Cookie Vonn is a designer with a soul made of fabric and iron. She's literally one tough Cookie when it comes to dealing with her mother's neglect and father's absence, and she is a character worth rooting for in DeVos's debut FAT GIRL ON A PLANE.

Cookie gets a big chance to make her dreams come true when she flies to NY as a teen to cover Fashion Week, but she gets scooped on the big interview she traveled for-- by her soon-to-be romantic rival and all-around-nemisis. As the book progresses in dual timelines of "before" and "after" a weight loss program, we see Cookie living her dreams. How much is due to her grit and how much to societal expectation? When she wants to create a line for the size range 2-32, will she succeed?

There's a lot of love in this book. Cookie, herself, is interesting and believable. The blog entries around fashion draw in the reader and don't slow the pace, and I love the relationships with the grandmother and Fr. Tim in the book. Unfortunately, the nemesis character read cliche "mean girl" to me. It cheapened the attraction of Cookie to her best friend throughout the book because I mistrusted HIS judgement in liking this girl. The parallel timelines can be a bit confusing in the beginning, but I enjoyed the variety of experience as the book went on.

Over all, I think this is a solid YA read with highly romantic elements and clear style and polish-- not just in the fashion of the characters, but in the prose. 3.5 stars.

As someone who grew up overweight but confident, I was hoping this would inspire me and give me a "mirror" like "Dumplin" did. The story of Cookie, both her overweight and size 6 self, is one I'm glad was told, but in the end, it didn't live up to what I'd hoped. I think one of the main themes of the book is to show that no matter what size you are, you are still you, problems and all. I ended up liking the idea of this book more than the book itself. The characters frustrated me with their actions and I felt like none of them ever really got what they deserved, good or bad.

#Netgalley #FatGirlonaPlane #MustReadYA2018
Wow. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book with the title being so bold and out there. I have never really understood why we use the tern "fat girl", but after reading this book I am okay with the title. I found the main character Cookie to be a independently great character. The book examines diversity and how we view others. At the very beginning of the novel, we find Cookie having to buy two seats because of discrimination at it's finest. I found that it's not just about discrimination, but money too. Fat Girl on a Plane is a must read for anyone who's ever felt pushed and treated like a outsider.

I love this so much. Cookie is a magnificently flawed and nuanced character. Her journey, both to and after weight loss, was so realistic and inspiring.

I love that we have more body positive books for fat girls. I related to the character and overall enjoyed the story. I just felt it was missing something. What that something was, I'm not quite sure. But I am very happy to see more fat rep in a book.

So this book has been getting A LOT of praise and I couldn't really understand why. Yes, the book had a cool premise and an interesting angle, but I wasn't sure how well this book would hold up to scrutiny, especially since a lot of the early praise I saw for it was similar to Dumplin's. But, after reading Fat Girl on a Plane I get the praise. And by god does it deserve it.

Body positivity books are a hit or miss for me, because the authors try very hard to make the journey the characters go through "realistic" by putting a lot of fat shaming and fatphobia in their books as well as an unhealthy does of self-loathing. And I'm not saying those doesn't exist or aren't realistic but they're blown so much out of proportion and exaggerated they don't seem real. What sets this book apart is that deVos created a setting and characters that felt natural. Cookie's insecurities were based on more then her weight and the fat shaming and fatphobia wasn't so over the top. deVos makes a point to mention how fat shaming isn't calling someone out on their weight, it's looking through them or past them. It's not always words that hurt, but inaction and indecisivness. And that message is so strong, you could feel it on every page.

Additionally, deVos is writer. Cookie's voice was so strong you felt her in every word on every page. deVos clearly did her research on fashion and it shows in Cookie's pure, unbridled passion for the art. I've heard deVos has experience in that field, but I couldn't find a reliable source so take that with a grain of salt. Regardless, Fat Girl on a Plane has a voice, and it's name is Cookie Vonn.

The book is told in two timelines. Fat and skinny. Fat follows Cookie deciding to loose weight and the trails and tribulations she goes through on that journey. Skinny follows Cookie after she's lost the weight and becomes entangled in Gareth Miller, a high profile designer who works with Cookie on a collection for his line. What I think separates this book even more so then it's writing style is that both sections have a distinct feel to them that pushes the boundary of YA. The fat sections are very much focused on Cookie as she goes through her last remaining year of high school while the skinny sections follow her in her sophomore year of college where she enters a relationship with the smarmy yet sexy much older then her Gareth Miller.

I think what will make or break this book for a lot of people is how they read the relationship between Cookie and Gareth. It can come off as super uncomfortable considering he's much, much older then her, but I think that's sort of the point. Their relationship never felt romantic and it's not suppose to be taken as much. deVos touches on this subject quite strongly and it's interesting watching Cookie strive so hard for something while falling into this type of relationship with a man she knows is an asshole, but wants to please on every level. There's so much nuance and thought put into the relationship and deVos is such a good writer you never truly loose that sense of uncomfortableness, but it never overshadow's Cookie's story.

