this book was very whitty and charming. i really appreciate the body positivity that this book brings. i didn’t really connect with the characters but i did like them. i do wish the book was a little longer though. a great coming of age book.

My Rating: 3.5
A plus-sized witch escapes the demands of her intense mother, taking a road trip to discover self-acceptance and where her true magic lies.
Thank you Sword and Rose Press for providing an e-book copy through NetGalley.

Synopsis:
When sixteen-year-old Thrash accidentally breaks a mirror with her mind, unleashing her knack for magic, she is hesitant about her future. On the one hand, being a witch is awesome in the Thirteen Magical States of America. Thrash can’t wait to receive one of the three sacred Gifts - Growth, Sight, or Glamour - and become an official witch. On the other hand, mothers choose the Gifts, and her mother has strong opinions about Thrash’s life. Osmarra, a Glamour witch, is obsessed with appearances, enchanting her skin, her house, and all her surroundings to be the most appealing to all. And her daughter Thrash is, well, the opposite. She is plus-sized and refuses to hide any imperfections, causing her and her mother to constantly clash. So when Osmarra presents Thrash the Gift of Glamour despite her protests, she decides to escape instead. The Lunes, a trio of cool witches, offer to drive Thrash across the country to New Salem University where they will steal their Gifts instead of conforming. As the four speed across freeways and escape bounty hunters and Osmarra, the girls discover a secret about the Gifts that can change the world forever. Thrash has to decide how to handle her mother and the world’s expectations of her through new bonds, understanding, and self-acceptance.

What I Liked:
This was a fun road trip story featuring body positivity, new friendships, and fighting for your own type of magic. The world of the Thirteen States of America is intriguing and a fun spin on the alternative-world trope. It’s fun to watch the four witches learn about each other and themselves as they encounter magical haunts and bewitched tourist traps, and also how each deals with complicated family issues. The antagonistic dynamic between Osmarra and Thrash drives the plot forward, creating natural inner turmoil in our main character and struggles that many children of “perfect” parents can understand. Overall, Fat Witch Summer is a light-hearted and enjoyable summer read, perfect for beaches, vacations, and, of course, road trips.

What I Didn’t Like:
Some parts in the middle could get boring at times, either because the scenes were too drawn out or I wasn’t connecting with any of the characters (this latter issue is more of a personal bias than a critique. I still like the characters as a whole). This made the book hard to get through sometimes.

Who Would I Recommend This To:
Teens who like body positivity, road trips, witches, mother-daughter drama, and fighting to be yourself.

Review Date: July 18, 2023

oh, what a fun read! I was excited to read a body-positive book, and the fact that it was an adventurous road trip with four young witches was a true bonus.
Theodora, better known as Thrash, is our Main Character. She is a plus-size teen who has just found out that she has magic (not everyone does), and will be given her Gift and go to a maglgical university. The hitch? Her mother will choose which of the three gifts she receives, and Thrash is convinced she will get the Gift of Glamour from her mother, who has the same. Thrash can't help but feel that her mother , Osmarra, wants her to have this particular gift so she can hide her size. but Thrash would prefer to receive the Gift of Sight, like her other mother Duna (who has passed on).
Thrash and some of her peers get together and plan to run off and steal the Gifts they choose for themselves, and this is the beginning of their road trip adventure.
How will Thrash manage with the popular girls in close proximity, with a shared goal?
this book is a great example of friendship, acceptance, and believing in yourself. I hope there are more adventures in store for this quartet.

Ever since I was little, I’ve been obsessed with witches. I’m now 33 and nothing has changed, except that I’m finally finding books with representation that fits me a fat girl. The book start off a little slow, but it definitely picked up. This book was the perfect balance of coming of age and self love. One of the reviewers called it across between Dumplin, the movie and the craft and they are definitely right.

I am definitely interested to see if there will be a follow up to this book. Thank you to net galley for the e-ARC.

