Crystal Maldonado

Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard. Harder when your whole life is on fire, though. Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter. 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, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, 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? Because it's time people did. A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

Overweight sixteen-year-old Charlie yearned for her first kiss while her perfect best friend, Amelia, fell in love, so when she finally starts dating and learns the boy asked Amelia out first, she is devastated.

So relatable. This book got me through a tough week and reminded me of my high school years.

Olivia Rousseau 

Bria

Crystal Maldonado tackled so many issues in this book, and she did it so well and effortlessly.

Vallari S

this book was so bad. it was all the stereotypes and tropes rolled into one and done awfully. i usually love a good cliche but this just wasn't it. the mc was very whiny and even though I should have related I just found myself getting annoyed.

Jantien 

Very modern. There are a lot of difficult topics that are being tackled really well. Definitely worth reading!!

renee badenoch

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is a timely ya slice-of-life story about a Peurto-Rican teen, Charlie Vega, learning to accept herself more over the course of the year as she struggles with her complicated relationship with her mother, her friendship often tinged with jealousy with her best friend, Amelia, and her growing crush on her friend, Brian. 

A lot of the book is about the unique struggles that Charlie faces due to being fat. Despite Charlie knowing that her weight shouldn't define her, she is still defined by it by the world, especially her mother, a white woman who used to be fat but lost weight as a means of coping with the loss of Charlie's father, and now often consciously or unconsciously shames Charlie for her weight. The mother-daughter relationship in this book was particularly well written I thought, especially in displaying the ways that a teen might have to struggle to learn boundaries to protect themselves against a toxic parent. While the book does often portray Charlie's mother as fully human, a person who does love Charlie and is trying to help her, it doesn't shy away from the hurt Charlie often feels at her mother's hands. I would have loved this relationship to be explored in more depth, and hope that Maldonado writes more on this theme in the future. 

I also thought the book did a good job exploring Charlie's relationship with her best friend, Amelia, who Charlie often feels jealous of because of Amelia's popularity, and the way that Amelia seems oblivious to the differences in their weight and the way that the world sees them. My biggest problem with this relationship is that Charlie doesn't grapple with her own privileges in this relationship until the very end of the book. It seemed off to me, given how introspective Charlie is in the book, that the ways that Amelia is viewed and treated by people are also incredibly difficult as a black, queer woman. 

I thought the relationship with Brian was so cute, and I felt like Charlie's insecurities about their relationship felt very real and sweet. I also like that Brian is Korean, as the default in a lot of YA when writing interracial relationships is normally to have one character be white. 

The book was slow in the first half, and very hard for me to get into. Amelia's relationship with Sid felt like it added nothing to the plot, and even while the story of Charlie being used by the cute jock (don't remember his name) is necessary for the reader to understand some of Charlie's hurt in the conflict she has at the end of the book, the build up is boring when the reader can clearly guess what is going to happen. The dialogue in this book is really stilted and awkward, and really feels like you're reading a book, not listening to conversations. I felt like it got better near the end of the book, perhaps because the author improved while writing, or perhaps because I cared more about all the relationships of the characters so I could stand the often robotic tone of their speech better. 

Mostly though, I really enjoyed this book, and am really excited to read Madonado's books in the future.

olivia musick

4.75/5

only knock off a few points just because it was a little slow in the beginning but other than that, perfecto!

Steph L 

I hit send so soon so the review I was in the middle of didn't save. This is the mixture of light and fun and heavy that I look for when I read a YA Contemporary. A New favorite and def a top 10 read of the year so far! One star for the characters in this book because they were a combination of raw and fun. One star for the plot- at first glance, the plot to this book might seem like it's your basic run-of-the-mill YA novel, the more you read, the more the plot unfolds, and I didn't want to stop reading. One star for the writing. The writing of this book was well done, and it really helps tell the narrative. One star for the romance. There are two romances in this book, one main romance, and a side romance and they were both so cute. One last star for personal enjoyment. I had so much fun with this book and I could not stop smiling while reading.