Fat Girl on a Plane is a story that needs to be told and appeals to literally ever person on this planet. People need to read this book again and again. I know I will.

Did not finish the book. Too much swearing and sex. Didn’t like it.

This book had fun humor and heart, and a fun, if slightly far-fetched, plot. It dealt with body image, heartbreak, messy families, dreams coming true and falling apart, and still the protagonist felt authentic and relatable. I really enjoyed meeting Cookie and experiencing this moment in her life and would recommend this book as an enjoyable young adult read.

I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.

3.5

This YA book has touches of Bridget Jones's Diary and Eleanor and Park! It's a very interesting look into body image and our society's perception of healthy versus fat. The body positive attitude and fashion are what made me request this book, but I stayed for the hilariously on point writing.

This book is about Cookie, an aspiring fashion designer and the child of deadbeat parents. I, personally, know nothing of fashion. I read that <i>GQ</i> article a while back where the famous author took his fashion-obsessed kid son to Paris for fashion week and it left me feeling confused and unsettled for hours afterward. I have, though, been both a fat girl and a losing-weight girl, so I figured I had better read this book.

It's written in flashbacks and flash-forwards -- two different timelines. There's one where Cookie is in high school, struggling with her parents' absenteeism, her poverty, and the relationships with her best friend and her high school nemesis. The other timeline takes place when Cookie is in college, has lost weight, and all her fashion dreams seem to start coming true. Overall, it's a "finding yourself/staying true to yourself" type story, where Cookie has to decide what it is she really wants out of life, and what she's willing to sacrifice. Some people have referenced <i>Bridget Jones's Diary</i> and this book did kind of remind me of that, but in my opinion <i>Fat Girl on a Plane</i> is way better.

Cookie is an individual and real-feeling character. She has her ambitions, a temper, her loves and weaknesses. I really empathized with her anger -- the Grandma's advice to "take the high road" is one thing, but I would have been just as angry as she was at Kennes, Tommy, and her parents. It was good to see some kind of resolution with Tommy that didn't magically make everything okay, but didn't rug-sweep that he had been disrespectful of Cookie in favor of Kennes. Several of her perspectives on weight loss resonated a LOT with me, especially when she talked about being uncomfortable receiving compliments because it was "a reminder that they didn't like the way I looked before."

I was also really impressed with the priest guy. Usually fictional clergy are terrible, but he is able to give her actually good advice about relationships, and, at the end, about her self-image. Refreshing!

The most unpleasant part of the book was Cookie's time being Gareth's kept woman. It was some funny foreshadowing when she got all awkward about some old lady thinking she was Gareth's "sugar baby" but then like 2 days later she IS. Like, this was a bad decision. Gareth wasn't a terrible person necessarily, but he was Bad News. I was so uncomfortable the entire time they were together, and it was a huge relief when Cookie finally was forced to realize that he's no good.

I'm sorry but this book was just not for me. There was constant switching back and forth of timelines that just made me super confused at times and had a hard time following. I also expected this book to be different and made me a bit uncomfortable about my weight and myself reading this book so just knew it wasn't for me but I really appreciate this opportunity.

DNF, but I have to review this. First of all, it was an ARC. Secondly, this book has been all over fat YA Twitter, and I was super excited for it.

HOWEVER, I'm not going to finish this. I'm not even going past 25%. I don't need to read about an "after" thin girl, and the "before" fat girl on two different timelines. I don't need to read about how the thin girl's life is soooo much better and how the fat girl goes to an imitation Weight Watchers because she's so humiliated at her fatness. I DON'T CARE IF THE STORYLINES FLIP AT SOME POINT AND THE FAT GIRL IS THE HAPPY GIRL. I DON'T WANT TO PUT UP WITH EVEN ONE MINUTE OF FAT GIRL SELF-HATE AND LOATHING. It's insulting to me as a fat girl reader that I should have to put up with it to get to some moral of the story about fat girls loving themselves.

There's an author's note attached to the beginning of the book; the author explains exactly her purpose in the dual storyline. And frankly, I do. not. care. This structure is bullshit, and it's exactly the wrong way to go about telling fat teenage girls that they should love themselves, in my opinion. I couldn't read another word of it. The minute fat Cookie walked into the "NutriNation", DeVos lost me. I can't read another minute of fat girls miserably trying to diet themselves thin to learn to love themselves. It's been done.

If you want a real story about a fat girl in fashion, you should read The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding, because that book is so real about fat girls, and it involves dieting, and it's done the right way.

I'm sorry to Kelly DeVos for feeling this way. I'm sure she's a great lady, and a good writer. But I refuse to punish myself by reading about another fat girl on a diet.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

I did not finish Fat Girl on a Plane. I generally enjoy split-timelines in a story, but this one switches too often to follow. I was unable to get a full grasp on her mindframe in either "fat" or "skinny." When a book is too hard to follow, it isn't worth my time.