Thrash is a plus-size teen who longs to be a witch with the gift of Sight, like her brilliant, eccentric mother who passed away. But her still-living mother, Osmarra, wants her to be like her with the gift of Glamour: beautiful, calm, controlled, elegant, complacently playing her role in the current world order. When Thrash accidentally breaks a mirror, it shows she is now ready for her gift to be chosen for her…
There’s a trio of three other witches in school, the most beautiful and popular, who each have their own problems too. They all decide to help each other by taking a road trip to the famous New Salem University, where they’re hoping to each decide their own fate and gifts. But their parents aren’t thrilled when the girls slip off into the night, and want to hunt them down and bring them back. Then a strange encounter with one girl’s sister who has rejected a life of magic and witches leaves them questioning everything they’ve been taught and thought they knew about the world of magic and witches, wands and powers. Unsure what to do, they’ll meet a crossroads that could change everything.
An interesting teen fantasy fiction about questioning the rules that govern, choosing what’s best for yourself, independence, and celebrating what makes a person unique.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Thomas Nelson and Net Galley. All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the publisher or its affiliates or the author.

What a magical story! I loved following these characters as they journeyed toward their futures, fighting against the system and finding themselves along the way. A true found family adventure!

This was a quick and fun summer read. I enjoyed the world building and how magic worked in it. It’s a decent YA novel that does give body acceptance to plus size people.

This was a perfect summer witch story! I loved everything about this book-humor, friendship, discovery, magic-all of it!

This little book made my heart happy. It was lovely to see so much solid, positive representation. As a self described fat woman it is genuinely refreshing to see fatness portrayed in a healthy, positive way. Additionally, the characters are delightful and the world which Lizzy Ives built is alive and enjoyable to read about.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest, fair review.

Going into this book, I was excited to read about an unabashedly body positive fat witch and the fun adventures of her summer. I can connect to Thrash in some of those ways—I was a plus size teenager that just wanted to feel comfortable in her body. And so, I was excited to read it.

As for things it did well: I loved the friendship dynamics and the progression of Trash’s relationship with her mother, especially at the end. It was rather believable how they worked together and I can really resonate with how their friendship formed. When I was in high school, I was somewhat lonely until my little coven (the choir kids) scooped me up and claimed me as their own. I know this could be relatable to a lot of high schoolers.

I was also interested in the magic system. At first, I wondered why there were only three types of magic and why those specifically, but as the story unfurled, it made more sense.

As for things it didn’t do so well: the story definitely did deliver on a fun summer trip (though definitely written for young adults), I think it absolutely did not as a happy-go-lucky fat witch story. While, yes, Trash did stand up for herself and often question people who were cruel and looked down on her because of her size, she frequently did the same thing to herself. To me, there was a lot of internalized fatphobia that kind of made the title moot.

Also, and I know this is nit-picky, but the -rix at the end of every single job title made it hard to read, and at times, understand. I get it. I do. But it annoyed me.

Is it a cute story? Yes. Will it be something I recommend? Yes. But I don’t think the title really sums up what the story’s actually about: friendship and breaking through barriers that hold you back.

Thank you to Sword Rose Press and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book did not disappoint! I’ve heard it described as Dumplin meets The Craft and I’d say that’s an accurate assessment.

In Fat Witch Summer, our main character, Thrash 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 as her, but Thrash is happy and proud being her plus-sized, 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 adventurous road trip/coming-of-age story offers a different take on witchcraft, with a tradition that focuses on three critical Gifts (Glamour, Growth, and Sight) as opposed to the natural witchy gifts. This book is able to blend a fun adventure and vibrant, diverse characters with more serious issues. I appreciated that the book didn't focus solely on Thrash: each of her friends (Cresca, Saki, and Emerald) had backgrounds and personalities, and goals. That made them a more believable team.

I was also impressed with the plus-sized representation. The plus-sized character was body positive but still had some insecurities which made them that much more relatable because I feel that is a universal struggle. I’m happy to live in a world where books like this are available. I wish I would have had such a book in my teen years.

DNF at 50%. The premise of this book was really interesting, and I really tried to push through, but at times I found it really slow, and I did not really connect with any of the characters at a deep level. I was interested to find out what happens at the end, but the middle part did not provide enough motivation for me to finish. To be fair, this is a young adult book, so it also may be that I’m not the intended audience. The witchy aspect is fun, and I could see where this might be more compelling for a teen audience. Going for two stars to acknowledge that, while I personally did not finish the book, it would probably hit different for a younger audience.