Debbi

5 💫 — I love this book very, very much. I’m not too sure about the writing as it felt like I was reading someone’s diary. The sentences were super long as well. But I love the plot and the characters. Charlie and Brian are really, really cute together. This is definitely one of my favorite books now.

I’m going to preface this by saying this was a book picked out by my book club and not one I would’ve chosen for myself and I have mixed emotions about this book.  It is a coming of age book in the YA genre.

Pros:  It was well written and engaging.  It addresses several issues teenagers deal with in high school but I especially appreciated the perspective of a “fat, brown girl” who not only has to face society’s stereotypes but the inner insecurities.  I loved how she embraces her true self and love and appreciates who she really is.  I loved how it showed the struggles between a teen girl and her mother.  The author did a great job drawing you in and have compassion and understanding for the main character.

Cons:  All the things that made this an emotional read was let unfinished.  All of a sudden the mom’s relationship is better but there was nothing to cause this resolution.  It was left unfinished.  I also feel as a YA book targeting high school age, there was way to much graphic language.  A great writer can convey emotion and meaning without this unnecessary language.

Trigger warnings:  strong language and sexual content

Barbara Williford

I’m going to preface this by saying this was a book picked out by my book club and not one I would’ve chosen for myself and I have mixed emotions about this book.  It is a coming of age book in the YA genre.

Pros:  It was well written and engaging.  It addresses several issues teenagers deal with in high school but I especially appreciated the perspective of a “fat, brown girl” who not only has to face society’s stereotypes but the inner insecurities.  I loved how she embraces her true self and love and appreciates who she really is.  I loved how it showed the struggles between a teen girl and her mother.  The author did a great job drawing you in and have compassion and understanding for the main character.

Cons:  All the things that made this an emotional read was let unfinished.  All of a sudden the mom’s relationship is better but there was nothing to cause this resolution.  It was left unfinished.  I also feel as a YA book targeting high school age, there was way to much graphic language.  A great writer can convey emotion and meaning without this unnecessary language.

Trigger warnings:  strong language and sexual content



Pauline J

4.5 ⭐️

pls check back tomorrow for the review bc my brain is fried 🤪

-----UPDATE-----

THIS BOOK IS SO SWEET!!

a great book not only for body positivity, but also for the internal struggle girls face--Charlie often compares herself to her best friend, Amelia, because they're two different sizes. Charlie is plus-size and Amelia is on the skinnier side. Amelia gets all of the attention and Charlie feels like she blends into the wall. Amelia is popular and has a ton of friends while Charlie's the one who gets pointed at and bullied.

I absolutely LOVEDDDD the representation here!! and the book overall read quickly and it was so sweet and touching and light despite what it covered. She has a difficult relationship with her mom, which I feel like almost everyone has gone through at some point (I definitely have), and it certainly doesn't help that her mom pushes this idea of how being skinny will solve all of Charlie's problems. Charlie nips that shit in the bud and I love it.

this reads very YA--there's romance here (Brian is the SWEETEST) and just a lot of great messages for young girls overall.

Some of the writing was a hit-or-miss for me; this has a lot of modern references, which I don't tend to gravitate towards.

Do you need to read this? YES GO GO GO

Nicole Sargent-Carberry

Tatiana Alvarez 

I was so invested in Charlie’s story. You don’t get a latinx, fat protagonist often and I knew I had to devour this book. Charlie is me. I am Charlie. So many feelings in this book. 

I hate the trope that is in so many Latinx stories of the mother and daughter not getting along. It’s over done and hurtful. However, I didn’t really mind it that much in this book. Charlie’s mother was awful! So freaking awful. But I couldn’t help but relate to that relationship to a certain degree. 

I also understood Charlie’s intense insecurity, to the point she had to even break up with her boyfriend because he asked out her best friend a year prior. I just didn’t like how unfair she was being to Bryan. 

All in all, I highly recommend this book.

