Thrash has what you might call a complicated relationship with her mum, Osmarra, a powerful witch with the gift of Glamour. And when Thrash’s Knack is revealed in an unfortunate library incident, it’s time for her to be given her gift, too. Thrash desperately wants the gift of Sight, like her other mom, but she knows Osmarra will want her to follow in her high heels and give her the gift of glamour. Enter The Lunes, popular and beautiful and all unhappy with their own gift situations too. Cue a chaotic cross-country road trip to NSU, a famous magical university, where they’re planning to break in and perform the ceremony to pick their own gifts.

But Thrash is travelling with more than one secret in the boot, and, after facing obstacle after obstacle and learning more about their unique Knacks, Thrash starts to wonder whether the gifts are all they’ve cracked up to be. And, after uncovering dark secrets about the very nature of the magical world they live in, there’s far more at stake now than just picking the wrong gift.

I enjoyed this story a lot. It wasn’t what I expected going in, but I largely enjoyed the surprises. The relationships between the main characters were wonderful, I fell in love with each of them in different ways, and the whole road trip premise really delivered and was super fun. So often in ‘road-trip’ books, the road trip is actually a really small portion of the story, but this one really delivered and spanned the majority of the book.

It did get a little bit repetitive in the middle, with the girls facing an obstacle, out-running it, coming up against another one, out-running it again etc., but I did enjoy how each obstacle raised the stakes a little bit further. Going in, I wasn’t expecting the stakes to grow to the heights they did, but I ended up loving the direction it took and all of the great metaphors and messages that arose through it all.

I was also expecting a little more on body image/body politics based on the title, and though it’s a part of the story, it ends up being quite a minor one after the beginning of the book. The ending did also feel a little anticlimactic. The tension was built really well throughout the whole book and then it felt like it wrapped up a) very quickly, and b) without quite delivering on what I felt like the tension had promised.

That being said, this was a well-written book with excellent characters, some really important messages, and a really interesting plot. I’ll be getting a copy for my library when it’s released, and I would recommend to anyone that likes fun, light fantasy with deeper metaphors going on under the surface, and anyone who doesn’t think they have it in them to be extraordinary. Take a lead from Thrash – don’t settle for anything, dream bigger than your world allows and then make it fit you, not the other way around.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. While the premise was interesting I didn’t connect with the characters or the story in a meaningful manner. Some books just aren’t for us, and that’s alright.

Fat Witch Summer is a fun and enjoyable read. I enjoyed tagging along with Thrash and her friends for their road trip across the 13 States. The characters are diverse and well-developed. This book touches on important themes while also delivering a fast paced and exciting plot. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a witchy and fun summer read. Four stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Sword and Rose Press for providing me with this ARC.

Oh no! 😔 I really wanted to love this book. The cover looks absolutely fantastic and the blurb sounded like such a good time.
I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the right headspace or something but I had a really hard time getting into this book.
Maybe it was the rather intensive world building for such a thin book or the magic system that I couldn’t connect to. The second half of the book fell totally flat for me although I now too really want to ride a bear 🐻😄

I hope other readers will enjoy this book more than I did and give it the praise I’m sure it deserves. 💞

Visit my Goodreads Profile to see the posted review there.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While I thought the premise and message was fantastic. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the book. Usually I'm a big fan of witchy books. But I didn't connect with this one.

This one was a wile ride. The casual representation of plus sized girls and disabled girls was something I loved and the message about colonizing was one that practically mirrored what I've learned about the United States in the last few years. The ending was a little too much "no consequences" for me but otherwise, I adored this one!

The book I needed when I was a curvy teen in an age when you had to be very think: Trash like her image, she likes what she sees in the mirror and it's a strong and positive character.
I liked it and it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Not for me personally as I found it a bit difficult to remain engaged and interested in the story. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read an ARC.

When a teenager appears to have signs of potentially becoming a witch [or a wizard?], their parents will be the ones to decide what “gift” their magical child would receive, there are three Gifts— Glamour, Growth, or Sight. When our main character "Thrash" who is a plus size girl got those signs, she immediately knew what her mother would choose for her; the gift of glamour, which is supposed to make her more fitting for the unfair beauty standards. "Thrash" finds it -rightfully- insulting, and with that her story of finding her own gift begins, Three girls who have similar fates to her follow her on the journey, and the four decide to not return without choosing their own destiny. Story about self acceptance, love, and friendships.

