy to spend time with her. So yeah, the parts with Dallas were a bit cringy, but thankfully she did seem to understand that Dallas wasn’t going anywhere, though it took her a while to see that. I would have definitely liked some more sweet moments with Dallas (though there were still quite a few as Dallas isn’t one to give up, and he was so so sweet towards Winnie. Helping her out when things didn’t go well, listening, making sure to do the right thing).
The competition, it was a shame that it happened near the end, I had expected it to get a bit more of it, but it was still terribly fun to read about it, see who is going to the finals, and see who is getting picked. I am so happy that Winnie pushed through and that she did that for someone in her life. Thanks to her that person has a wonderful opportunity and a great future ahead of them.
While I am still very much wondering what is going on between Kara and Winnie. Is it romance? Is it friendship? Is it both? I did like seeing the two together, though I wish we had seen more of Kara before the summer. Now we quickly see her be jealous of Dallas, be angry at Dallas and it defined how I saw Kara throughout most of the book. There are some hints of a Kara that I did love and that I could see why Winnie is so smitten by her. Like how sweet she was to make a whole freezer full of gluten-free food for Winnie (yes, really). Or that she was there to listen when Winnie needed someone. Or how dedicated she was in the whole king/queen thing.
Normally I am not a fan of a love triangle, but in this one it fit. I was both shipping Winnie with Kara, but also Winnie with Dallas. It felt all natural for these three to be together in a way. I guess you could call it polyamory, and I was delighted with how things were written. I loved how Winnie was quite clear on her intentions and also kept telling Kara or Dallas that she loves them both, that she would like them to get along, that she wants both of them in her life. And this may sound like she can’t choose, but that is not how it felt to me. It felt right, and I was just awwing.
There was at times a bit too much thoughts going on and not so much actually happening, which I wasn’t a too big of a fan of. I am not one to enjoy thought-driven stories. Give me plot! Give me a story! Let something happen that isn’t in someone’s head.
The grandma? Oh boy. Don’t get me started on that witch. She was just the worst. Making snide comments about her grandchild’s weight, pushing her to diet and do exercise. Restricting her from several things for no apparent good reason. One could say she has a strong personality, I would just call her a bitch. I do wonder if she has always been like this, given what Winnie’s parents say yes, but given that the previous years all went OK, I wonder what changed. Despite that Winnie is 18 years old, an adult, she treated Winnie like a child. She even called her child. And sure, hey, the lady is like 70/80 years old and 18 is nothing to her, but a bit more respect would have been nice.
The ending was really nicely done, yes it was sad that it had to end like this, but I guess we could have seen it coming from early on. It was wonderful to end it with all of them in the car, talking over, saying I love you’s. Aww!
All in all, I had a wonderful time reading this book. Yes, sometimes I was shaking my head at it all, but mostly I was rooting for the characters, hoping for the romance to get somewhere and cheering when romantic things happened, I loved how positive it was, shipping the characters, and laughed during the sillier moments. I would recommend it.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
ceena's review
4.0
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
3.5 stars
This is my second book by this author and I have to say, so far I'm willing to read anything they write.
This book is cute, fun, sweet and bubbly. It is a great summer read. At the same time, there are some harsh moments and themes present that make this book real. See, this book starts off about this Winnie and her love for the diner she is helping her grandma run during the summer. There is a contest or two thrown into the mix and we think it is coming to be all roses and sunshine, until people start in on Winnie about her weight and there is also some familial emotional/mental abuse.
Winnie is adorable and I love her. I was rooting for her and wanting her to find her happiness the entire time. She knows what she wants for her future and she is a take charge type of person, even if she has a hard time in front of cameras or groups of people. She is willing to do anything for those she loves. Winston, her brother, is great. He is such a younger brother and their relationship felt so, so real and great. Sam is Winnie's cousin who is sweet, naive, and slightly clueless. Sam didn't win me over.
It should also be mentioned that Winnie has a queerplatonic relationship with Kara and is slowly falling for Dallas. The whole relationship aspect of the book is handled so well. I don't think I've ever read a YA book-- or maybe any book ever, with this much open communication. Winnie is always open to talk and wanting to get those she is in relationships with to talk to her so that they understand each other and are on the same page. Every time she stepped up to ask for communication I shouted with joy. COMMUNICATION IS SO IMPORTANT!
