To Be Honest by Maggie Ann Martin

To Be Honest

by Maggie Ann Martin

Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her big sister - and best friend - goes off to college. But if she can just get through senior year, she'll be able to escape to college, too. What she doesn't count on is that her mother's obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy's mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats.

Between her mum's diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about. And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here and now before it disappears.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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I will alway support a book that promotes body positivity, and this one also happened to feature a main character I totally fell in love with.

• Pro: Savannah was too fabulous, and charmed the pants off me. She was smart and full of life. She was driven, confident, and lots of fun. I absolutely loved her, and I loved her, because she loved herself. No approval needed.

• Pro: The sisterhood Savannah shared with Ashley was really wonderful. These two were pretty adorable together, and supported each other through their parents' divorce and their mother's weight loss journey. They were so much more than sisters to one another, they were best friends, and even though Ashley was away at college, she was there when Savannah really needed her.

• Pro: I really found George sort of adorable, and the scenes he shared with Savannah were precious. I loved his nerdy t-shirts, his pineapple pizza, and his musical prowess.

• Con: This may just be me, but there were some loose ends, and some of the resolutions seemed a little rushed, but I still really enjoyed all these subplots and just wanted more.

• Pro: I really liked the way Martin challenged the reality weight loss industry. Those shows have created unreasonable standards and expectations for people, and it was an interesting way to explore healthy/unhealthy weight loss as well as the impossible beauty standards that exist.

• Pro: The fat rep was pretty great. Martin really touched on those things, which I think a lot of people, who have never been overweight are not aware of. Your jiggly bits being exposed and touching someone else, not being able to shop in the same store as your thin friend, being made to feel self-conscience when you eat in front of people, being thought of as invisible or "less than", because you don't fit the size-0 beauty standard.

• Pro: Grace and Savannah were a great team, and I always love a healthy and positive female friendship.

Overall: A rather charming and heartwarming story of family, friendship, and loving yourself.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 2 August, 2018: Finished reading
  • 2 August, 2018: Reviewed