I've been in a bit of a reading slump but this book has helped me a ton. It follows 4 people, Thrash, who doesn't really have a friend group in her new town, and 3 friends that are titled the Lunes (self-titled?). These girls all agree to go on an adventure to stake claim to their own magical destiny. In a world where parents decide their child's magical gift, these girls either can't go that route or don't want to.

I loved how each character, Thrash, Saki, Em, and Cresca were of different identities and abilities. Thrash is a plus-size character who was raised with two mothers, one who unfortunately passed away. Saki is someone who deals with anxiety despite being perceived as beautiful and sure of herself. Em deals with chronic pain and illness due to being half-mermaid and her parents are very overprotective of her. Cresca has a magic hating family and a complicated relationship with her sister.

The story follows the girls as they outrun a manhunt and go against the odds to decide their own destiny. So much is revealed about the society in which they live, and there is so much lore behind it all to explore. This is an adorable book about female friendship, queer and fat identities, disabilities, and so much more.

The only thing preventing me from rating it 5 stars is the fact that I wasn't always wow-ed with their decision making skills. But I mean they are teens. I'm super excited to see where this foursome goes next.

This book started off really slow for me, and if it hadn’t been an ARC I probably wouldn’t have kept going. The voice of the main character, Thrash, just wasn’t clicking with me. The magic system was kind of odd, and seemed flat and not interesting. Once I passed about 25% everything changed. Suddenly I was in love with the Lunes, the magic system began to flesh out, and I realized this book was more than it seemed. I am normally a DNFer by about 20%, but I am SO GLAD I kept going. The pace picked up, the characters became more lovable, and the intrigue commenced. I think the budding friendship between Thrash and the Lunes was my favorite part. They went from flat “popular girls” to fleshed out people with motivations and insecurities. If you’re looking for a cute witchy summer read, this is definitely a contender.

"Sixteen-year-old Thrash doesn’t enchant eyeliner over her lids or clear her acne with magic. She is plus-size, but she doesn’t hate what she sees in the mirror—that’s the realm of her mother, Osmarra, a slim and elegant Glamour witch. When Thrash unexpectedly breaks a mirror with her mind, she discovers she has a knack for magic and will receive one of the three sanctioned Gifts: Glamour, Growth, or Sight. The only problem is that mothers choose the Gifts, and Osmarra is convinced that the Gift of Glamour will fix her daughter’s looks."

Road trips and coming of age stories filled my own adolecent years, so I was looking forward to Fat Witch Summer. I was not disappointed, this was such a fun novel filled with friendship, mistakes, self acceptance, magic, and some Familiars with humor. I would really enjoy finding out more about the world that Thrash and her friends live in, the would bulding was so much larger than what this one novel can contain. What I really loved about this novel was a plus sized heroine, I didn't get to have any heroines who looked like me as a teen, so it's really a treat to find some now and know that the kids will be alright. Fat Witch Summer really did female friendships justice by switching view points and giving the reader insight into each character. Just because we think a person feels or thinks a certain way, doesn't mean they do. Insecurities get to all of us. Great book and I hope to see more in the future!

The cover? Stellar. The story? Even better. I was hooked from page 1 and could not put it down. This may become a staple in my comfort read rotation, as the book had me feeling like I was in the car with Thrash and her friends.
I loved the way Thrash began her journey of self-discovery, and the coming-of-age and self-love feelings were so visceral. I could read a whole series about Thrash and the Thirteen States, and I hope that Ives does continue sharing this joy. This book delivers on its promise of Dumplin’ meets The Craft, and I loved every minute. I read this while working on finals and it was the perfect stress relief for a high-stress week.

I received an ARC of this book from Sword & Rose Press through NetGalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thrash as a fat character is neat. She draws attention to her being fat, and she isn’t ashamed of it, exactly. She doesn’t like how she thinks people view her and tries to cover up with black clothes and coloring her hair bright magenta. But she doesn’t try to change how she looks fundamentally. Being fat annoys her, especially in the summer when it’s all about chub rub and sweat in uncomfy places. She’s very real for this. The Lunes are also very realistic, with real world problems and reactions. Their dialogue and bonding experiences are really well done.

The magic isn’t well explained until later and even then it feels kind of weak. Especially when it comes to the magical government. I don’t quite understand how it works, nor do I understand the ultimate conclusion of everything very well. It doesn’t seem like anything changed after the girls’ adventure.

