Friends are the family that you choose. Marley, Emmerson, and Georgia have been friends for a long time. When Emmerson calls the other two to be by her side as she passes away, they are forced to take a deeper look at their lives and the mistakes that have made along the way and continue to make. The ladies met at fat camp. They had all been overweight. Now Emmerson, on her death bed, is considerably larger than the last time Marley and Georgia has seen her. Marley is comfortable in her skin, but doesn't prioritize herself the way that she should. Georgia has lost a lot of weight, but still sees herself as the fat girl she once was. After Emmerson's death, the other two are determined to make a change for the better. But the idea of making these changes are a lot easier than the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was a feel good book for sure. It made you understand other people in a way you may not understand. It helped you to see the good in others and the good in yourself. This book had you rooting for almost all of the characters to do their best and succeed at it. This book made me sad, made me laugh and made me cry. It made my heart ache and made my heart melt. It had all the elements that a good story should have. I really enjoy this book and the characters. Except the ones that were not likeable ... Camden.

I highly recommend this book.

Three camp friends make a list of all the things they want to do when they reach the ideal image society says they should be.

When Emerson, Georgia, and Marley met at a camp for kids who needed to lose weight, they bonded and make a pact. A list of things to do once they were at their ideal size for that day in the future.

Years later with time passed, Emerson fell out of touch. With her weight taking a toll on her body she becomes gravely ill and makes one last request to her friends, please promise when I'm gone.

The two surviving friends are left to mourn and walk through a list they made when they were kids, did it hold the same meaning now? What could they possibly have to gain from completing each step?

Emerson in her death will teach her friends that acceptance comes from within, live in the moment, and don't be afraid to do whatever it is you want because of your appearance.

Love yourself. Live. Find a way to make peace.

This book was not at all what I expected. There was a tiny kitchen sink feel to it and a lot heavier of a read for over 400 pages. I enjoyed it enough, but some of the stuff needed a content warning for people and other things were dealt with too quickly. All in all an okay book.

I really wanted to get into this book but it just was not for me. it started off slow and was hard for me to get into. i was able to read about 3/4 of it before putting it down. i will try to get back into it another time.

Special thanks to Berkley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

After reading & loving LIFE & OTHER INCONVENIENCES, I went back to finish Good Luck With That. Kristan really knows how to wrote women's fiction that's for sure. This is an enjoyable book that I'm sure any and all women can relate to on some level.

Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

Kristin Higgins is one of my favorite authors. I will read everything she writes. I’ve seen her evolve throughout the years and I love the direction she is taking her books and her characters. So why did it take me so long to review this book? I have no idea, I think I just did not know how to put it in words. I knew this book was getting some backlash and I really felt uncomfortable about that and did not agree with it at all. I think some people don’t realize that even very thin very fit people have body image issues and I think this book was just realistic, definitely not fat shaming.

I loved the friendships in this book, the bond between these girls who grew into women. There really is nothing better than the bond between true friends! It was unfortunate that they did not all get to live their best lives. This was a book full of laughs and tears and everything in between. I will always recommend a KH book! And I promise I will immediately review her next book! Shame on me!

Three girls meet at "fat camp" and continue their friendship through college and their 20s. Then one of them dies - as complication from her obesity. She leaves a "list" (written their last year at camp) asking the remaining two to complete the tasks.

This is a sweet, touching, humorous, and ultimately triumphant book about self-image and weight and family relations. I loved all the characters and couldn't wait to see how everything turned out. Although (admittedly) it does slip into predictability, there were still some surprises and several times I was brought to laughter and tears and even a few moments where I cried "YES!!"

For all women who have battled with self-image issues (who hasn't?), for all women who have fought weight gain and loss (who hasn't?) and for anyone looking for an uplifting story that is sweet and endearing enough for the Hallmark Channel, but not too overly sappy or melodramatic. This is a lovely book.

A wise and funny novel about friends, weight struggles, and body image. I suspect this title will attract the thoughtful reader.

