Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

Blurb: Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom...But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian... everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? UGHHH. Everything is now officially a MESS."This is a character-driven novel that reads quickly and is full of personality. This is for you if you enjoy YA rom-com with touches of drama. The mother can come off as the villain sometimes, but the relationship is realistic. Charlie is smart, sweet, and sincere. She's the optimist and the person who gives others the benefit of the doubt.The way in which Charlie navigates her relationships with family, friends, and her conflicts is insightful. In many ways, she's more mature than her mother. The writer is adept at writing fleshed-out characters and giving voice to an area of teenaged hood that isn't seen often. I would read other novels by this author.

“But I’m also surrounded by messages that tell me I need shape-wear, I need to lose weight, I need to fit into straight sizes, I need to look like an Insta girl, I need to be tiny to be loved.”Whew.I wish I had this book when I was a teenager. As someone who has struggled with weight issues their WHOLE life, I empathized and sympathized with Charlie on SO many levels. It’s hard growing up not being thin when being thin is what is shoved down your throat on a regular and routine basis. Getting changed in the locker room for gym class in high school was absolutely traumatizing, being judged over your food choices, feeling second best to your thin best friend. Trying and failing every fad diet. I’ll be here for days with how much I related to this story.Charlie Vega has down became one of my favorite characters after reading this book. Watching Charlie blossom, transform in the person I wanted to be, and do everything I couldn’t do when I was her age was absolutely wonderful. This book will definitely stay with me for a very long time. I LOVED the diversity and inclusion in this story. Brown fat girl, Black pansexual, Asian love interest with two moms. I’m here for it all!! Complex mother/daughter relationship. This was such a genuine and heartfelt story. If you made it this far thanks for reading my rambling of words.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is an emotional and inspiring novel that dares us to be our real, genuine selves. In a society where women (and men) are pressured to look and act a certain way, this was a refreshing reminder to be unapologetically you, while also learning to love yourself.Charlie is relatable, lovable, realistic, and expertly written. She’s written on such a raw, emotional level that it was easy to connect with her, sympathize with her, and truly understand her insecurities. I found myself rooting for her from the start.A deliciously heartwarming novel about self acceptance, navigating familial relationships, friendships, and romantic interests. I am truly envious of those that are reading Fat Chances, Charlie Vega for the first time!

The media could not be loaded. The quality of the book is excellent, the book is interesting, but the plot is a bit drawn out.

This was such a heartwarming book, but I have never felt more like a little senior citizen than while reading a book. 😂 Charlie referred to music I listened to in high school as oldies and clothes that are literally still in my closet as vintage. So my ego is completely shot to hell. 😜🤣😭Warning: major body negativity and fatphobiaCharlie Vega is a shy high school student who as a fat girl, feels like she is always compared to her popular, skinny BFF or her newly thin mother. She endures borderline abusive behavior at home about her body and is even worse to herself in her own mind. After a social tragedy at her school dance, she starts to hang out more with her classmate, Brian and he helps show her that she’s worth so much more than she thinks she is.Okay, so I know a mid-thirties gal is not the intended audience for this book and I do think that baby Ann Marie would have enjoyed this more, but this was hard to read at times for me. Charlie could be kinda bratty and whiney. Were we all like that at 16? 🤦🏼‍♀️ You do feel for Charlie though and I just wanted to give her a big old hug, you know? She needs some better female role models.Fat representation, (especially BIPOC fat representation) in books is important so I’m here to purchase, support, and proudly display on my bookshelf. We obviously need more of this in literature. The entire book revolves around her size, which can be a bit exhausting.THAT COVER THO. It’s so empowering and I love how Charlie seems to glow. Beautiful.This is a great book to read and I encourage you to do it, but I think I just felt my age more in this book when I haven’t before in other YA reads.

Charlie é uma personagem apaixonante. Durante a história conseguimos acompanhar seu amadurecimento e perceber que todos temos defeitos, preocupações e principalmente receios.Ela é uma das protagonistas mais humanas que tive o privilégio de ler é foi lindo acompanhar cada aventura, mesmo que não seja tão grandiosa como nos livros de fantasia, mas sim, aventuras relacionadas aos nossos desafios do cotidiano. Por isso, para muitos, esse pode ser um livro parado, sem muitos acontecimentos, a questão é que a vida é assim. Os desafios são criados por nossos pensamentos e é na tarefa de superá-los que conseguimos evoluir.Livro lindo, com representatividade e relacionamentos complexos. Que começa aquecendo o coração e termina nos fazendo pensar nas nossas escolhas.

“Fat chance, Charlie Vega” by Crystal Maldonado is such a sweet and heartwarming story. It shows the insecurities of growing up, but also that accepting and loving oneself is important. I think especially for people who struggle with themselves and think they are not good enough its eye-opening.It has an absolutely stunning cover, talks about body positivity, has a sweet romance and diverse and LGBTQ+ characters. What else could you ask for?

This was my first YA novel in a really long time. I'm not used to this genre but I was surprised to find myself inmersed in Charie Vega's life and this was a very positive experience so I'll definitely be reading more YA from now on.I've felt so protective of Charlie during the whole story. I believe Charlie Vega could have been any of us, a young girl with a non-normative body struggling to fit in high school. The only thing? More often than not Charlie needed no protection at all since she always knew that she's #fatshion , she's #fatbulous and she knows she doesn't have to change for someone to love her, not a boy, not her mom.Sometimes it was tough to read some passages on Charlie's thoughts about herself. I can't for the life of me understand how we sometimes come to think that we're not worth of love and good things just because of all those things we think about ourselves that most times aren't even real!

Eu achava que não ia gostar nadinha, mas me impressionei. Me deu uma vibe meio TATBILB, sabe?Romance super fofinho!!!!!.I thought I wouldn't like it at all, but I was impressed. It gave me a kinda a TATBILB vibe, you know?REALLY CUTE