This is going to be a truly difficult review to write for me. Lately, I have needed this genre just to remind myself that I am wonderful just the way I am and had I read the synopsis for this book a little closer, I would have found that it wasn't written the way I expected. One thing that bothered me was the two different timelines and how they were labeled. I took some getting used to, but I managed after a while.

Please don't get me wrong -this was a wonderful book but not, perhaps, for the truly heavy woman (or man) who really loves themselves as they are. Most books of this genre do have to deal with the love/hate relationship of the fat body...it is not something easily written, a fine line the author has to walk. And there lies the issue (mine) with this book -the heroine believes that her life will change and she will get everything she ever wanted if she just lost weight.

There are the usual stereotypes in this novel -the missing father, the high fashion model mother who abandons (for all intents and purposed her daughter) then uses her, the rich and perfect fat shamers at school and work, the regular fat-shamers, the boy that just couldn't speak his mind the best friend that lives half-way across the world and the man who used our heroine.

I did learn a LOT about the high fashion industry and how it does not want to deal with anyone over a size 8-12, I learned a lot about Claire McCardell (enough for me to learn more about her on my own).

What I did not like is the thought that Cookie (our protagonist) did diet and for what I felt are for the wrong things and I'm afraid that other younger girls are going to think the same way the heroine did. However, the reason I gave it a high rating is that Cookie did learn in the end not to care what other's thought and to learn to live life on her own terms.

It was a satisfying and interesting read for me---however, I would not recommend this book to anyone younger than high school (there is sex in this book).

*ARC supplied by the publisher.

http://lowereastsidelibrarian.info/reviews/devos/fatgirlonaplane
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Oh how I adored Cookie! YA readers (of all ages!) will absolute devour this voicey, fierce, high-fashion fairytale. deVos' debut is a a delight.

What a great book - I requested this one because I identify as a "fat girl," so I was elated to find a book that seemed to echo me! My priorities, my ideas, my struggles. I see so much of myself here in deVos's work. I recommend Fat Girl on a Plane to anyone who has wanted to chase dreams but felt the pull of anxiety and society's judgements at their ankles, sinking them down into the muck.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of "Fat Girl on a Plane" by Kelly deVos.
I loved this book. I'm not what anyone would call a "fat girl," but I still related so well to the main character, Cookie, and her message for how women can transcend society's limited expectations of them rang so true for me.
I thought this book would be cute and sweet, but it was powerful and awesome and really well-written. I loved that it wasn't about finding a man or losing weight or any of those things the world tells women they need to do to be happy--it was about Cookie discovering how to be happy for herself, just the way she was. She discovered the true worth that was inside her all along.
She progressed in a really believable way and I liked the way deVos wove the back story or the "FAT" timeline in with the "SKINNY" timeline. It showed really clearly how losing weight did not solve her problems, but in a way amplified everything that was still going on wrong inside of her. We need so many more books like this one.
My favorite line: "But the real weight that you carried around, that you're still carrying around, is the attitude that what is on the outside means more than what is on the inside. Lose that and you'll be happy."
Also: "We need to be united in our opposition to mean-spirited shaming, to a culture that values physical beauty over human potential and to designers who profit from women even as they demean them."
Everyone go read this book!

I have such intensely mixed feelings about Fat Girl on a Plane.

The book centers around a girl named Cookie Vonn. And she is a girl, since she's between 17 and 19 for most of the book, though she reads as a 20-something young woman. Anyway, when you meet Cookie, she's very overweight. I think she's between 300 and 350 pounds at this time, and she's about to board her connecting flight to New York, where she will meet fashion icons and talk her way into a huge scholarship to Parsons (supposedly). Unfortunately, she's deemed "too fat to fly" before they even start boarding the plane, and is forced to buy another ticket. 

After you're introduced to Cookie, you meet... well, Cookie. But she's the Cookie of the near-future, who has dropped most of her weight and is now a size six somehow. She is also boarding a plane to New York, but this time she's in first class and riding next to a famous fashion designer. 

The rest of the story is told in alternating POV chapters, some from Cookie after she drops the weight and others from before. This format is a little strange, but it actually isn't too jarring or annoying, and it doesn't really read as "thin people's lives are so much better," which I was afraid of.

One the one hand, it was really well-written. The character arcs were well-done, the plot was mostly interesting, and the past/present perspectives actually worked well for me. 

On the other hand, there were some uncomfortable parts and some boring parts and the ending kind of left me feeling like there was no point to this book. 