I cannot say enough good things about Ms. Higgins, who has long been one of my favorite authors. She hit it out of the park with this book. I absolutely loved this book so much. I understand that it is polarizing to many readers BUT it hit the exact right note with me. I do not believe that Higgins intended to fat shame or make fun of anyone.

This book is different from all the rest in the frank, yet compassionate way in which it handles morbid obesity. Emerson, Georgia, and Marley all met at weight loss camp "a/k/a "fat camp," and remained friends much longer than summers. Perceptions and self-talk are a big part of this book. One character is convinced that if she will lose weight she will have an awesome and beautiful life, not realizing that her life is already pretty awesome.
We should care about this book, and its portrayal of "fat" characters, but we are often much maligned in books and the mainstream media. This was a touching and compassionate portrayal of weight in terms of self-acceptance.

The following review was written by my friend Monique, but I agree with her whole-heartedly. I'm printing her review here because she says everything I would have said about this book, but she says it so much better than I could have. Great book, Kristin Hannah!

Kristan Higgins, thank you. Thank you for writing one of the most important books ever written, for writing this year’s best book, and one of the best books ever written. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT is told in first person from the point of view of three overweight women, one being Emerson’s diary. Anyone of us who has ever struggled with their weight will recognise themselves at some point; those who have not will have known someone who has, even if only celebrities; others will have made fun of those “unsightly fatties”, and this book is for every one of us. The latter might find a way to understand that it’s not about not having willpower, about being weak, about being a lesser human being; that those who do not correspond to one’s “ideal standards” might deserve better than scorn and derision, and being bullied. Before writing my review, I read some other readers’ thoughts, and I was appalled that some reviewers saw GOOD LUCK WITH THAT as a book about silly women obsessing over food; I would suggest they have a second – objective – look at the book and try to understand, if only why that’s the way they feel about the characters and the issues.

Kristan Higgins writes with extraordinary compassion, sensitivity, honesty, and insight about a subject that might be our society’s most disturbing taboo – fat women – without glossing over the facts. The author paints a picture of excruciating, painful clarity of what it is to be fat, to “think” fat, and Ms. Higgins has, in Emerson, Marley, and Georgia – and Mason – created unforgettable characters, so genuine that I identified with each of them in turns. There are the happy moments and heartbreaking ones, the challenges, the pain, the shame, the hope, the rage, the despair, the small and great triumphs. I gasped, utterly shocked, when I “saw” my own late mother in a few places. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT is not cute and funny; it is a very serious book, very heavy, and so very dark at the beginning, but slowly rays of light start slipping between those black clouds and soon that oppressive, crushing darkness lifts little by little. There are some moments of dazzling humour, as well as some shattering ones that had me crying so much it hurt. I hurt for those women, for myself, for you who have suffered this kind of pain. Yes, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT is about obesity, but it also concerns anyone who feels the need to become invisible in a judgemental society that basically denies them the right to live a normal life because they are “different”.

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT might not be the book you want to read “right now”; you do need to be in the right frame of mind to get lost in it, but I sincerely believe that everyone should read it eventually. Come to it with an open mind, with an open heart, and let those characters speak to you. If you read only one book this year, if you read only one book in your life, make it GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, because it’s a book that really matters. Live. Be. Now.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Emerson, Marley and Georgia met at a weight-loss camp when they were teenagers. Years later, the morbidly obese Emerson asks to see them because her body is shutting down. She wants them to complete a list they wrote when they were younger – things they would do when they became skinny, such as eating dessert in public or having a guy buy them a drink. Both Marley and Georgia still deal with their weight issues every day. Marley, a personal chef, has her eye on a cute firefighter and still feels guilty about her twin sister’s death, while lawyer turned kindy teacher Georgia is focused on making sure her nephew is ok and wondering why she ever let her wonderfully understanding husband Rafe get away.
This is an emotional – but perhaps a bit too long - story about insecurities, self-acceptance and the bonds of friendship. You can really feel Emerson’s pain in the letters she penned to her thinner self.

I had heard many recommendations for this novel, so I decided to give it a whirl. I was instantly drawn into the story by its easygoing prose and three characters with whom I was able to instantly connect. Emerson's story is told posthumously through imagined one-sided conversations with the person she wanted to be. She was a sympathetic character and I found myself wishing she had lived so she could be a part of the action taking place in the present.

