Big Fat Manifesto

by Susan Vaught

[ibeforem]

Jamie is fat. She knows it, everyone else knows it, and soon even more people are going to know it because her plan for getting into the journalism program she wants to attend is to write a column about being a fat teenager. Except things get complicated when her also overweight boyfriend decides to get gastric bypass surgery.

There are pros and cons to this book. Outwardly, Jamie is unapologetic about her weight and the difficulties it causes in her life. But inside, she's still a typical insecure teenager with very complicated feelings. There's a little bit of push and pull there. She's not very good at treating her friends/boyfriend well, which is a con. Other people's concerns seem to take a back seat to hers. Activism is also treated strangely -- when it aligns with her goals, she's all for it, but you can almost see the eye rolls every time her friend NoNo (who is fiercely vegan) is discussed.

I enjoyed the read, despite its flaws. But I think there are probably better "fat positive" books out there.