While the relationship are part of the story, they aren't the biggest part. This book is a love letter to being body positive and living your best life. Fatphobia is dealt with in this book. I really liked how Winnie is comfortable with who she is. She knows her body, she's dealt with people "trying to help her with her weight" all her life and understands what they are about. How she deals with everything (mostly) is amazing and total goals.
The living your best life aspect comes from dealing with toxic people in her life: learning how to move on and be comfortable doing things that aren't traditionally what we are supposed to do. Winnie is such a strong character and watching her blossom is a treat.
Truly, I should stop my review here because I swear I'm so close to giving away spoilers. My last thoughts-- for as much gushing over this book as I'm doing, I am only rating it a 3.5/5. This is because there were times when I was bored reading it. I wasn't always hooked into the story, but my love for Winnie and wanting to see if she would overcome the obstacles in her path kept me reading to the end.
I recommend this one to anyone looking for sweet read with a not often written about relationship structure. 3 cheers for Winnie! I look forward to Claire Kann's next book.
3.5 stars
This is my second book by this author and I have to say, so far I'm willing to read anything they write.
This book is cute, fun, sweet and bubbly. It is a great summer read. At the same time, there are some harsh moments and themes present that make this book real. See, this book starts off about this Winnie and her love for the diner she is helping her grandma run during the summer. There is a contest or two thrown into the mix and we think it is coming to be all roses and sunshine, until people start in on Winnie about her weight and there is also some familial emotional/mental abuse.
Winnie is adorable and I love her. I was rooting for her and wanting her to find her happiness the entire time. She knows what she wants for her future and she is a take charge type of person, even if she has a hard time in front of cameras or groups of people. She is willing to do anything for those she loves. Winston, her brother, is great. He is such a younger brother and their relationship felt so, so real and great. Sam is Winnie's cousin who is sweet, naive, and slightly clueless. Sam didn't win me over.
It should also be mentioned that Winnie has a queerplatonic relationship with Kara and is slowly falling for Dallas. The whole relationship aspect of the book is handled so well. I don't think I've ever read a YA book-- or maybe any book ever, with this much open communication. Winnie is always open to talk and wanting to get those she is in relationships with to talk to her so that they understand each other and are on the same page. Every time she stepped up to ask for communication I shouted with joy. COMMUNICATION IS SO IMPORTANT!
While the relationship are part of the story, they aren't the biggest part. This book is a love letter to being body positive and living your best life. Fatphobia is dealt with in this book. I really liked how Winnie is comfortable with who she is. She knows her body, she's dealt with people "trying to help her with her weight" all her life and understands what they are about. How she deals with everything (mostly) is amazing and total goals.
The living your best life aspect comes from dealing with toxic people in her life: learning how to move on and be comfortable doing things that aren't traditionally what we are supposed to do. Winnie is such a strong character and watching her blossom is a treat.
Truly, I should stop my review here because I swear I'm so close to giving away spoilers. My last thoughts-- for as much gushing over this book as I'm doing, I am only rating it a 3.5/5. This is because there were times when I was bored reading it. I wasn't always hooked into the story, but my love for Winnie and wanting to see if she would overcome the obstacles in her path kept me reading to the end.
I recommend this one to anyone looking for sweet read with a not often written about relationship structure. 3 cheers for Winnie! I look forward to Claire Kann's next book.
littlebookterror's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
The contemporary novel packs a lot in between its pages. Not all of the plot points are my favourite but I loved all of the commentary that Kann offers whilst giving our protagonist Winnie an unforgettable summer.
First up, we get a queer polyamorous main character! Winnie already has a queerplatonic partner ("ungirlfriend"), Kara who has taken center stage in her life so far. It was so refreshing that these two had talked about what that commitment meant for them and how it would look like. They sadly don't get much page time together and when Dallas comes into the picture, you can prettily easily tell where that plot thread is going but I still appreciated that Winnie did not hide that aspect of her life just for a chance of romantic love.
There is also some excellent commentary in how society perceives fat bodies and the politics surrounding that. Winnie is comfortable in her body and unlike her grandmother, the rest of her family is as well. We learn that she often feels compelled to be nice and approachable (doubly so because of her Blackness), she is unafraid to advocate for herself in a medical setting (maybe a bit more rudely than necessary), and we see her try out running (mainly to make her cousin happy). With her gluten intolerance and the diner setting, there is also a focus on food but the narrative does not enforce the idea of dietary restriction, weight loss, or exercise being necessary when you are fat.
