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Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard. Harder when your whole life is on fire, though. Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter. But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? UGHHH. Everything is now officially a MESS. A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.
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PurpleyPumpkin
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Pickpick

Sweet story! I thought the author captured the growing pains of young relationships well. I have to say tho, these 16/17 YOs are WAY more put together than I was at that age. Yes, they‘re grappling with a lot of stuff, but they‘re much more mature about it than I was. Maybe it would have been more appropriate if the characters were in college? At any rate, it still works and I enjoyed this story a lot. 4/5⭐️
#BooklyReadathon
(January 30, 2022)

MemoirsForMe Great review! 3y
PurpleyPumpkin @UwannaPublishme 🥰 I might read her next book that‘s coming out soon. But also with a MC that‘s 16, so I‘m on the fence about it. 🤔 (edited) 3y
50 likes1 stack add2 comments
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That-Bookish-Hiker
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Pickpick

Charlie Vega wants to have a good relationship with her body but it‘s hard when you are coming of age in a Connecticut suburb and your mother continues to leave weight loss shakes for you.

I really enjoyed this story and Charlie‘s issues with her body image. There were times that I wanted to knock Charlie around cause she is so hard on herself but aren‘t we all like this? Always comparing ourselves to others.

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That-Bookish-Hiker I felt with Charlie towards the end and understand what she was going through with all those negative thoughts she was having about herself. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3y
39 likes1 stack add1 comment
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kissmehardy
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Pickpick

This was lovely! I really appreciated Charlie, Brian, and Amelia having actual conversations about their relationships and insecurities, and the banter was so good. I only wish Charlie's mom's development had happened more on the page. #yalit

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Sharanya
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Mehso-so

The biggest strength of this story was the deeply frustrating, painfully realistic, occasionally poignant mother/daughter relationship. I really loved how gracefully the author included Black, Asian, & QPOC into her world. Couple of personal pet peeves: 1) I have a thing about writers writing protagonists who want to be writers. 2) There were several times where I felt like the 16yo MC sounded more like a millennial than a teen. ★★★☆☆.

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BookishTrish
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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A relatable body positive romance about a young writer who can be her own worst enemy.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 🌷 4y
62 likes1 comment
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DanaManiac
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Pickpick

4.5 ⭐️

This is a nice coming-of-age story. Charlie is such a likable character and the insecurities and thoughts that she has ring true for her age. This book covers a lot: complex mother-daughter relationships, grief & loss, balancing longstanding friendships with the excitement of new love, but the themes run well together and don't feel disjointed. My only gripe is that the book felt a bit too 'woke' at times...

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veebib
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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"Just—promise me girls you won't devalue yourselves for anyone. And I mean anyone. You can't. You have to really be kind to yourself and look out for yourself because the world can be cold and cruel. Don't feel bad, ever, about putting yourself first."

mavey Very true!👏🏻💪🏻 4y
3 likes1 comment
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Graciouswarriorprincess
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Book 36/150.

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BookNightOwl
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Pickpick

As a plus size woman we feel so insecure, not good enough and shame. That is what Charlie goes through. She feels so used by people and so out of place. I really love her story. I loved how real it felt. The mother and daughter relationship bothered me a bit. I could never imagine my mother not being supportive but I know there are some out there who are not. A-

62 likes2 stack adds
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Lovesbooks87
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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Pickpick

Charlie Vega is comfortable in her own skin She is smart, funny, ambitious, and fat. But her mom has a problem with the last thing. Her mom is pushing her to loss weight and all Charlie wants is for her mom to accept her as she is. But Charlie has her best friend in her corner. But when Charlie and a friend Brian start to have feeling for each other she thinks she has it all now But what will happen when she finds out Brian asked out Amelia first?

48 likes3 stack adds
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Mem_ugh
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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My library booked a virtual visit with Crystal Maldonado next month and I‘m so excited! I‘m using this snow day to listen to her book and drink a ton of tea 🫖

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WanderingBookaneer
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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I bought some books for my #ClassroomLibrary . #TeachersOfLitsy.

Bookwormjillk I was always so excited as a kid when my teachers got new books 4y
charl08 Me too. 4y
jessjess Very nice!!! 4y
Librariana What a fantastic stack of titles! I've got "Fat Chance, Charlie Vega" and "The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S." on my pre-order queue at my local indie (Charlie Vega has already arrived and am waiting on Aidan S ?) I do want to get "This is not the Jess Show" as well, tho. Your students are gonna be so delighted! 4y
eraderneely Really wish I had been one of your students growing up! 4y
89 likes1 stack add5 comments
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LibrarianRyan
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega | Crystal Maldonado
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It's nice to see more books about big girls. I do believe this is also #Ownvoices if I remember correctly.

Out Feb 1
#CoverLove #YAedition

52 likes4 stack adds