There are no major romantic relationships here, which I appreciate. I half expected Thrash to fall for Cresca, or for a relationship to crop up amongst the Lunes. I’m glad it didn’t, though I feel like a few interactions could have led to something more. There was something bigger happening, in the form of healthy female bonding. It was kind of bonding by necessity, but it felt valid and real all the same.

Because of the magic system being a little confusing, and the government not really making sense to me, I downrated a tad. While I liked the characters, the setting just didn’t do it for me in a lot of ways. I need more of an explanation, rather than having all these terms like protectrix etc thrown at me without much of an explanation. For a moment, it felt like a scifi novel with all these new terms put in place with a little bit of context so I had to parse out the meaning on my own. These terms became less later, but I still had moments where I didn’t really know what was happening.

All in all, a fairy good read. Quick and some funny moments. I would recommend this book for some light beach reading and for people who enjoy female bonding and friendships, with a little magic thrown in.

Body positivity flows from the pages of this book. Alongside deep world building and a unique magic system that is easy to get lost in.
Fun characters, easy to read.

Fat Witch Summer was a fantastic summer road trip romp with a plus size main character. This is another book I wished I had when I was growing up as a fat teenager, going through issues with friend group dynamics. It's the representation I craved and am so glad future generations have access to. I rated Fat Witch Summer a 4 out of 5 only because I felt that it was lacking something in the way of romance. A ship between two of the girls was eluded to, but never expanded on. I related so much to Thrash. She lives with a parent who has exacting standards and feels like she can never please her. She also doesn't have any friends who she feels she can truly rely upon. All she wants is unconditional love, someone to love her for who she is, even if she's fat. If you feel this way, you need to read this book. The way the author allows all of the girls to bloom is truly uplifting. Plus there's an undercurrent of the backlash of colonialism, racism, and social unrest to keep everything super interesting.

The story follows Thrash, who is a young which just coming into her power. In the world of the Thirteen States, witches cover about 20% of the population and they live with the "typicals" out in the open. Similarly to the US as we know it, there have been revolutions and government creation that has shaped the country. The witches from across the pond in Europa colonoized the native land and enforced their ways. Witches magic manifests as a knack. .Thrash's manifests when she causes a mirror to explode after a weird conversation with Cresca, one of the girls in the magical clique known as the Lunes. Thrash is a plus size girl, who has been forced to take the Gift of Glamour from her mom, Osmarra, the Protectrix of her town (a kind of mayor/governor). Thrash has never felt that she lived up to exacting standards, and it only got worse after her Mum Duna, a gifted seer, lost her battle with cancer, leaving her in the care of Osmarra. Thrash teams up with the Lunes to travel across the country and take their Gifts into their own hands. Along the way they find out that nothing is as it seems, and everything they were taught about Gifts is a lie to make people comply. All of the girls grow into their own and realize things about themselves that they never would have if they didn't take this trip of their lives. You will absolutely need to read to find out what happens on this summer trip of a lifetime.

A fun, fantastic witchy adventure about being seen for who you know you truly are. I love the rich characters, the fast-paced plot, and the unique worldbuilding. Hell yes to more fat protagonists!

I received a free E-arc of this story from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE the title, the cover, and the premise of this book, HOWEVER, I really just did not vibe with the writing style at all :( ... I found there was so much magic from the start, but none of it was really explained well enough for me to understand what was going on. There were too many names, and too much unfamiliar terminology for me to enjoy this story, and I just didn't really connect with any of the characters. I really hope this story finds its audience, and though I usually love reading YA, I myself am not a young adult, so maybe that's why it didn't work for me.

This was just the book to kickstart my summer "mood" reading! Girls' road trip? Check. Self-acceptance? Check. Fun fantasy elements without going overboard? Check. This is the perfect book to read by the pool this summer whether you're in the throes of self-criticism in high school or unpacking negative self-narratives in your thirties. The author balanced the light-hearted fun with subtle social commentary. A truly fantastic book to read this summer!

The book that tried—but fell short of so many expectation.

While I understand what this book was trying to do it was ultimately too short and not given the time and space to be fleshed out as it needed to be. The worldbuilding was cool… if it was fleshed out more and explained more organically, opposed to being dumped onto us. The characters had the potential to be interesting… if they had been given room to grow. The body positivity could have been groundbreaking… if it had actually been examined and well thought out, opposed to brief mentions of it, with things that almost felt like misconceptions re: weight. The writing was mildly enjoyable but somewhat childish—however, that could be a stylistic choice for the age group intended opposed to something indicative of the author’s skill set.

