A review by buriedinbooks
The Big Reveal by Jen Larsen
5.0
5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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I wasn't even finished with the book and I started crying happy tears. Just... wow. The Big Reveal is about celebrating your body, being confident in and loving who you are, and standing up to those who try to make you feel inferior. The book follows Addie, a fat dancer who gets into her dream summer dance program in Milan... but the only problem is, she is broke and can't cough up the $6,000 tuition money to go. Addie and her friends concoct a scheme: an underground burlesque show fundraiser!
I can't give this book enough compliments, I adored it so much! The writing really hits hard—if I had a physical copy, I would want to annotate this (and for those who don't know me: I don't ever annotate books). The writing has a few moments where the writing is intentionally inspirational, but sometimes it makes the reading all the better when you lean into it. The plot seemed to be moving fast at first, but there's a ton of reveals that are packed into the ending so it makes sense how it's paced. Also, if I had a wig and could sew... I would totally be doing a cosplay photoshoot. The characters were all super sweet once I got the names all straight: in addition to Addie, there's Katherine, Taylor, and Nevaeh in the core friend group; then we meet Jack, who is super cute but can be an absolute MORON at times; Gavin, the flirt that just can't seem to quit it; and Christopher, the— Well, I'll just say I don't like him, and you won't either. On the topic of characters, which in my mind leads to romance, I will say: this is not meant to be a romance-heavy book. It is first and foremost a piece about self-confidence and being angry about body-shaming and slut-shaming. However... there is a cute romantic subplot, and I really enjoyed it!
I can't gush enough about The Big Reveal. It made my heart so full, and I'm so happy to have received an ARC of it because now I can promote it until long past its publishing date. When I say this book is fierce, I mean that it's passionate and angry, and I'm fully supportive of that lifestyle. 5 stars.
-
Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
-
I wasn't even finished with the book and I started crying happy tears. Just... wow. The Big Reveal is about celebrating your body, being confident in and loving who you are, and standing up to those who try to make you feel inferior. The book follows Addie, a fat dancer who gets into her dream summer dance program in Milan... but the only problem is, she is broke and can't cough up the $6,000 tuition money to go. Addie and her friends concoct a scheme: an underground burlesque show fundraiser!
I can't give this book enough compliments, I adored it so much! The writing really hits hard—if I had a physical copy, I would want to annotate this (and for those who don't know me: I don't ever annotate books). The writing has a few moments where the writing is intentionally inspirational, but sometimes it makes the reading all the better when you lean into it. The plot seemed to be moving fast at first, but there's a ton of reveals that are packed into the ending so it makes sense how it's paced. Also, if I had a wig and could sew... I would totally be doing a cosplay photoshoot. The characters were all super sweet once I got the names all straight: in addition to Addie, there's Katherine, Taylor, and Nevaeh in the core friend group; then we meet Jack, who is super cute but can be an absolute MORON at times; Gavin, the flirt that just can't seem to quit it; and Christopher, the— Well, I'll just say I don't like him, and you won't either. On the topic of characters, which in my mind leads to romance, I will say: this is not meant to be a romance-heavy book. It is first and foremost a piece about self-confidence and being angry about body-shaming and slut-shaming. However... there is a cute romantic subplot, and I really enjoyed it!
I can't gush enough about The Big Reveal. It made my heart so full, and I'm so happy to have received an ARC of it because now I can promote it until long past its publishing date. When I say this book is fierce, I mean that it's passionate and angry, and I'm fully supportive of that lifestyle. 5 stars.