Big Boned is a story about healing, complex relationships with parents, nurturing, and first love.

Lori Palmer has overcome a lot of things in life, yet she’s her own worst enemy. You will follow her on her journey to become her own best friend, and learn to love herself for who she is. You’ll root for her from the moment you first meet her until you finish her story. This is such a great book and highly recommended reading for anyone.

Big thanks to Jo Watson, Wattpad Books, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publish date: September 21, 2021

#BigBoned #NetGalley

CW : anxiety, autism, bullying, depression, underage drinking, fatphobia, mention of infidelity, divorce

"Neurodiversity is the next step in the evolution of the humain brain. That neurodiverse brains actually have a competitive edge [...] The idea that Zac's autism was some kind of mistake had never sat right with me."

"My body is a work of art." 👏👏👏

I had a hard time getting into this book at first, as the eARC had some formating issues, making it hard to follow along. For some reason, I thought the MC would be embracing her curves, but I probably mixed up the synopsis with another book 😅 But then I read the author's note on Goodreads, and I decided to push through.

HIGHLIGHTS :

• The topic of (internalized or not) fatphobia is explored.

• I really appreciated the character development (maturity and artistic sides especially)

• Neurodiversity rep and a beautiful relationship between siblings

• A diverse cast of side characters, with unique aspirations

I'm glad I continued this book after my initial reservations, since I ended up really enjoying it. I do think this story could appeal to a lot of people, but in a younger YA audience : it's a quick and easy read, with such an important message.

Big Boned
By Jo Watson

This book could have been really good. We follow Lori who is an artist. She has moved to a new beach town that is much different from her life in the city. Her parents are recently divorced, and her mother is spiraling out of control, which leaves her the main caregiver for her autistic brother. Lori herself suffers from severe anxiety. We follow her as she meets a boy who accepts her for who she is, and she finds her own voice with her art and the ability to stand up for herself. That is a good book, and that is a book I would have really enjoyed reading.
Unfortunately, Lori has a bigger body.While this story is one that could and does happen to people in bigger bodies, her body was used as a plot point to cause her pain. There was so much traumatic bullying and self hatred that I don’t think this book is safe for fat people to read. A reader can not be expected to spend an entire book immersed in self hatred and bullying and not sit with that negativity long after, even if it was all magically fixed by the end. This is a YA book, aimed at minors who are just trying to find their own way. This only further increases fat stigma. I am aware that this is not the point that Watson was trying to make. I think she was trying to convey that even after all of this pain, something beautiful can come of it. It is a beautiful point, and the way she writes this message in the waning pages of the book is well done and inspiring. Sadly, I think that it is overshadowed by the immense and traumatic bullying that dominated the rest of the book. The reader has already been forced to hold space for trauma and ruminate upon trauma for 80 percent of the book; a beautiful happy ending doesn’t heal the trauma inflicted and in many cases reinflicted upon the reader.
So while this is my opinion, and I’m sure others will disagree, I think this style of writing, particularly when targeting younger audiences is irresponsible. It doesn’t do enough to fight against the stigma that people in fat bodies already face, and it really ran the gamut of fat issues, from graphic talk about fetishization to an actual attempted murder. I feel the book would have been better served if her struggles with her body had been equal to all of the other struggles in her life. Self doubt and self hatred because of weight can be a part of someone’s story, but it dominated every other narrative to the point that the book was almost unreadable for me. If I had not been reading an advanced copy of this book for the express purpose of an honest review, I would have stopped reading it before I ever got to the happy ending.

Big Boned is a book about Lori Palmer, artist, fat girl, and new girl in town. Her parents are divorced and she recently has to move to a new city, her brother is autistic and she finds herself caring for him. Her anxiety is particularly bad after leaving everything she knows behind, and at this new school everyone seems skinny, pretty and popular. Especially Jake Jones-Evans. Lori has to learn how to navigate a new school, get into art school, all while managing the ways her mother is changing and her brother's autism.