Liz Whitehead

I love this book and wish that I could have read it in high school!! My biggest issue was that the major climax plot point is revealed in the synopsis?? Why would they do that? I felt like i was just waiting the whole book for the Brian reveal so when it did happen (much later than I was expecting) it didn’t feel as big of a moment. I didn’t feel caught off guard like Charlie did. Did I still feel so much for Charlie? Absolutely. But it was anticlimactic. This is nothing at all against the book this is for the people who wrote the synopsis.

Rebeka Scherman

Such an empowering story! Charlie was the perfect heroine , not only funny, quirky, relatable, honest to the core, but prowing that the way you look, how your body looks, is NOT the measure of your happiness! I wish I'd had this book when I was younger and have been at a very dark place with my body image.
 Every👏🏻 body👏🏻is👏🏻beautiful! 

Qaisarah Kamal Fariz

i wasnt expecting to like this as much as i did but it was such a sweet and enjoyable read. not boring at all, the author's writing made it easy to fall into the words and setting.
i thought this was gonna be like Love Is a Revolution because it has the same fat-girl-who-likes-a-boy-and-struggles-with-loving-herself pl0t but Love Is a Revolution was kinda slow and boring for me but this book was so good!!
- the characters were so nice like the dialogue was always so comforting <3
- the only person i dindt like was the mom, she was literally so infuriating but thats how her character was meant to be so ig thats expected lol

the only other thing i kind of didnt like was that in the blurb it talked about how she learns that her bf, brian, originally asked out her perfect bff so she feels awful bc shes always the second pick. i knew that was coming because i read the blurb first, and i was anticipating it to happen around the middle of the book. i was nearing the end and i was a little confused and i thought that i read the blurb wrong, but eventually it happened. i just thought it was really late in the book and it made me kind of mad because charlie and brian were SO perfect for each other and then AMELIA has to come in and ruin it when the relationship was going great and i thought they were just gonna wrap up the book and call it happily ever after. 

but i still give it 5 stars i enjoyed it so much :)

Jennifer

I don't usually read the contemporary genre but I found Far Chance, Charlie Vega quite an uplifting read that tackles heavy topics revolving internalised bigotry (e.g. fatphobia and racism) through an authentic narrative. 

I found the main character Charlie emotionally engaging and sincere. Charlie's experience of being a plus-sized girl speaks volume of the difficulties many women face in everyday life, given the society's unrealisic beauty standards and the internalised fatphobia. It's heartbreaking and disheartening how much the internalised bigotry affects the emotional and mental wellbeing of the affected groups. Charlie's narrative portrays such experience in a realistic lens: she struggles with insecurities and the feeling of being "not good enough", through the social comparison between her best friend, her mom, and Brian.

I think the most heartwarming aspect of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is Charlie's journey of self-acceptance and self-love. The events throughout the novel taught her both how much insecurity clouds her best judgements as well as her coming in terms of loving herself (her body, her personality, and her heritage). Similarly, the narratives of the support characters (e.g. Charlie's best friend) shows us that a lot of struggles are hidden and many of us going through a lot in our lives. Through opening up, there's a strong streak of found family trope that bond the characters together.

While I found the central messaging to be very touching, I think the writing has some rooms for improvement. Pacing-wise, I think the romance was a bit fast and I feel like Brian as a character could had been better fleshed out at the start. As for the plots, I think some of the scenes are overly dramatic and didn't really add a lot to Charlie's character development. 

Barring the plot and pacing issues, I nevertheless found Fat Chance, Charlie Vega/i> an emotionally engaging and touching read.

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: racism, fatphobia, and emotional abuse

(3.5 stars out of 5)

Caitlyn DeRouin

Read the full review here: https://teatimelit.com/2021/02/10/blo...

