
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado is a heartwarming coming-of-age story that delves into the complexities of relationships, body image, and self-acceptance. The plot follows Charlie, a high school junior who navigates her insecurities, family dynamics, and friendships while exploring the nuances of first love. The writing style is engaging, insightful, and balances themes of body positivity and personal growth with humor and emotional depth.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes such as fat-shaming, diet culture, and the death of a parent.
Has Romance?
The book features a moderate presence of romance, focusing on Charlie's relationship with Brian as a subplot among other themes.
From The Publisher:
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 painfully honest 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.
A New England Book Award Winner
A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year
An NPR 'Book We Love!'
Ratings (1)
Liked It (1) |
Reader Stats (3):
Read It (1) | |
Want To Read (2) |
1 comment(s)
Oh boy, after several books without much to say, this one finally opened the floodgates.
I listened to the audiobook on a whim because even though I don't read a lot of YA, I was drawn in by the premise and adorable cover art. At first, I was reminded why I don't love YA -- there was a lot of the social commentary common in the genre these days, and it was a little lacking in depth, but I was in it for the cozy vibes and Charlie's journey to self-acceptance. Why do we need all the social commentary? Give me the story and let me come to my own conclusions.
This book presented one of the most frustrating characters I've ever encountered: Charlie's mom. Boy, did this woman drive me up a wall. While Charlie was waaaaaayyyyyy too hard on herself, with the mom she had, things honestly could have been a lot worse. Charlie's mom gaslit her, belittled her, and generally took no accountability for her own actions, instead labeling Charlie as "disrespectful."
I was hoping for redemption for Charlie: To stand up for herself. There was somewhat of a catharsis on that level, but not enough to really experience the kind of change I wanted for them both. Oh well.
Charlie's best friend Amelia was easily the stand-out of this book. Amelia was the kind of friend we all deserve: supportive, nonjudgmental, and able to apologize and adapt when she's done wrong. I was glad to see Charlie have such a wonderful support system in Amelia, and their friendship was easily one of my favorite things about the book. Charlie's extended family was great, too.
Despite the social commentary every few pages (which felt like a 2020 version of an afterschool special), I got into a good flow through the first 3/4 of the book, but around the 75% mark, things took a turn for the complicated. At last, Charlie ends up with Brian, and despite having built up her confidence, she suddenly turns into a puddle of mush who finds self-worth in having someone adore her. I was conflicted here: Part of me was like, I get it, I've been 16 before, and another part of me was like, wow, this is a messy message for anyone who doesn't have the perspective to see it for what it is. It reminded me of one of the worst parts of youth: seeking external validation.
The ending dragged on for far too long -- the conflict should've been nearly wrapped up by the time Charlie and Brian got together, but it felt like we went back to the drawing board toward the end. Most of the conflict could've been wrapped up with a few conversations -- I get it, not easy when you're young. But dragging it out for far longer than it needed to be felt melodramatic.
Overall, I enjoyed the majority of the book. If the ending had been wrapped up more neatly (and with Charlie standing up for herself), I would've rated this higher.
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.