This book has so much HEART to it. Lori is unhappy with her body, and that's all she can focus on, but there's so much she has to give. There's so much in this book that I really loved. Lori learning to love herself and her body, her navigating her family life after the divorce of her parents, and the romance was really lovely. I really liked the messages in this book, particularly the one of findings oneself and one's power. As a fat person myself, I recognized and empathized with a lot of Lori's struggles. It was nice to see myself represented in this way.

I also really liked the setting, having this book in South Africa was super interesting to me. I also loooooove the popular kid with the heart of gold falls in love with the nobody. And I loved the connection about special needs siblings.

One thing I disliked was the writing style. It was very tell and not show, so at certain times it was really clunky. Also there was a section at the end <spoiler> where Lori sees a guy in class and there's a hint that maybe he's a love interest, which just felt icky for me considering she was still with Jake. It felt a little icky to me that she would be considering that without even being single.</spoiler>

Other than those two things, this book is really beautiful and empowering. I think it could be really good for young fat girls, and I think younger me would have really enjoyed this book.

I feel conflicted on this one. It had a good overall message. I enjoyed that it was about a plus size girl. I liked how her and her crush bonded over their lives. I feel like this book tried to be too many things at once though and tackle too many subjects.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

BIG BONED is a book about finding your self-worth and realizing you don't need the opinions of others to validate you. I adored this book. Lori was a relatable character even if you don't consider yourself to be a "big" girl. Her parent's divorce is a big topic and so is her brother, Zac, who was diagnosed with Autism. I'm sure many people could see themselves in Lori - I know I could. My parents are also divorced and I understand how hard that can be for a young woman. Watson's quirky writing takes on the form of Netflix's NEVER HAVE I EVER and an old favorite LIZZIE MCGUIRE, which means girls and women my age would really enjoy this book.

My only concern is that the side-arch of Lori's accidental activism - when she uses her street paintings to make people pay attention - felt random? I understand why Lori did it; in those moments she felt she couldn't control what was happening and painting for her brings a sense of understanding and a way for her to work through her emotions. But that's not what the paintings ended up inspiring. Not to say what they were ultimately seen for - bringing awareness to gender-based crimes in South Africa - isn't something to talk about but it didn't feel like it fit in with the overall story. We don't know how Lori continued her activism once she got to her school in Paris.

Overall, a very funny and essential book for YA readers. Adults shouldn't sleep on this either.

This book was a 4/5 star read for me,i did enjoy
it and the way that the main character isn’t your stereotypical slim popular girl but rather a bigger and more realistic girl.

It also shows what goes on in her mind when it comes to her choosing what to wear and the way her body looks. I also loved the fact that Jake and Thembi along with her therapist help Lori to feel more comfortable in her own skin and helped her to love herself which shows major character development.

The way the issues are portrayed: anxiety attacks,autism,divorce,being fat etc are done really well and help you get a better understanding of these things and how others deal with them.

All in all I am very grateful for Net Galley for accepting my request for this arc in exchange for an honest review and I would definitely recommend this book.

"These things are amazing, they're designed to survive and regrow, no matter how they've been broken." With my whole heart I wish this book had been around when I was growing up. I grew up in the toxic competitive dance environment where you were praised and complimented more the skinnier you were, which led to a lot of eating disorders, confidence issues. and overall me hating myself growing up and it is still something that has carried into adulthood for me. So I really appreciate this book, as similar to Lori there are times where I just hate my body. I think that this is something that is hard especially for a girl when we are in the generation where filters exist so there is a comparison to things that in reality aren't even real. The author hit the nail on the head with the issues this can have on a girls confidence and the negative toll it can take day to day. I adore the therapist, and Zac and thing they bring a lot of nurturing and substance to the story. I think that as females a lot of times we have this notion that the less space we take up the more feminine or attractive we are, so I am so glad that authors such as Jo are writing books that can help girls embrace their bodies even if that means embracing a body that is outside "societies standards" I truly enjoyed Big Boned and think that it is more than just a fun read.