Dnf at 52%
I tried so hard to read this but it’s just so boring! It’s half way through but they are still running away with same thoughts again and again. It felt repetitive so I dropped it.

This book was such a fun concept! I loved how the tees magic appeared to them in knacks and how it was different for every witch. This was the perfect found family with each teen dealing with different backgrounds and issues and them coming together in the end. Even though Thrash didn't think she belonged with the lunes, they ended up saving each other so many times!

Fat Witch Summer is one of those books I desperately wish had been written 15-20 years ago, because it's the kind of book I needed as a teenager.

It's so positive and joyful, while also being a rollicking adventure and alternate-history examination of the United States. I appreciated the ways Izzy Ives found to make this book reflect modern America in her own world. I truly enjoyed Thrash and the rest of the Lunes as characters; they are messy, realistic teens that I wish had been MY friends back in high school.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sword & Rose Press for the opportunity to read the ebook ARC. All opinions are, for better or worse, mine alone.

BOOK REVIEW 📚Fat Witch Summer by Lizzy Ives
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to Sword and Rose Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this eARC for review 💗

Thrash (or Theodora Blumfield-Wright as her mother named her) has parent issues. With dyed hair and a thicc body, she isn’t living up to the reputation of her influential Protectrix witch mother, Osmarra. Thrash is looking down the barrel of a long, tedious summer vacation when she suddenly manifests a ‘knack’- a magical talent (by breaking a mirror of all things!).
Suddenly, her future looks brighter! Thrash will receive one of three gifts- Glamour, Growth or Sight- to help strengthen her magic and, for some reason, three of the popular girls, sassy Cresca, half- mermaid Emerald and winsome Saki seem interested in being… friends?!
But critical Osmarra refuses to grant Thrash the gift of Sight and their rocky relationship goes from bad to worse.
When Cresca hatches a plan to break into New Salem University, steal Gifts and choose for themselves, a nervous but determined Thrash jumps on board.
Making their way through the 13 states, the girls combat bounty hunters, low blood sugar and Emeralds need for salt water soaks AND have to stay ahead of Thrash’s mother who throws her political weight into the hunt for the 4 young women. On their journey, however, the girls discover that there is more at stake here than just their own futures and they will soon need to make choices both dangerous and life-changing.

I immediately related to Thrash, as a fellow bookworm, and colourful haired lady 😆 I wasn’t sold on this storyline, it seemed at first like the typical coming-of-age story. However, the introduction of so many whimsical, witchy elements made it a pleasure. From enchanted book carts, mer princes and voicemail recording crystals, this book had me in thrall. Add to this the characters of the “the Lunes“ and their inside jokes and banter, and you have a five star read on your hands. This book includes some touchy subject matter like parental control, body dysmorphia, and diet control and anxiety, but also addresses social issues with LGBTQIA + representation and body positivity.
I love that this book would appeal to so many age demographics, and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This review will be posted on Goodreads, as well as may be included in reels on Instagram @tinydragonbooks (once a physical copy is obtained)

Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Fat Witch Summer by Lizzy Ives was a delightful read. The main cast of characters were really interesting, I loved discovering their motivations for their trip and seeing their bond form and grow.
I really liked the complex nature of the mother-daughter relationship between Thrash and Osmarra, it felt very realistic and relatable!

This was a very enjoyable YA read! I think its relatability and cosy magical vibes will prove popular!
4 stars!

Really enjoyed this coming of age story of friendship, self discovery and magic.
The magic system was so unique, interesting and very well developed.
Overall very fun read with a strong message of body positivity and acceptance of who people are.

How does one review a book that has it all? I went into this expecting friendship, summer vibes, magic, and body positivity, but it was all that and so much more! From representation of anxiety, to tackling issues like colonisation and repression, death of a family member, gay and NB rep, self-doubt to self-belief and building each other up, to humor and beautiful relationships. It was a breezy read, made me laugh often, and had me hooked from start to finish. I would quite honestly recommend this book to everyone I know!

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend