I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I thought this was a wonderful coming of age story and I loved how it kept me at the edge of my seat with every page and chapter. The representation in this book is amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

cw: low self esteem, fat shaming, fat talk, etc.

Thank you to Wattpad Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lori’s parents just got divorced, and now her mom is moving them away from her friends and great school to a new city where she’s, you guessed it, the new girl. Lori is sure that no one here is like her—she’s fat, and all her classmates seem perfect. So when the resident hottie, Jake cultivates a friendship with her, she KNOWS it is only for the sake of their siblings who have forged a bond. But maybe he does like her. At least a little bit. As friends? And while all this is happening, she is finally getting to know herself as an artist, developing a voice she didn’t know she had, and growing so much as a person.

To be honest, I did not think I was going to like this one at the beginning. There was a lot of triggering self hate coming from Lori. I struggle with my weight as I’m sure many readers of this book do, and as someone who has actively been trying to stop being so mean to myself, it was hard to get through.

Luckily, Lori finds a great new therapist (yay!) and it became slightly less of a “thing” as the story evolved. She’s not perfect at the end, and neither am I. But it definitely improves and I think the story is probably worth it. Jake is absolutely swoonworthy, and the growth that Lori undergoes is important and well written. If you’re on the fence, I would give it a try. Just be very aware of the cw going in.

4/5 stars

I thought this was a wonderful coming of age story and I loved how it kept me at the edge of my seat with every page and chapter. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an egalley for review. Wow, Big Boned by Jo Watson is the teen romance that has been missing from my life. Lori is a big a girl and yes, she is bullied terribly for it, but instead of every interaction being about her and her weight, we also get to see her art, her relationship with her parents and her relationship with her brother. Her brother is the neurodiverse character in the story and he is a joy, not a burden, which is also refreshing to read about. Interactions with mental health care providers are nurturing and supportive and the budding romance may or may not continue, but Lori’s healthier relationship with herself definitely will. So much drama, will a satisfying, realistic conclusion.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review..

This is the story of Lori, a 17-year-old who finds herself living in a completely unknown world with her mother and autistic brother. After being suddenly uprooted from her art school, she moves from her comforting city life to the beaches of cape town in order for her brother to attend a school that will fit his needs. With a new home and new school, friends are hard to come by.... enemies are not. Lori quickly makes an enemy out of the most popular girl in school, Amber.
While picking up her brother from school, she is surprised to see that Jake, "the popular guy" chatting with her brother. Turns out he volunteers there, as well as having a sister that attends the school. This is the story of Lori learning to see herself through new eyes and experience life at its fullest... with a bit of romance and body positivity here and there....

It was a wonderful story about a younger girl stuck in a strange place trying her best to find herself and appreciate her own beauty despite her size. As a woman who has also struggled with her appearance, I hold this book so close to my heart. Its, unlike other 'body positive" books that simply tell the main character that she is beautiful. Lori realizes she's beautiful from herself, and I think that is just perfect. She struggled with herself just like any other girl would, and slowly worked towards healing then loving.
There was this part in the book that really hit me where the therapist, Vickie, asks Lori (don't quote me on this plz) 'who is saying that?" (as in who is saying these terrible things about you.) And Lori realized that no one had.. The hurtful words that she had been telling herself had never actually been said to her, and that was a huge moment of self-reflection (for Lori and me as well.) I realized that this was something I struggled with and I felt like the book was a reflection of my feelings and thoughts.
(Now moving onto the fewer self-reflection bits of the review aha)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It showed the struggled of not being a "body type," along with having a family member with a disability, and a neglectful mother in a simple and respectful way. There were heartful moments as well as humorous ones that made me want to know more and more...

Truly this is a quick read I recommend to everyone, definitely a book I would've wanted to read when I was younger.

Big Boned is the classic story of what it means to "fit in" in a world that may not fit you. The story focuses on Lori Palmer and her adventures as a new student at Bay Water High School. The Bay Water students seem to care more about someone's outward appearance more than their inner self. When Lori starts at Bay Water, she finds herself missing how her life was before, when her parents were still together, and she could let her art speak for her.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a bit harder for me to feel like I related to Lori as I am now, not because her experiences were unfamiliar, but because it's been a hot minute since I was in high school. However, I definitely remember feeling a lot of the same feelings that Lori expresses throughout her experiences. Watson's writing style is very familiar, and I found myself feeling like I had witnessed certain scenes as I read them. Through0ut this book, Jo Watson really drove home the point that it is okay to ask for help, it's totally normal to have a strained relationship with your family members (just because they're your family doesn't mean you won't have moments of frustration with them), and it's okay to love yourself no matter what you look like.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded to 3)

Big Boned will be available for purchase starting September 21st. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and see where it's available for purchase. Also, be sure to check out Jo Watson's website!