In saying that, this book is somewhat niche—road trips and witches—and I still think that concept is fantastic. It just wasn’t ready.

Thank you for the eARC!

3,5 stars

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from a book called Fat Witch Summer. It could go over the top, trying to be too funny. It could take itself too seriously and be too lecturing. Or it could be just the right balance.

In this case I think, for the most part, this book hits the right balance. That balance between humor and emotions that works so very well. And especially the start of this book is very strong in that. I thought after the first half this fizzled out a little. This idea that all the characters needed to be deepened out so we get scenes from the other girls all of a sudden, became clear. I'm not quite sure that worked. It would have been better from the start in full point of views or just to stick to Thrash. Now I had to switch a lot.

I also still have a lot of questions about various things like the history of the thirteen states. We did get that dumped on us here and there but it never came alive for me enough to grasp it as a part of the story. It would put some of the various groups they came across (the rebellion, bounty hunters, the outliers etc) as a part of the whole for me. Now it didn't seem to mean that awful lot to me.

Having said that there were also still a lot of strong aspects of this story. I think the relationships between the four girls was a good one. How Thrash was on the outside but starts getting to know them. The insecurities of each and what they were dealing with at home. That did make this book feel more real so that some of the things that happened did leave its mark on the reader as well.

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of this book and it honestly lives up to the hype! Lizzy is a wonderful writer and really weaves a great story. It was so good I even purchased a copy for myself to read over and over again. I really enjoyed the characters and the world building and highly recommend anyone to give this a go. Any book that includes a map is always a good read!

Omg, I love this book!

I saw it on NetGalley and knew instantly it’ll fit my vibes. I can’t get enough of witchy books and this fit the bill!

Body positivity ✔️
Insecurities that face all humans (witches) ✔️
Dealing with overbearing parents ✔️

This book was endlessly cute and I adore it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sword and Rose Press, and Lizzy Ives for this arc. My review is an unbiased one in exchange for this arc.

Completely loved this, as a fat person myself I love the representation these books now have, I wish I had these books myself when I was younger. The fat representation is so good, I love the fact that characters still have insecurities , even with body positivity, it’s so relatable as being told constantly you’re body isn’t the accepted norm is still hard to just switch off so I loved this about it, that we are all body conscious still because of mainstream media and social media. Overall, this is such a fun, cute YA story, light hearted but important, one long long overdue for me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a cute, fun read! I enjoyed the characters and found them relatable. The story had everything I was looking for, definitely a mood read for me. Very enjoyable!

When I saw this book in NetGalley, I knew it was one I had to read. I love all things witchy and this one did not disappoint. It has been described as Dumplin meets the Craft and it definitely fits. This book is magical but also deals with real life issues such as overbearing parents who love their kids but aren’t ready for them to grow up, loving yourself for who you are, and the hardship of making friends and being in such a close friend group. We also see how different class of people are treated differently, and how important it is to be given the chance to have a choice of things. The characters are written perfectly and really makes you love each and every one of them as we join Thrash and The Lunes on their magical, action filled journey through the thirteen states. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves a good girl trip, and witches of all shapes and sizes. This story is truly incredible and I seriously hope it becomes a series. The writing is amazing the story is so inclusive.

Just looking at the cover I knew I would love this book. Everything about it screams fun and magic. After reading it I was just as much in love. It's a fun coming of age story where our Thrash learns about not only her magic but also how to love yourself. Each character had depth and a reason to love them and each point of view gave a new perspective on the story. Would highly recommend if you like stories about friendship, body positivity, magic, and just a good old road trip!

Thank you to Lizzy Ives, Sword and Rose Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this book on Netgalley and immediately had to have it. As one witches and two I wanted a YA happy book. It was everything I wanted and more, it was like a feel good film mixed with the craft and I was there for it.

This book deal with some real life issues in a delicate way that doesn't take away from the story but adds to it, there is no need for TW as it's not those kind of subjects more, body imagine, parents not wanting there kids of grow up and the different class privilege. But honestly it's done so well and this found friends/family story line is amazing.

One for anyone who would love a witchy girls road trip

What a fun read!
I loved the worldbuilding in this one, the matriarchy of witches and what changes that would bring to our world.
This is a book about friendship, the expectations of parents and how those sometimes differ from the wish of choosing ones own fate.
I sometimes found the writing style a bit stilted, which kept me at a distance from fully feeling like I was 100% iimmerged in the story and invested in the characters, but overall a quick and fun roadtrip novel.