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A review by alliesannotation
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
5.0
⭐️: 5/5
🌶️: 3.75/5
Format: 🎧
I do NOT give five stars lightly, but this was truly a five-star read. I read it via audiobook, and will be purchasing a physical copy to keep on my shelves for a re-read.
I have so many thoughts, but they boil down to this:
This book is to chronic illness and plus-size folks what Schitt's Creek is for the queer community. It illustrated the experience of the intersection of multiple marginalized identities without using any of them as true plot devices, and without making the central theme of the book "overcoming" any of those identities. We simply got a romance novel featuring a Black, plus-size, chronically ill woman, who is just as deserving of the happy-ever-after as everyone.
Now, I can't personally speak to the accuracy of the chronic illness portrayal, as that isn't my experience, but I can say that I learned a lot. Hibbert doesn't dump any information on the reader, instead letting us learn about Chloe's Fibromyalgia at a natural rate through narrated events, or through the eyes of the MMC, Red. But we also learn, in the same way, about Chloe's love of stationery, lists, and order, along with her pretty clothes and dry humor. She is a thoroughly developed, dimensional character.
As a plus-size person, I can say that I absolutely loved how Chloe is portrayed. Her size never, at any time, dictates what she can or can't do, or how anybody feels about her--and most importantly, how she feels about herself. She's confident in herself and her capability to tackle whatever she wants to, and she's direct, sexual, witty, smart, and attractive. And as we see in those spicy scenes, the MMC is absolutely feral for her.
The plot itself is simple, and largely connected to the main characters' personal development. While Chloe's disability is tied to her journey, I also really strongly identified (especially after COVID), with her struggle: one where, after social trauma, she withdrew into herself, and is now fighting to get back that spark of life she things she's lost. The plot isn't externally dire, nor is it complex, but the character development and relationship building were so strong, the simpler plotline fit well. The writing was funny, and thorough, and just really well-written.
Finally, I read this via audiobook, and really enjoyed the narration. The narrator's style actually interpreted things differently than I would have, tone-wise, so that added a lot more to the story for me. I can also confirm I wouldn't have gotten the accents as crisp in my head!
I'm absolutely floored to read the rest of the trilogy, and cheers to my first five-star of 2024!
🌶️: 3.75/5
Format: 🎧
I do NOT give five stars lightly, but this was truly a five-star read. I read it via audiobook, and will be purchasing a physical copy to keep on my shelves for a re-read.
I have so many thoughts, but they boil down to this:
This book is to chronic illness and plus-size folks what Schitt's Creek is for the queer community. It illustrated the experience of the intersection of multiple marginalized identities without using any of them as true plot devices, and without making the central theme of the book "overcoming" any of those identities. We simply got a romance novel featuring a Black, plus-size, chronically ill woman, who is just as deserving of the happy-ever-after as everyone.
Now, I can't personally speak to the accuracy of the chronic illness portrayal, as that isn't my experience, but I can say that I learned a lot. Hibbert doesn't dump any information on the reader, instead letting us learn about Chloe's Fibromyalgia at a natural rate through narrated events, or through the eyes of the MMC, Red. But we also learn, in the same way, about Chloe's love of stationery, lists, and order, along with her pretty clothes and dry humor. She is a thoroughly developed, dimensional character.
As a plus-size person, I can say that I absolutely loved how Chloe is portrayed. Her size never, at any time, dictates what she can or can't do, or how anybody feels about her--and most importantly, how she feels about herself. She's confident in herself and her capability to tackle whatever she wants to, and she's direct, sexual, witty, smart, and attractive. And as we see in those spicy scenes, the MMC is absolutely feral for her.
The plot itself is simple, and largely connected to the main characters' personal development. While Chloe's disability is tied to her journey, I also really strongly identified (especially after COVID), with her struggle: one where, after social trauma, she withdrew into herself, and is now fighting to get back that spark of life she things she's lost. The plot isn't externally dire, nor is it complex, but the character development and relationship building were so strong, the simpler plotline fit well. The writing was funny, and thorough, and just really well-written.
Finally, I read this via audiobook, and really enjoyed the narration. The narrator's style actually interpreted things differently than I would have, tone-wise, so that added a lot more to the story for me. I can also confirm I wouldn't have gotten the accents as crisp in my head!
I'm absolutely floored to read the rest of the trilogy, and cheers to my first five-star of 2024!