A fun YA read that seamlessly weaves in more complex and important themes. This book has a plus size heroine and includes representation related to therapy, complex family dynamics, autism, body bias and bullying. Well written and evenly paced by an OWNVoices author. A great message for readers of all ages.

BIG BONED follows plus sized Lori Palmer as she navigates life in Clifton, away from her homeland of Joburg, where she quickly realises she is far different from the perfect, chiseled, tanned bodies attending her new highschool.

Although it can be called a romance, this book is SO MUCH MORE than that, it highlights a number of issues, such as body-shaming, anxiety, bullying, struggles of having an autistic family member, even flawed relationships with one's parents, which only make the story all the more realistic because being a teen never comes easy - insecurities, familial struggles, pressures regarding the future, you name it! We've all been there or in my case, still stuck there 😂. So personally I admired a flawed, messy YA protagonist.

One of the things I best liked, about Lori as a character, is that she feels a lot, which is acutely represented in the book. Lori often let's her emotions do the talking, when hurt, angry or in love, she lets her art run wild, which even got her media coverage and eventually led to her realising the power her voice/her art holds.

The romance aspect of this story was strong, Jake was cute but the star of the show's got to be Lori's relationship with her younger brother, even her growing friendship with Thembi and the guys from back home. Also props to her amazing therapist (she almost reminded me of Stormy rain, anyone else?) and her plant analogies which even made it to the cover.

The ending, albeit a bit abrupt & confusing, felt somewhat satisfactory, as in I'm proud of Lori for choosing her passions & ambitions over a guy and even her own brother.

My only issue with this book is that, the gradual process of going from hating your body to being comfortable with it was almost instantaneous, with regard to this story. I did appreciate that, the cute words from her little brother triggered Lori to stop seeing herself using a skewed lense, but... you don't really go from mentally bullying yourself to advocating for your body within the span of two chapters, now do you?
With that being said, as much as I enjoyed a YA voice from Watson, I much prefer her adult books, but will read, right about anything she publishes next.

A big thanks to Wattpad books & Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book, which I voluntarily read & reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a lifelong fat person who never saw any positive representation in books or literally any media, I just KNEW I had to get my hands on this one. I spent a lovely day on the beach and read this whole book!

I liked how the main character went to therapy, communicated with her support network and eventually worked out her issues (but was still dealing with them in the end--not knowing your worth is not something that changes overnight!!) The book deals with TONS of serious issues including mental health issues, denial of self worth, inattentive parents, and having a sibling with a disability and I thought it was interesting to see the intersection and all of that was addressed in a healthy way.

The lovestory was cute, but it did feel like a side plot (which I was totally fine with)! I liked that this book was about the main charter loving herself.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and had fun reading it once I got into the story. I felt the beginning was a little slow, but it does pick up!! I also felt like the book was cheesy and predictable...and I LOVED that about it. This was cute and could definitely be a good read, especially for young people who are dealing with any/all of the issues addressed!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Jo Watson & Wattpad for the opportunity to read this!

This book will be published on September 21st!

"Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear" - I needed this book in middle and high school and yes even as an adult. I do not think I highlighted as many quotes in a book as I had with this one.

This is a story about a high schooler Lori who is moved from her home in Johannesburg to Capetown. Lori had to start over in her senior year, going from an art school to a sports filled world at Bay Water High where surfing and bodyboarding were activities. She immediately felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb and tried her best to hide. Lori's mother moved her and her brother Zac to Capetown because Zac is on the spectrum and the best school was located there. Lori's parents are divorced after her dad was found having an affair with a much younger co worker. The whole divorce has caused a strain on her relationship with her parents. Lori is the maternal figure in Zac's life. While picking up Zac at his school, Lori spots the hot, popular boy from her school Jake with the kids at the school. Turns out he not only volunteers there once a week but his sister goes there and has become friends with Zac. In Lori's head, there is no way she can have a crush on Jake because guys like Jake doesn't end up with girls like her. It's so obvious as a reader to see how Jake feels about Lori, but Lori herself doesn't see them herself and denies that there is no way he could be into her. This voice is in her head is present throughout most of the book and many times I wanted to shake her.