Cookie's character is rife with flaws, in a good way. She's a very realistic young adult character who doesn't really know what she's doing and messes up some relationships on her way to success, which doesn't end up being as glamorous as she thinks. The supporting cast is also fairly realistic, and I genuinely enjoyed the author's character arcs. 

But, then again, Cookie's main love interest for most of the book is a middle-aged man. She is 19 at the time, and she loses her virginity to him. They get it on more than once. She lives with him for a long time, she depends on him for food, clothes, housing. She is literally at the mercy of a middle-aged man she is sleeping with. It's a little gross, honestly, and definitely doesn't seem right. 

Also, no spoilers, but the ending of this book really fell flat for me. I feel like the big, driving force keeping me interested was uncovering the parts of Cookie's before chapters that lead up to the after ones. The plot uncovering itself was a really dynamic way to write a story, but there wasn't really anything at the end. Cookie just sort of goes on this her life, and it ends.

Overall, I'd say this book was a solid 3.5, but since we don't do half-stars, I'm leaning toward a three. The reason I'm rounding down here instead of up lies mainly in the uninspiring ending and the weirdly uncomfortable love interest -- but I did really enjoy the writing style, and I hope I see more from Kelly deVos in the future.

A book about a fat girl? Yes! This fat girl was so excited when NetGalley let me read the eARC of this book. I was so excited to hear about a fat but fashionable girl. That isn't what this book is really about. This book is about a girl who WAS fat and we do hear her voice for half of the story. Her voice telling us how she wants to be thin, and her accomplishments as she becomes thinner. This book shows all the ease that comes into her life once she loses weight. Is her life perfect? No. But, she definitely has more opportunities because of her new look, and while she realizes this she never calls anyone out on it. A romantic experience she has, she knows wouldn't have happened when she was fat but she accepts that instead of being annoyed that clearly the man likes her for her looks and not who she is. There is also a problematic relationships with age difference and power dynamics that makes it really uncomfortable. Overall this books was very disappointing.

I loved this book! Cookie Vonn is a high school senior who is overweight. She dreams of going to Parsons to become a fashion designer after college.

There are two timelines in the book. One begins when she’s just started to lose weight. The other is after the weight is lost and she starts into her design career and college. I couldn’t put this book down. Cookie is one you want to cheer for. Ultimately she loses 199 pounds and I loved watching her grow through the story.

Excellent story!

4 stars

I think the first thing that needs to be said about this book is that I stayed up until almost 2 AM reading it in one sitting.

*nods sagely with weary, red eyes*

Yup. Something about this story was so addictive. But it wasn't like a trashy-sort of addictive, more like a I'm-so-taken-by-this-novel-I-can't-stop-reading sort of addictive. I did not put this down and I pushed through any sort of need to sleep to finish it as quickly as possible.

I picked it up and didn't set it down until I was completely finished.

For some reason, I found this novel to be extremely emotionally cathartic, in a way. I just really felt the whole novel and managed to relate to Cookie, even her life is very different than mine.

You don't need to be fat to read a book about a fat person, just like you don't need to be an alien to read a book about aliens. That's not how it works. I think everyone can relate to this, and not on the level of a skinny girl going "Oh my gosh, I look so fat in this!"

When reading this, you just really feel what Cookie is going through, both in the earlier timeline where she's dieting, and in the later timeline where she's trying to make a name for herself in fashion.

I like how DeVos emphasizes that even though Cookie goes through a lot of weight loss, this is not a weight loss story. This is not a book about how you should lose weight, but includes weight loss because it's an important part of Cookie's story, but it's not necessarily something that's always required.

I think Cookie really learns a lot in this book, and even in the "past" timeline, she learns a lot, although she certainly learns more in the "present" timeline.

I feel like the reason I took off a star is just some more technical errors. I feel like this book could have been a little more polished. In the past, I've seen some really awesome things done with the parallel, two-timeline narrative and was kind of hoping for a little more intersection between the two timelines in this.

Similarly, I just felt like some of Cookie's personal relationships and how DeVos wrapped up Cookie's story could have used a little more polishing & cleaning up.

Despite this, I really loved how genuine, honest, and heartfelt this novel was. It was very real and I could definitely see the emotion behind DeVos' words with how she really understood and related to the topic she was writing about.

Like I said before, I think this was a really digestible read and DeVos did a very good job with the pacing & making sure the whole novel had things going on and wasn't just people doing nothing.

The actual elements of the plot--Cookie's love of fashion, her desire to be part of a fashion blog and get her name out there, and eventually make a clothing line--were all really interesting, and I think something that's also really important and applicable as plus sized fashion needs to be expanded.

This book touches on relationships with an age gap & how they're unhealthy, unhealthy relationships in general (both romantic & non), and a lot of other real topics.

I did really enjoy reading and although some of the story felt in need of a little bit of cleaning up, such as wrapping up character relationships, overall I think this is a book with a really good message not about weight loss, but about finding your path in life. I'd definitely recommend if you're looking for an addictive contemporary with themes about friendship & family & body size & positivity.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harlequin Teen for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!

Cookie is not your normal teenager. When your mom is a super model that abandons you to live with your grandma and you don't even look remotely like a super model, it stings.

Cookie is an insanely gifted fashion designer and sews all her own clothes. She catches the eye of her teachers at school and is a shoo-in for Parsons, her life-long dream.

But Cookie's story is so much more!

This is a dynamic book, with real characters that you can get behind. Much more than a "you can do it" rah rah - it handles the depth and complexity of self-image while standing behind a well-crafted story that is much more than about counting calories.

A book for every teenager and woman alike.

I honestly don't even remember requesting this from NetGalley, but I'm glad I did! This book is super important, but I will say now, it makes some missteps. And, of course, trigger warning now for fat-shaming/body-shaming and misogyny.

I started off loving Cookie. I'm a bigger woman, and I gotta say, reading about a bigger girl with an incredible amount of talent is so refreshing. She's a blossoming fashion designer! Who wants to make adorable, flattering clothes for big women! That's AWESOME! True, she has some issues

But then we're almost immediately introduced to skinny!Cookie. Size six Cookie. She's still got the fire to be an incredible designer, but she's hardened. She's got an incredible opportunity, and then that's where stuff starts getting weird/icky.

The whole story is told from alternating versions of Cookie's perspective: high school, plus sized Cookie, and skinny college student Cookie. High school Cookie loves her best friend, talks to her Grandma about everything, and is just overall lovely. But then it's like...skinny!Cookie forgets herself as soon as she meets Gareth Miller, the fashion designer she's been obsessed with since high school. Only...he's an asshole. I honestly couldn't remember his name until I went back through the book. He was just...a generic handsome douchebag.

At first, I thought, maybe this whole scenario won't go the way I'm expecting it to! I was wrong. My hopes went out the window. Of course Cookie ends up sleeping with him and becoming his ish-girlfriend. Keep in mind, she's nineteen. He's thirty-five. Things get really icky really fast. And it's very, super clear that the only reason Gareth takes her on as an intern/bang-buddy is because she's skinny now. He even fat shames a woman in the airport the second he's introduced. So we already know he's not a good dude.

All of the people in Cookie's life suck, honestly. Her Grandma, her best friend Piper. and her advisor, Lydia Mureno, are the only three people in her life who haven't let her down or been straight up terrible to her. And that's even kinda pushing it as far as Grandma is concerned. Cookie's best friend, Tommy, ends up just being kind of a dick as soon as new girl, Kennes Butterfield, shows up. And Kennes is just a straight-up rude bitch. Like, she's evil, through and through. And everyone makes excuses for her and tells Cookie that she should essentially take the abuse. Cookie's father doesn't even make an appearance until the end, and he sounds so much like my own father that it pissed me off. Like he was perfectly content with not trying to have a relationship with his daughter, he wanted her to tell him she wanted him to show up for her high school graduation and her sixteenth birthday party. Don't get me started on how terrible her mother is. She's an absolute monster.

With all of the body-positivity, I will say, there are more misses than hits. Everyone is physically beautiful. Everyone talks about how much Cookie looks like her supermodel mom. Kennes is beautiful, Piper is beautiful...everyone is pretty! Which is fine, but it's like a full on glossed over world. Everyone is white, cisgender, and hetero. So, it lacks in diversity outside of having fat characters.

Overall, it was an okay read. There were some parts I adored, and others that made me cringe so hard. As someone who's struggled with body image issues since like, fourth grade (thanks, early puberty and cruel children), it made me feel connected and weird at the same time. I did go through weight loss, and then gaining everything and more back. So...proceed at your own risk if you've got a history of disordered eating.

While refreshing to begin with, Fat Girl on a Plane started going into a weird place very quickly. I give it three and a half out of five NutriMin water bottles. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for the ARC in exchange for review.

