A review by bao_bao
Every Body Shines by Jennifer Yen, Catherine Adel West, Rebecca Sky, Monique Gray Smith, Alex Gino, Amanda Lovelace, Cassandra Newbould, Nafiza Azad, Linda Camacho, Hillary Monahan, Chris Baron, Claire Kann, Kelly deVos, Renée Watson, Francina Simone, Sheena Boekweg

adventurous 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

3.0

Wow.. What a let down. I had been waiting a while to finally read this anthology of short stories, giving fat people the representation they deserve. 

I went into this book thinking that it was going to be about characters that love themselves, body positivity, doing things as a bigger person. Instead I found it to be cruel, sometimes triggering, fat phobia, and harmful to YA readers. 

I would say there were about four short stories that actually represented fat people in a decent way. I can't count how many of these stories were about an individual that couldn't fit in the clothes they wanted to. These scenarios are valid but should have been told differently. 

I am sure the authors had good intentions but I wish this came out in a more positive way. 
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