Lori grows up so much over the course of this book and really comes into her own by the end. I am so very proud of the woman she had become.

This is my first book set in South Africa and I loved the references to the country. It sounds absolutely beautiful and now I need to see the bioluminescent waves in my lifetime.

I also loved how open the talk about mental health and seeing a therapist was in this book. Lori wasn't embarrassed at the idea of going and knows that it helps her and it did in fact help her.

As I said in the beginning, I needed this book growing up and even as an adult it is a reminder to love your body. Love what has provided so much for you over the years. Stop bullying yourself and giving in to the voices in your head. Also I need to start buying succulents.

Wattpad typically has this stigma of having bad/cringey books but this book certainly did not dissapoint. It was a loveable story with a loveable main character. I read this book in one sitting and absolutely adored it.

Wow!!! I loved this story and the many elements that make for a compelling narrative where I fully empathize with the main character. There are many topics covered well throughout this novel, which include: mental health and body image struggles, neuroatypical representation, and family trauma. I was not expected this YA story to have such depth and meaningful moments feature the main character and I was not disappointed.

Big Boned features a plus-size young artist and high school senior, Lori Palmer who moves from a bustling city to a small coastal town that is better equipped to take care of her autistic brother. Lori sacrifices her entire life for the betterment of her younger brother Zac, which I found very moving. I loved their relationship and how you can clearly feel how much she cares and loves her little brother.

While getting used to her new school environment Lori feels utterly alone, invisible, and undeniably different because of her appearance. She has struggled with her bigger appearance for a long time and has experienced bullying in the past. I thought Lori's depiction of body image and anxiety struggles was honestly and realistically depicted.

Lori's entire perspective changes when she realizes her classmate, Jake who is a handsome water polo athlete also has a younger sibling on the spectrum and is neuroatypical. Lori is able to intimately connect and share her private thoughts and experiences with another person who does not judge and is able to see all the beauty and grace she has to offer.

My favorite aspect of this story was seeing Lori's relationship with Jake progress and seeing how sweet and earnest their interactions were. Another fun aspect was seeing Lori's art grow and change as she became more comfortable with herself.

Overall, this story pleasantly surprised me and I think it is a relevant story because of the many issues it tackles in a realistic and relatable manner. I loved reading Lori's growth and was so proud of her.

I wish I liked this one more. I think YA needs more fat protagonists and fat stories, but this one was altogether too simplistic. I know it's from Wattpad and I knew that going in, but it never really did anything to prove it should be taken more seriously.

Quick Summary: Lori moves from Joburg to Cape Town with her mother and brother after her parents get divorced. She had previously been going to art school and felt welcomed there as an artist, but going to normal high school brings stereotypical high school problems. As Lori works to overcome her poor self-image, stemming from her fatness and her anxiety, her life changes around her dramatically.

Pros: Autistic representation! Zac was a wonderful character and gave Lori the depth she needed. Loved the conversations about him being mostly positive/working to disrupt stereotypes.
Slight dip into the concept of body neutrality instead of body positivity; I wish there had been more because it seemed like Lori needed it.
Good conversation about anxiety, therapy, and medication.

Cons: Overly simplistic. Classic fanfiction high school where EVERYONE is beautiful and perfect and wonderful except the main character.
Jake is so NOT her type, but you know she's going to end up with him because this is fanfiction.
This novel was weirdly self-aware and it took away from the message. There was a line about how fat girls don't get the hot guy unless it's in a YA novel... Not a great message from a YA novel.

This book follows Lori as she navigates a new school while suffering from anxiety and feeling insecure about her weight and not knowing how she could fit in to her new picture perfect surroundings.