Sadly, this was a DNF for me. Couldn’t connect with the author writing style &humor, and I’m not sure It has any coherency. I have to admit that I’m not very familiar with heavy-fantasy stories (by heavy I mean simple focusing on &surrendering magic &fantasy elements), I really liked the message from what I read. It’s just that I don’t think I’m able to fathom magics nor making pictures of it in my head, so reading this was a bit difficult which unfortunately made the journey less enjoyable, not anyone’s fault, absolutely not, just me being unable to enjoy that much of magic.

Hate to say it, but I did not finish this book. It became so bland and boring that I did not even want to p[pick up my Kindle to read.

I dont like the tittle, why must put "Fat"? Then FMC name Thrash, what wrong with Theodora? Then steal "the gifts" rather than accept it from parents (it said parent who choose), runaway, causes problem. What a teenage rebel time. Anyway i enjoy author writing style, I glad Thrash finally get friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#fatwitchsummer #LizzyIves #SwordandRosePress #NetGalley #ARC

I really enjoyed this book, the perfect summer story of a friendship and self discovery! I really related to Thrash and loved seeing her journey of accepting herself and becoming more confident with who she was. It was an easy read and quick to get through

I received an e-copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Equal parts lighthearted and emotional, Fat Witch Summer is a beautiful story about friendship, figuring out who you are amidst a world that isn’t what you thought it was, and the impact our parents have on us (both positive and negative).

The plot is basically four sort-of friends (well, three of them are best friends - our main character starts off not knowing where she fits with them) going on a roadtrip across the country, getting into scrapes and learning to love each other - and themselves. What’s not to love? The plot was a huge success for me - it didn’t detract from any of the messages or characters and wasn’t too complicated to follow, but the little bits of foreshadowing and worldbuilding and scenery were excellent, not to mention the fact that I could follow along without being confused OR bored.

Speaking of the worldbuilding, can I just give the author a round of applause? It’s somewhere between urban fantasy and fantasy, not pretentious but not boring either. Many aspects of the history of the Thirteen States are based off the history of the United States, which… as someone who reads a lot in this genre, sometimes authors can’t execute this well, to put it mildly. Take EK Johnson’s Every Victorian Thing, for example. But this book wasn’t like that at all. Its subtle portrayal of subjects such as genocide and cultural appropriation and differences was evidently something that the author took seriously, despite this being in the background of the story and not a main theme. Which was amazing - it just goes to show that you can provide parallels between your world and the real world without being disrespectful, and do so in a subtle way that leaves the reader more empathetic and informed.

As someone who struggled with fatphobia from my family and friends when I was at about ‘middle school’ age, I would’ve absolutely loved to have a book like this then. And yet it resonated now, too. The main character being fat isn’t portrayed as a negative thing, their thoughts about their appearance are definitely relatable, and I love that they didn’t hate how they looked but hated how people reacted to them sometimes. It wasn’t the focus of the book but it was written about in a way that enhanced the story, unlike some stories that go, here, our main character is different in some way - and then don’t show how that affects them at all. Thrash’s conversation with Em and how empathic she was, because she’s been in similar situations? *Chefs kiss*. I would give this book to any kid I know who feels as if their appearance is inadequate in some way.

I also loved the casual rep - our main character has two mothers, her friend’s sister has a wife, and they run into a nonbinary character at one point too. At first I did think Creaca had a crush on Thrash but preferred that the story remained a narrative about these four girls and their friendship- each character was developed well and their voices all felt distinct. I loved each one of them and seeing their personal growth, which was written realistically and- for teenagers, they actually talked like teenagers. That was awesome.

5/5, 11/10, I absolutely loved this.

