I wrote this before reading other reviews, and I think I'll leave it that way. (With an additional two cents: 100% support you 1 starring a book you've read either 20% or 50 pages of. Do not support you 1 starring a book you haven't read. Okay I'm good now. Back to my thoughts.)

Oh, how LOVELY this was! How heart-warming and affirming and enveloping! This is Higgins back at her deeper self, writing real women's fiction as opposed to romance.

Though this does talk extensively about weight, the main plot line revolves around the girls doing things that scare them, just like one of those really good YA books where they make lists and try to accomplish them. Their list of things involved mainly things they had at 18 wanted to accomplish, and I loved seeing how these things were still relevant.

I love that there's a lot of positivity in this book. Both main characters demonstrate an ability to be happy without men in their lives. Their relationship with Georgia's nephew is absolutely phenomenal.

I don't have personal experience with being overweight, but I can still relate to the way society is constantly demanding of women to be skinnier, to wear more makeup, to wear less makeup, to look some particular way for the men in the world. I felt like this novel did an incredible job at documenting that struggle while being overall affirming.

This is one of Higgins's better ones, and I'm so glad I picked it up.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Kristan Higgins and really wanted to like this book. I got about half way through, but couldn't finish it. This book is ALL about weight and body issues. Emerson, Marley, and Georgia are constantly concerned with how they look, how other people perceive them, how their weight affects them. As an overweight woman myself, I found this to be a stereotypical fat person book. Degrading and demeaning.

I really enjoyed this new novel by one of my favorite authors, Kristan Higgins. I enjoyed the topics she tackled in this novel and the sensitivity she showed to different types of people, more regular people, that more of us can relate to. The friendship between Marley, Georgia and Emerson is endearing and shows how those friendships ebb and flow since meeting in high school and how all of their lives have taken different directions. I will definitely recommend this title to others who enjoy Ms. Higgins other novels and who like this genre.

Higgins has crafted another page turner! This novel may rub some people the wrong way but overall it's a compelling story. I especially the depictions of Marley’s and Georgia’s lives as well as Emerson's diary that provided her history and innermost struggles. I appreciate how the characters grapple with hard issues and come across as very honest and forthright, even about very personal things. Fans of character-driven fiction are sure to enjoy GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.

First, let me say that I am a Kristan Higgins fan. Her romances, when I read romances, were always entertaining, well-written, and leavened with smart humor. Next, let me also say that I am not a fan of "women's fiction." To me, good fiction should be good fiction, and a lot of "women's fiction" does not appeal to smart women, either due to the writing itself or the overuse of cliches and tropes that bear little resemblance to the lives of most women.

Higgins takes on an issue front and center in the lives of many women: weight and body image. This hot button issue has caused some controversy regarding the book, but the author's respect for her characters and support for them is evident. Her main characters, Marley and Georgia, have dealt with weight and body shaming their entire lives and have made many poor life decisions based on low self esteem. The third member of this one-time trio, Emerson, has literally eaten herself to death as the book begins. Her dying wish is that her friends complete a bucket list they had created together as teenagers at a "fat camp."

Not the worst premise for a book and Higgins is a very talented writer. Moreover, our heroines are relatable and the reader does root for them. There is also a sense of satisfaction because all the characters, the good and the jerks, get their just deserts by the end of the book.

I guess my problem was that the book, for me, held no surprises. I knew where things were going from the beginning. and Marley and Georgia's ultimate fates were never in question. Not saying that I wasn't happy for them, but the suspense just wasn't there for me.

Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

A difficult book to read, despite the author’s use of humor to lighten the mood, the story starts with three friends who meet at “fat camp”. We fast forward to the women they have become and get a glimpse into their lives which are complicated by the realities and emotions underlying their weight issues. I was surprised to read some reviews when I finished the book, claiming fat shaming. I don’t understand that criticism; in fact I think Higgins was spot on with how she described the angst of being overweight. A relatable read for me, and recommended.

I've been reading Kristan Higgins for a long time and, although I've always loved her books for their characters, heart and humor, "Good Luck with That" takes everything I love about Kristan's books to the next level.