I have some mixed feelings about this book, but overall, I'm giving it 4 stars because I do believe Cookie's journey in Fat Girl on a Plane is authentic. That said, it will not be a book for all readers. In fact, it could be harmful to readers who could be triggered by the fatphobia experienced by Cookie throughout the book, I was most troubled by the way fatness was treated by both men in her life, one of whom is her best friend and the other who is her partner for the majority of the book.

DeVos did, however, hit on the very real feelings associated with being both fat and thin in our society. As someone who was a lifelong fat person, then a thin person (who followed the weight loss program DeVos spoofs in FGoaP) and then a "Giver of No Fucks," I found this part to be most relatable. Your life does not become 100% better simply because you lose weight. Yes, some things become easier and people look at you differently, but it does not fix what is ultimately hurting your psyche.

This is Cookie's journey. She thinks being thin will "fix" her. And for a while, it appears to—she gets the blogging job of her dreams, an internship, a romance, and gets accepted to a fashion program—but things keep going wrong. When Cookie *finally* realizes that the outside doesn't matter nearly as much as she thought it did, she finally gets what she needs. And this is why I ultimately gave this book 4 stars. I can't fault the author for writing an authentic and emotional journey, even if it wasn't what I personally wanted out of a book titled "Fat Girl on a Plane."

I had a hard time with this one. I think the back and forth of the story-lines, Cookie being "fat" and Cookie afterwards being "skinny" just made the flow of this book slow to a crawl. We also had to keep re-reading the same point made over and over again. I also thought Cookie's relationship (she's 19) with an older man (he's 31) did not read as loving or even romantic, it was just messed up the whole way through. I also didn't like the resolution between her and her supposed best friend Thomas, he was a jerk and a user who didn't stand up for her at all. DeVos tries to wrap things up in a nice tidy bow, it just didn't really work.

So I was initially intrigued by the premise of this novel. We have a young woman (Cookie) who is the daughter of a well known model who has struggled with her weight for a number of years. When she has an awful experience trying to fly and is forced to buy a second seat she decides that she is over having to deal with being treated as less than due to her size. Deciding to join a weight loss company (think Jenny Craig but called NutriNation) she finally starts to lose the weight. However, she has a harder time putting to rest a lot of things she has carried with her.

Cookie Vonn is dealing with her first year at college and is off to interview a well known fashion designer, Gareth Miller. Newly skinny, she meets Gareth on a plane and does her best to resist him. When he offers her an opportunity to design clothes with him she ping pongs between being with him and avoiding her past.

I honestly don't know about Cookie. I was meh on her for most of this book. Probably because she has a lot of issues that I don't think are worked out very well in the end. She had an absentee mother and father who sound like the worst. A stepfather who is creepy. And a solid grandmother. Until her best friend Thomas ditched her for someone awful, she seemed to be doing alright. I just didn't buy that the girl who are introduced to in this book would be so foolish to get involved with Gareth, there is no substance there at all.

Speaking of Gareth, I was bored of reading about the lifestyles of the rich and famous (the "Skinny" chapters) with her and Gareth flying everywhere and her being hot for him. I wanted to actually read more about design, the history of fashion, some more descriptions of clothing that Cookie was making. The fashion for the most part takes a back seat.

The other characters don't work at all either. Cookie's parents are barely in this, but the backstory to them doesn't work very well. Things are also left hanging between Cookie and her parents too so we don't even get a resolution.

I loathed Thomas. Sorry. All of the mess that went down between him and Cookie, I think that her grandmother telling her to keep taking the high road was nonsense. She was wronged and even arrested (mild spoiler) cause of his actions. He chooses to be with someone who dismisses Cookie and calls her Cankles. His entire actions shows that he doesn't care about her at all. I was fine with him disappearing in the "Skinny" chapters until he shows his face again.

We get some other minor characters that don't really sing for me at all.

The writing didn't really work for me in the "Skinny" sections. In the "Fat" chapters with Cookie finishing up her last year of high school and dealing with the loss of her best friend to a new nemesis, I felt that book was more authentic for me as a reader. If deVos could have found a way to make the two versions of Cookie work together, this would have been a different book.

The flow was not good. I don't even know what to say. Thank goodness for the chapter headings telling me where we were in Cookie's personal journey cause I would have been lost. Sometimes it is better to tell a story through chronologically. This one maybe would have worked better that way.

The locations of this book are Phoenix and New York and some other "exotic" locations. I didn't really get a sense of any of the cities. I would have liked the cities, especially Cookie's hometown and New York coming more alive via the narration.

This book reads as New Adult to me too by the way. And I usually cannot get into those types of books very well.