I absolutely LOVED Lori as a character and enjoyed her complexity. She doesn’t always say the right things or make the best choice but she learns from it. It takes time for her to unlearn her inner “bully”and I appreciate the author taking her time with this aspect. There is WONDERFUL representation for what a healthy professional therapeutic relationship should look like. My favorite parts of the book were Vicki and Lori’s sessions. The book also portrays the complicated feelings of having a sibling on the spectrum and Zac was another fully fleshed out part of the story. One last notable character was Jake—who I thought was just the sweetest for Lori😌

I wish the plot was more streamlined—it felt like it was going a few different ways all at once. That’s the only reason this isn’t 5 stars but so close!

Thank you NetGallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🌺

What happens when we adopt the one-size-fits-all mentality that has been expected of society for far too long? Jo Watson has taken this question and answered it in a very cute way with Big Boned.

Lori has always felt different. She never looked like the popular girls and growing up , she learned early that kids can be cruel, driving her to an Art school where she thrived until her mom decides to uproot her and her brother and move outside the city forcing Lori to enter a new school, one where everyone and everything seems perfect, Well, everything except Lori herself that is.

With sharp wit and beautifully crafted prose, Big Boned addresses many difficult themes, shattering stereotypes with her multidimensional characters and expertly crafted, highly relatable metaphors woven throughout the story this is an adorable rom-com perfect for teens.

It did take me a bit to get in to the story but once I did I was hooked. This is the type of YA novel I wish I had had available to me when I was a pre-teen, and one that I will be sure to put on my daughters shelf as soon as possible. I highly recommend this for anyone above the age of 12 or so.

Don't miss the opportunity to experience the magic this gem has to offer us and our children!

Thank you to netgalley, publishers, and Jo Watson for providing an advanced e-copy for me to read and share my honest opinion.

I adore this book. As a plus-size person, I identified with so many of the main character’s experiences and her emotions - I hope to see more books like this!

Lori Palmer has a lot on her plate - her parents are divorced, she spends a lot of time looking after her autistic brother, she had to move away from her hometown and her beloved art school. There's a lot going on in this novel but it's never heavy handed - body positivity, therapy, finding your voice, being part of a family, self-acceptance. Lori is relatable and lovable. I enjoyed the setting of South Africa which is something you don't see a lot.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for a review.

I see what the author wanted to do and I appreciated a lot of it. However, there were some parts that took me out of the reading experience. The jokes really felt like the author attempted to utilise whatever references to our own world with tiktok for example. It did read like a fan fiction at some point but it's being published by Wattpad Books so I don't know if that means it was a fan fiction at first. The dialogues felt forced and a bit cringe at times and I get that Lori is supposed to be this awkward teenager but I just didn't care for it.
I didn't care for Lori as much as I thought I would only because from the get go, she sorts of lie to the readers. She explicitly says to us that what she was saying was a lie so, from that point on, it really felt like she couldn't be trusted as a narrator. Plus, she was really mean at times especially towards her mother. I do get that she wasn't a great mom but my god, maybe Lori could try to understand what her mom went through and how traumatic that can be. It also pissed me off how judgemental Lori was towards people she had never talked to, judging them on their bodies while being bullied for this exact same reason and understanding how hurtful it can be. There was no need really for that kind of judgment especially from a young girl to other young girls
I did love that therapy representation because there's no shame in going as well as the representation in general. I do wish the author had went more in depth about the gender based violence as well as the racism in South Africa because it felt sort of glossed over and only really from Lori's perspective (the white girl who does so much but doesn't really listen to those affected by this). It would not had taken anything from the main plot, only really enhanced it. When her friend tells her that because he's a black man, he felt it was safer for him to not stand up to her principal, Lori barely said anything just a lame I'm sorry and then that was it! There was great potential for great conversations throughout the book that didn't really place Lori as the one doing the only thing that can bring an end to a terrible situation.