This is a book about 3 friends (because who does female friendships better than Kristan Higgins?!) who meet in fat camp when they are teens (and she uses the word "fat"!). It picks up when the friends are in their 30s and one of the friends has died from complications caused by her weight. In her will, she challenges her friends to do the things they said they would "when they were skinny".

So starts this amazing story of discovery for Marley and Georgia. They start to realize how they view themselves and how they always ascribe their own lens on how others see them. And, it's always in regards to their weight.

How many of us do that? This book is not just about weight - although there are some hard truths in there about our skinny culture. This book is about how we see ourselves, how we interact with the world, how we box ourselves into corners and how we can start the process of changing that lens.

I LOVED this book - it is so important to see it for what it is. A book about women accepting themselves, loving themselves and defending themselves against the naysayers. It immediately made me question my own lens and, seriously, think about how it affects my interactions with others.

"Good Luck with That" may change your life or not, but it will make you think, It's not all serious, though. That wouldn't be Kristan Higgins. There is humor and happy tears and nostalgia and contentment.

This isn't an easy book but its meaningful and important. One of the best I've read in a long time and that will stay with me forever. Read it, think about it, share it! You'll love it!

The premise was great, but plot seemed a little all over the place, with a lot of cliched dialogue and character development.

A good book is one that embraces the reader and never let’s go; it is a book that you are connected to long after you finish the last sentence. Good Luck With That, by Kristan Higgins not only embraces you, but infiltrates your essence.

Emerson, Georgia and Marley are three teenage “fat” girls that meet at a summer camp for overweight teens. Each girl is from a different background, but they form a tight bond that last well beyond that summer. The girls that summer compile a list of what they would like to experience once they are skinny. Years later,when Georgia and Marley receive notice that Emerson is in the hospital, they are shocked to see a woman in the hospital bed whose body has become a considerable size and is obviously dying. Emerson kept “the list” and extracts a promise that upon her death Georgia and Marley would experience the innocent items on the list: get a piggyback ride, hold hands with a boy in public, or tell off someone who criticised you constantly, ect. We discover who Emerson is through her diary entries, and we walk beside Georgia and Marley as they discover themselves and encourage the reader to take the journey with them.

There are many book reviews that slam this book for being insensitive, for singling out Emerson, the grotesque “fat girl”. I just want to applaud Kristan Higgins for not being politically correct and addressing honestly how we should view ourselves with acceptance, love and value; while also addressing the pain and insecurities all of us who binge or suffer from other eating disorders incur.

This is a novel that makes you Feel and I’m still feeling the effects long after I finished reading.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Love Love Love!!! Kristan Higgans does it again!! I could not put down!

Absolutely great book! One of my favorite reads lately!

A funny and touching story. Great characters in this realistic novel. I loved the way the characters developed as they completed the list.

Before reading this book, I was a little nervous. I'd seen some of the early criticism of the book and wasn't sure what to make of it. I want to be sensitive to the experiences of others, but for me, as a reader, I found Good Luck with That to be a charming, thoughtful, engaging story. Marley and Georgia are well developed characters (Emerson is given less development since the only time we get her perspective is through her past diary entries), and the issues they are dealing with are about so much more than their weight. They have family complications and relationship snarls, and they are working on their self-image. They have an incredibly close friendship, and their relationship and the way they care for each other is a great example. Readers of the authors' previous books set in Cambry-on-Hudson will find a few treats here as well. I have enjoyed Kristan Higgins's previous books, I personally enjoyed my experience reading Good Luck With That and think that if nothing else, there is quite a bit for readers of this book to discuss.

Kristin Higgins is one of my favorite authors. Not only do I enjoy reading her books, but her blog is filled with hilarious anecdotes.
This book did NOT disappoint. I got so involved in the characters and spent an evening crying. It made me miss some of the friends that I grew apart from. It made me evaluate my own self esteem issues, relationships with others, fears, and relationship with food.
I put in a pre-order for this book, because it is one I want to read again.

Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins. Just couldn't get into the book.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This book had me at the dedication: "This one is for all of us who've cried when looking in a mirror. Here's to never doing that again." The book centers around two best friends who met as teens at a fat camp. Now in their 30s they have to come to grips with the death of a third friend who just died. The three had made a list that last summer at camp, "Things to do when we are skinny," and their friend's dying wish was for them to do everything on the list. This book reveals the prejudice against overweight people that is so prevalent but ignored in our society. It brings a lot of emotions forward as Georgia and Marley work on the list, their relationships with their family and the men in their lives. It really resonated with me, and will for anyone with any kind of self-image issue. Interspersed are letters Emerson, the friend who died, wrote to her imagined skinny self that will break your heart. There is a happy ending for these women, but not necessarily a skinny one. But one of self-acceptance, which is the most important thing.

Honestly, just reading the first chapter made me sad and not want to keep reading this.

The subject matter of extreme obesity was the focus of the book. Three friends, Emerson, Georgia and Marley attend a “fat camp” together as teens. Georgia and Marley go on to lead somewhat normal lives but both remain overweight. The two lose touch with Emerson until she has to be hospitalized for complications from her extreme obesity. On her deathbed, Emerson gives Georgia and Marley a copy of the list they created as teens of things to do when they get skinny. The rest of the novel revolves around Georgia and Marley trying to complete the list Emerson left them while dealing with their own personal issues including their weight. The topic of extreme obesity is definitely one that rarely gets touched on in fiction… It scares us… No one wants to think it can happen to them. However, weight is an issue that just about every woman has dealt with at some point in their life. I’m just not sure the way this particular novel was written will be helpful. The wording was a little too harsh and a bit judgmental. Normally, Kristan Higgins books are uplifting and a delight to read… However, this did not seem like her normal style… The characters were pretty shallow and it was hard to follow. Unfortunately, this one will leave her readers disappointed.

3.75 stars
Let me start by saying I've read all of Kristan Higgins' books and have found each of them to be cute, well-written, and full of inspiration to be happy with yourself. This book was more of the same but lost some stars because this message wasn't clear for the first half of the book. In fact, this story seemed to obsess over how you could never truly be happy with yourself if you were fat.

The story begins in the past at a fat camp and introduces the three main characters. They make a list of all the things they'll do when they're finally skinny (hold hands with a cute guy in public, get a piggy back ride, etc.). This resonated with me as I've struggled with my weight throughout my life and a lot of the things on the list were things I'd love to do myself but am too self-conscious. Fast forward 16ish years and tragedy strikes. Two of the friends make a promise that they'll complete the list and set out on their journeys to be happy and accept themselves.

Overall, the first half of the book was overdone and full of self-loathing due to being fat. I feel like the author could have been more successful if she'd cut some of that out. Once the characters started accepting themselves the book took a turn for the better and had a lot of good lessons. I smiled, I teared up, I definitely ended the book on a good note. I think anyone who has ever been called "fat" will identify with and enjoy this book as long as they stick with it.

**I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Gallery in return for my unbiased, honest review.

Good Luck With That – Kristan Higgins

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.
Emerson, Marley & Georgia are three kids who meet at a summer camp for obese children and they become lifelong friends. Flash forward to the present – Georgia & Marley share a two story home (Georgia rents from her close friend), and Emerson lives a couple of hours away. While Georgia and Marley have successful careers and a close relationship, Emerson has drifted away a bit, seemingly happy in her career, and a relationship of her own.

Then the two get a call, summoning them to Emerson’s death bed, where the are shocked to see that she’s become a very morbidly obese woman, who’s health issues and imminent death are all related to her size. She leaves them a letter to be read after her death, and within the letter is a list that the three girls had created as kids. And she challenges Georgia and Marley to fulfill each task on the list.

The story is told from the perspective of both surviving women, and through excerpts from the late Emerson’s journals, as they each reveal their struggles with obesity, wanting to be thin, family issues, fitting in, discrimination, acceptance and love.

I initially had a hard time getting involved in this story, because – like most women – I could totally see myself and my own struggles in these characters. As the story progresses, and the personalities of each character emerge, I found the book hard to put down, and shed more than a few tears at the heartbreak and then love found within its pages. A very realistic and yet heartwarming read!!