There were so many great moments and I found myself laughing, smiling, cringing, and getting teary-eyed. One of the funniest moments involved a magic act. That's all I will say. I loved getting to know all three women in this story and seeing their interactions with everyone around them. Also, Rafe sounded absolutely amazing. ;)

The only thing that felt a bit off was that Georgia's mother, Big Kitty, seemed too much of an exaggeration. We see her softer side at one point, but otherwise she's quite a piece of work. Her brother, Hunter, isn't much better.

Overall, I loved this book and am including it on my 2018 favorites list. It speaks volumes about body image and confidence.

Movie casting ideas:
Emerson: Chrissy Metz
Marley: Hilliary Begley
Georgia: Erika Christensen
Rafe: Alejandro Edda
Will: Will Swenson
Camden: Corey Sevier
Mica: Jesse Bradford
Mason: Joshua Carlon
Big Kitty: Ellen Barkin
Hunter: Seann William Scott

I thought I would enjoy since I struggle with weight, but oddly enough I didn't identify with the characters and didn't care how they obsessed so much, so I just didn't get into it. Probably good for others, but it just wasn't the book for me.

Conquering your fears is the theme of this title about three women who met as kids at a weight loss camp. Brought back together after the death of one, Marley and Georgia are left with Emerson's last wish. Both women have demons that have held them back . Although the theme is heavy the story is light and somewhat humorous. Seeing how the women find themselves was enjoyable

What started out as a simple teenage wish between three friends turns into something else entirely when Emerson, one of the trio dies and leaves the list in the hands of her friends Marley and Georgia. The three girls met at fat camp and became inseparable friends that summer but life goes on, while Marley and Georgia stayed close, Emerson became more and more isolated as time and weight took their toll. Now shocked at Emerson's death Marley and Georgia are shaken and inspired to finish the wish list, but good luck with that, right? This was a charming story, Higgins' breakout into commercial Women's fiction but it has all the hallmarks of her romance writing. Solid, heartwarming and laugh out loud funny I always read Higgins.

Emerson, Georgia and Marley grew up going to camp together, fat camp that is. After the death of Emerson, the two remaining girls are brought back together in Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins, and they want to fulfill Emerson's wish of completing the list the girls wrote all of those summers ago.

The list of all of the things that the girls want to conquer when they become skinny, like being seen out in public with a boy, eating ice cream, all of the things that most of us take for granted. As Georgia and Marley go through the list, sometimes successfully, sometimes failing, they realize that Emerson didn't just want them to complete the list, she wanted them to learn to love themselves despite not being where they want to be weight-wise.

I love how raw this book was, each of the girls had their flaws and the trials that they were individually fighting, but also the underlying theme that they wanted to lose weight. It's important to remember that we are all worth something, and just because you may not be a size 2 doesn't mean you are any less needed in this world. This book gives a good message to people who may be struggling in many different areas of their life.

The characters, though sometimes frustrating, were easy to relate to and that's what I enjoyed most about this book. I felt like I knew the women in this book like my own friends after I was done reading it, it was really special. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Three girls, Emerson, Georgia, and Marley have been friends since they were teens. When Emerson leaves she leaves Georgia and Marley at last wish for them to live happy lives but they each have challenges to face before they can find happy.

Kristan Higgins is a personal favorite of mine. Her books are always well written and endearing. I look forward to reading each of her books, as they come out. Good Luck with That was another amazing book to add to the list!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book by Higgins that I have read. I really enjoyed the characters. The book had me in tears at times. Anyone who has had some important lasting friendships in their life will identify with this book. At times, I felt like the author was reading my mind. You will laugh and you will cry. It's a great read.

At first I had a hard time getting into this book, but knowing I loved the author made it easy to push through the beginning to get to the good stuff. And by good stuff I mean the raw, emotional, and incredible story! I loved the different POV from Georgia, Emerson & Marley - each offered a totally different emotional story and point. The character development was amazing and their friendship felt so genuine!