July 30, 2019

REVIEW| Big Bones (#gifted)

  Big Bones
   Laura Dockrill
  ⭐

  UK Publisher: Hot Key Books

  UK Release Date: March 8th, 2018
  Format: Paperback
  Page Count: 400
  Add to Goodreads
  DISCLAIMER: I received this book from the publisher, for free, in exchange for an honest and truthful review. My views are my own.

It's a food diary. I have to tell the truth. That's the point.
Bluebelle, aka BB, aka Big Bones - is a sixteen-year-old girl encouraged to tackle her weight even though she's perfectly happy, thank you, and getting on with her life and in love with food. 
Then a tragedy in the family forces BB to find a new relationship with her body and herself...
Tuck in for best mates, belly laughs, boys and the best Bakewell tart.

Possible trigger warnings for: fatphobia, fat-shamming, injury to loved one, poo (yes, really), mention of eating disorders, food-induced anxiety.

Big Bones is about fat girl Bluebelle, or BB to her friends, as an almost-death by asthma attack results in a trip to the Doctors. Who goes on to presume it's okay to keep telling her she is overweight like she wasn't already aware. BB cuts a deal with the nurse, and her mother, to keep a food diary and go to the gym as long as she can drop out of school.

BB is as bold as her cover might suggest and hard not to love. Through her complete love of food and sister-sister dynamics made my heart melt like those
 'plastic' cheese slices on burgers. I really felt like I got to know BB and was spending time living with her and their unconventional family dynamic. As each chapter unfolds, we see how food empowers BB, as she takes the time to describe why she loves the dish or food item; however, because of this, I found the plot very slow-moving.

Overall, I liked the message that has been carefully threaded throughout the book, as well as Bluebelle's change in attitude towards exercise and the stigma around someone plus-size exercising isn't inherently a bad thing. However, I am concerned with how the way in which the protagonist sees a secondary character get into an incident which then perpetuates BB's sudden inability to eat and how that pushes the final third of the book into its resolution. There is some, not nearly enough, moments where the character says to the protagonist that what has happened doesn't change her or what she is capable of, and it just made me feel really icky. I appreciate her best friend calling her out on her bull though. BUT I still found the thoughts of "we must move our bodies" because some can't and the motivation behind her changing her habits to be ableist.

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