Family is another big thing. The relationship with her grandmother is at the forefront but her brother and cousin also get their parts. It's certainly not an easy situation to be in, her grandmother sometimes means well but also oversteps and crosses boundaries Winnie had previously established. Yet there are also many scenes where Winnie takes it to far and behaves like the teenager she is. At least the book does not try to tell us all that is okay, but offers solution to such problems (even if our protagonist does not always take the high road; not that I need that from her). The sibling relationship was precious, however.
There also these little moments with Dallas and Winston that highlight how toxic masculinity can fuck up your relationships and I loved where they both end up in the finale of the book.
Now, the rest of the actual plot was not totally for me. I know many people love small town settings where everyone is up in each other's business, and the charm that comes with local summer festival/pageantry/thing but it was a bit much for me.
Also a new favourite quote, I love this so much.
First up, we get a queer polyamorous main character! Winnie already has a queerplatonic partner ("ungirlfriend"), Kara who has taken center stage in her life so far. It was so refreshing that these two had talked about what that commitment meant for them and how it would look like. They sadly don't get much page time together and when Dallas comes into the picture, you can prettily easily tell where that plot thread is going but I still appreciated that Winnie did not hide that aspect of her life just for a chance of romantic love.
There is also some excellent commentary in how society perceives fat bodies and the politics surrounding that. Winnie is comfortable in her body and unlike her grandmother, the rest of her family is as well. We learn that she often feels compelled to be nice and approachable (doubly so because of her Blackness), she is unafraid to advocate for herself in a medical setting (maybe a bit more rudely than necessary), and we see her try out running (mainly to make her cousin happy). With her gluten intolerance and the diner setting, there is also a focus on food but the narrative does not enforce the idea of dietary restriction, weight loss, or exercise being necessary when you are fat.
Family is another big thing. The relationship with her grandmother is at the forefront but her brother and cousin also get their parts. It's certainly not an easy situation to be in, her grandmother sometimes means well but also oversteps and crosses boundaries Winnie had previously established. Yet there are also many scenes where Winnie takes it to far and behaves like the teenager she is. At least the book does not try to tell us all that is okay, but offers solution to such problems (even if our protagonist does not always take the high road; not that I need that from her). The sibling relationship was precious, however.
There also these little moments with Dallas and Winston that highlight how toxic masculinity can fuck up your relationships and I loved where they both end up in the finale of the book.
Now, the rest of the actual plot was not totally for me. I know many people love small town settings where everyone is up in each other's business, and the charm that comes with local summer festival/pageantry/thing but it was a bit much for me.
Also a new favourite quote, I love this so much.
Calling myself queer felt like standing under a kind stranger's umbrella in an unexpected rainstorm. I might not use it forever, but at the moment, it was exactly what I needed.
fireweed15's review against another edition
4.0
This was a charming read! I like how Winnie's personality just shines through the pages, and how the narration feels like a conversation-- Winnie is someone I would have happily been friends with. I love how the book goes out of its way to remind readers that fat ≠ unhealthy, and that's coming from a fat kid with health issues. I also appreciate the complexity of Winnie's relationship with her grandmother. Families and intrafamily relationships are complicated, and sometimes we don't get neat happy endings... and that's okay, and it was nice that the book reflected that. What I wasn't as fond of was the relationship drama. I appreciate good queer rep as much as the next guy, but at times it was petty at best, and slowed the story down at worst, forcing me to knock off a few points in the review.
mirandacasuga's review against another edition
i really tried so hard to get through this book but maybe it’s just not for me. it was SUCH a shame because i loved claire janna other books, so i thought i would love this one the same, especially since it’s YA and that’s the majority of what i read. i just thought the characters were so unlikeable, and the plot didn’t interest me. nothing really stuck out to me besides the main character. i really did like the main character winnie, she felt so realistic, which is probably why reading this was so much harder, i wish she had a more interesting story. there were some elements that i understood were intentional, like her grandma being manipulative and stuck up, and her cousin sam just.. idk being herself… but i felt like kara was just like everything i hate seeing in a best friend character and dallas was just like an *insert love interest here* idk. i never dnf books so this is such a shame😭