Thrash kinda dreads reaching the age where she will receive her witchy Gift: her mother Osmarra is a powerful Glamour witch who expects Thrash to embrace the same gift, but Thrash is perfectly happy being her fat, dyed-hair, rebellious self and would rather have a more useful Gift. An accidental mishap reveals that Thrash has a powerful natural magic, but instead of going through the Gift ceremony, she decides to join the Lunes, a trio of "cool" girls, on their road trip to claim their own Gifts instead.

This rollicking road-trip/coming-of-age story offers a different take on witchcraft, with a tradition that focuses on three key Gifts (Glamour, Growth, and Sight) and elides the natural witchy gifts as well as the appropriation of various Indigenous traditions. So while there's a fun adventure and plenty of character development and drama in the book, it also addresses some more serious issues. I appreciated that the book didn't focus solely on Thrash: each of her companions (Cresca, Saki, and Emerald) had backgrounds and personalities and goals that deserved equal attention and made them a more believable team. An enjoyable read.

Thank you, Sword and Rose Press and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I love the never ending ways magic can be written. This was such a fun bad ass witchy book. Embracing yourself, leaning into your friends, standing up to your parents - starting a magical revolution. I hope there will be another book!

✨ I am OBSESSED! ✨

When I saw the first line of the description reading “Dumplin’ meets the Craft” I was instantly sold! The blurb did not disappoint and this was such a joy of a read!
Fat Witch Summer follows Thrash as she comes into her Magic, rejects the status quo and sets out on a road-trip that changes not only her life, but the Thirteen States forever! Full of friendship, adventure, badassery, a sassy talking familiar, body positivity, magic and revolution - this paranormal coming of age YA Fantasy is a must read!

Pick up Fat Witch Summer by Lizzy Ives when it hits shelves June 13, 2023!

Thank you so much to Sword & Rose Press for the advanced copy!

Thank you, NetGalley and Sword & Rose Press!
I was unbelievably excited to read the premise of this book. Body positivity with witches and friendship? Sign me up! I think this is a fantastic book, especially for young adults who are dealing with body issues and want to see themselves reflected in a fun story. This book focuses on friendships and how making these connections can be such a powerful and amazing thing. Each girl in the story has their own struggles to overcome, and the friendship and kindness that they found within this group is just wonderful.

This is a coming of age story focused around Thrash, a teenage witch who is about to receive her gift (a specific type of magic) from her mom. However, she wants nothing to do with this gift, as she thinks her mom will be doing it just so Thrash can make herself prettier and skinnier. Enter the Lunes, 3 popular teenage girls who offer her a road trip to go steal the gifts of their choice from New Salem University. The Lunes, as popular as they are, also experience the pressure of their parents and their expectations and “wanting what is best” for them. However, Thrash’s mom and the law are hot on their tails which makes this feel much more like a high stakes car chase than a cozy road trip.

Even though this isn’t quite the cozy girl-bonding road trip I initially thought it would be, the themes of finding friends in unlikely places and learning everyone has their own doubts and dislikes no matter what they may seem we’re on point with this one. It was very exciting and the characters had really nicely developed arcs.

This book is supposed to be body positive, but I found all four of the girls had their own hang ups with themselves and it was more the other girls cheering each other on and not caring.

Overall a cute, quick read. Highly relatable to my teenage years and I enjoyed it even though I’m an adult.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is as great as the cover and title suggests its going to be, a body positive book about witches on a roadtrip?? Uhmmm yes please, I adored the character of Thrash, the world building is great too, my only complaint? Its too short, I need it longer..as in it never ends...ever! A fun YA paranormal book about self acceptance, I really enjoyed this and I feel its definitely a cosy comfort read

Fat Witch Summer by Lizzy Ives is the fat representation I have been waiting to read in a young adult fantasy book! Thrash is hands down one of my favorite characters ever written. She is confident, outspoken, thoughtful, and a force to be reckoned with. The friendship and connections made between the four main characters are so genuine and powerful. This book is thoughtful, fun, and filled with diverse and joyful characters. The plot is so imaginative- I don’t think I’ve read anything similar. Four witches on a road trip to discover their own unique power- just brilliant! I will be adding this book to my young adult course during speculative fiction week and recommending it to everyone! This book needs to be in school libraries and classrooms. It is such a fantastic fat representation that is needed for all our fat students!