The end was....well it happened. I cannot begin to guess what is next for Cookie.

Not at all what I was expecting. Raunchy and poorly written this was not a good read at all. Very crass and totally unbelievable, the characters were not engaging or anything/

I received an ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book! I liked Cookie's voice and her passion for fashion was so fun to read. The author obviously did their research. I loved how Cookie was driven, and I can see how a reader might say she's bitter, but honestly, that added to her charm for me. I understood why she felt that way. Everyone in her life except her grandmother kinda sucked. That said, this didn't feel YA to me. More like NA. And that is totally okay, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book, but it wasn't what I was expecting. The one part that did feel YA was the graduation scene (one of my favorites, actually), but other than that, I didn't get a teen vibe at all.. I also didn't like Tommy or Gareth, but I suppose that was the point. Anyway, I enjoyed the book and would definitely read from this author again.

The description of this book was interesting but the inside of the book didn’t live up to the description.
This book follows the story of a formerly fat girl trying to make a name for herself in the fashion industry.
Every other line mentioned how she was gorgeous and she used to be broke. We get the fact that she’s pretty but they made sure that we knew that EVERYONE in New York was into her and thought she was the most gorgeous girl in all the land. Her personality wasn’t that great, she had a self entitled attitude and spent a lot of her time wallowing in self pity.
The relationship in this novel was instalove and sudden. They were barely flirting in the first 40 pages and all of a sudden they are having sex and dating. They had no chemistry, I still don’t know why they were together at all and the age difference between them was odd.
The character development of the characters were okay. I feel like the characters that were significant in her self discovery weren't mentioned that much and I felt like the author could've dug in deeper with the supporting characters.
However, what redeemed the book for me was the ending where she had a self realization and I thought it was well-written and heart warming to read. This book was a coming of age novel and I feel with some parts being rewritten and some editing of word usage (We get that she’s beautiful), I think this book has the potential to touch the hearts of many.

This is one of the most unique reads ever - taking a look at fat-shaming and other related issues. I loved the side by side telling of the Fat timeline and the Skinny timeline - very original. Cookie is a wonderful, empowering character who is following her dreams and screw anyone who stands in her way! I felt as if I stood next to Cookie throughout the whole novel due to the delightfully quippy narration. This is essentially the story of my life. The struggles Cookie faces are similar to those each of us Roundish creatures face daily. I thoroughly enjoyed her personality and her ability to face the adversity. She does have flaws, of course (this IS a YA novel), but they are totally relatable and realistic.

When Cookie finally meets one of her biggest idols, she's unimpressed and, it seems, nearly repulsed by his manner. So, I'm not sure how she winds up caught up with him the way she does. Yes, I read the book and followed her journey...but something was missing for me in the build-up. I just don't see how she feel into the role so easily. Reminds me a little of Ana and Christian, just less emphasis on their personal life (and no BDSM, that we can tell). I was a little worried about the whole 19 year old in relationship with established businessman to be entirely honest. I'm still not a fan of GM, but it does move the story along and help Cookie develop into who she needs to be, even if I don't really like it.

Cookie is all of us who have tried yoyo dieting and lifestyle changes that don't stick, eliminating favourite food items from our menus in favour of losing weight. The whole story is hilariously funny, captivating, and emotional.

*I received an e arc for Netgalley and
Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. *.
I was let down by Girl On a Plane. I wanted this to be a five star read and it sadly wasn’t. I didn’t like Cookie and Gareth’s relationship. I didn’t like they way he talked to her at times something about their relationship really bothered me. I did love the message that you are beautiful no matter what size you are, and I enjoyed the ending for the most part. I also really disliked Kennes character. She really was a spoiled brat and had nothing else going for her. Over all this was ok, but not what I hoped for.

First off, could not stop laughing at the fact that our girl's name is Cookie. Oh boy, lol. Anywho, I enjoyed this book, funny because I read most of it while on a plane. I enjoyed the dual perspectives we get throughout the book (Fat Cookie and Skinny Cookie) and how it's tied together towards the end. I didn't get too invested in the story but I enjoyed the ease with which I was about to follow along and always knew what was going on. A solid, fun read!

Unfortunately I won't be able to write a review as the formatting was so off on the ebook. I physically couldn't :"follow" the plotline due to this, so I'll be requesting another copy from my contact and will update this review when / if I receive.

Since I'm excited about reading, I will provide a 4-star-rating in advance and adjust if necessary. Thanks for the chance to read and I look forward to my corrected copy!