From the second I started Fat Chance, Charlie Vega and saw that in her dedication, author Crystal Maldonado wrote, “to every Fat brown girl out there – I see you”, I knew that this book would be special to me. I found Fat Chance, Charlie Vega incredibly moving. In fact, 5 pages in I sent a text to Mary and Cossette that simply said, “Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is already making me very emotional and I’m like 5 pages in”

Charlie Vega is a character that feels so real to me. I see some of myself in her; I see bits of people that I’ve known in her. Because of that, I felt an immediate connection to her. Though there were times where I didn’t agree with her choices, I still understood how she got there. I’ve felt some of those fears before. I’ve had some of those thoughts before. She simply made sense to me, and I loved that. She felt relatable and honest and real and because of those things, I found myself fully immersed in her story.

While there is a romantic storyline (Brian is precious and I love him), the real focus was on Charlie and her journey of self-discovery and learning to love herself. It was a continuous battle for her, as it is for any of us, and I loved to see how she grew throughout the story.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega was the book that I needed as a teenager. It’s not easy being a fat/plus-sized girl in the society we live in. We so rarely see ourselves represented in a positive light or in a way that is not the butt of the joke. Media that paints us in a good light was and is still few and far between. While I wish I had this book when I was younger, I’m so glad that it exists now and that Crystal Maldonado wrote this story and this character to remind girls (and boys) everywhere that they are beautiful no matter what their size.

ash (smokedshelves)

um, wow. all i can really say is so much of charlie’s experiences hit close to home. i absolutely adored this story.

Victoria Hernandez 

In all my 26 years of life; I have never felt  more seen. 

Anna Wilson

What I liked about this book was actually hearing from a fat main character and hearing her struggles but also how she accepted and loved herself no matter what her mom or anyone else had to say about her. I think that’s needed more in books! 

My biggest complaint is characters were only there whenever they directly related to Charlie. What I mean by this is we get lots of Charlie & Amelia, but as soon as Bryan comes into the picture, we NEVER hear about her until there’s a fight. I felt this way with her mom & cousins too. They were only in the picture when they were needed to move the plot along (does that even make since?)

I will absolutely read more from this author, I just wish this book went in a different direction

Alejandra Bran

This story talks about body positivity, grieving, friendship and family dynamics, it also has diverse characters and a bit of Latin culture in the mix.

There were many things I liked and disliked about this book. 

 I liked how Charlie struggles with her body image felt so real. I myself struggle with my own it’s like a roller coaster some days we feel so powerful and sexy and some others we don’t want to even look at ourselves in anything that reflects. 

What I was a little upset for was the mother/daughter issues on the story not because I usually get annoyed when parents are so selfish. As well as how Charlie victimized herself in some situations, I don’t know if I’m been too harsh but I can definitely say the author captured all the teenager angst I used have when I was younger too.

Super quick read, with a great message and a sweet romance.

Leelynn Brady

Full review and others on my blog  Sometimes Leelynn Reads 

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Crystal Maldonado, Edelweiss, and Holiday House for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I don’t understand why it’s been taking me forever to sit down and write this review! As I was reading this novel, I would take a lot of breaks to really reflect on how much Charlie’s experiences mirror my own. It was actually pretty emotional for the majority of reading it.

Chelsea White

3.5 stars, rounded up
This book is definitely YA, and that’s honestly a great thing. As a fat woman, seeing younger folks get this kind of nuanced, lovingly written representation is incredible. I’m so beyond happy that more and more people are getting to see themselves in books.
Charlie’s mom is... whew. I see a lot of my mom in her, down to Charlie thinking her mom prefers Amelia because she’s skinny. This is something that I have also felt about my mom (but insert my siblings for Amelia). The conversations they had during the “down” point of the book made me sob. It was therapeutic to read, honestly.
Brian is obviously an ideal romantic protagonist, whew did Charlie get lucky!
Overall a cute book, it did feel a little childish at times, but it’s also a YA book!!! I’d be more concerned if it DIDN’T feel childish, you know? Too many YA books nowadays are written for adults when we should never be the target audience!! If you’re an adult and read YA but get mad at how childish it is... read a modern romance book HONESTLY.

Sarah Williams

😭😭😭 full review to come once I stop weeping.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

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