I was lucky enough to be able to read this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book. I thought it was lighthearted, but also made me incredibly emotional. Lori was a great main character and I enjoyed that she was a plus sized girl. It's incredibly important for people to see that representation in books and I resonated a lot with her and what she struggled with. I thought she was witty and so so funny. This was a really cute contemporary focusing on great friendships, healing and loving yourself and learning and understanding your own independence and value. I also thought Jo Watson did a fantastic job, not only with the plus sized representation, but with the mental health and disability rep as well. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who has ever struggled with their confidence and knowing their worth. I think Lori's growth and development throughout the book was magnificent and I can't wait for other people to read her story.

I found this book very strongly written. The fat rep in this is very relatable to me, as a person who has struggled with his weight for years. The author has written a wonderful character that showcases how great the human body is when it is embraced without prejudice. Thank you for the e-arc.

I didn't like the pxf format which is a technical issue. Ioved the cover. I couldn't get into the opener. I wanted toovd the characters but could t get hooked

This book made me think of my own experience when I was in high school being big boned. It was well written, but I did notice some grammar and spelling mistakes.

Big Boned is an Own Voices YA book that has many wonderful messages about loving yourself and your body and embracing who you are. I love the representation of a larger character in YA fiction. The main characters brother also has autism and there is positive representation of those on the spectrum. Overall an uplifting read for all.

Such a sweet book with many amazing messages.

This book is such an inspiration with many inspiring messages about self-love, determination, loving your body and how it's a work of art, being who you are and so much more. It was really nice to read and inspire you from what the character was going through as well. Having a plus size MC is very inspiring to witness, we all want to see someone like us in a book or movie and books like this are the best representation for that. There is also the commentary of autism and people that have autism or are on the autism spectrum. There are so many great messages in this book that I can't even name them all, but seeing them represented in a YA is very amazing to see and I'm glad I read this book.

Also, love the cover!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad books for the earc in return for an honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for a digital advance readers copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions expressed are entirely my own. I really enjoyed this book and even found myself inspired by it! The main character, Lori struggles with anxiety, her body image, and other things life has thrown at her. I felt that she was a very well-developed character that readers will want to root for. Honestly, I felt that all the characters in the book were well-written, lovable, and complex. This book was very character-driven and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I also really loved Lori's relationship with her autistic brother Zac. She is such a great sister and their conversations and interactions in the book were very cute, funny, and heartwarming. The only complaint I have about the book is that the very beginning of the book felt a bit slow to me. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and it was a solid 4 star read for me.

Thank you to NetGallley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I thought this novel was a sweet coming of age story. It wasn't too complicated or drawn out, and it didn't focus on the main character changing to become someone she wasn't or losing weight to fit in. Instead, it was about growth and acceptance.

As a big girl myself, I really resonated with this story. I felt that Lori's struggle to find her worth despite the number on the scales was honest and believable. Some might say that she was overly preoccupied with her size but, when you are a larger size, everything does have to go through that filter. Everything from how you sit to ensure you don't get pins and needles to under-boob sweat and shopping.
I loved her relationship with her gay friends back in Joburg as well as the growing friendship with Thembi someone who, despite appearances, also had her own problems.
It was a great way to point out that not even skinny people have perfect lives.
My favourite thing, though, was her relationship with her autistic brother and how she had almost lived her entire life around him. It was honest about her experiences with him and the lack of affection that she craved because of his diagnosis.
Her step into finding her own voice was a great tale to read and I had a hard time letting go of the story once it was done. Genuinely enjoyed.

I couldn’t get more than a few pages in. It was painfully bad. The writing felt juvenile and it needed significant editing.

I would say I read this book in one sitting, but part of adulting is getting a reasonable amount of sleep to be productive the next day (so it was two sessions, and I was quite resentful to have to put the book down for something as mundane as sleep). Lori was me in high school (only way more talented, and a much nicer sibling). This book focuses on self-love, which I think is the hardest love to achieve. I wish EVERYONE could read this story. This story would help people struggling with weight anxieties, and help others understand the anxieties attached to being labeled "plus size". My favorite quote was probably the "You know, Amber, sometimes us fat girls do get the hot guys." This book is great for fans of Dumplin' or ABC Family's Huge. Another amazing part of the story is the focus on having a sibling with autism--making this one of the more unique YA books I've read this year.

This book is honestly so good. It exceeded all my expectations. This book is about Lori palmer and her life. Her struggles with being plus size, and her family dynamic. It focuses on her relationships with her mom, her dad, her brother Zac (who is neuro diverse), a guy named jake and her friends.

This books deals with heart hitting topics like panic attacks, bullying, body image, anxiety, broken families, addiction, ADHD and much more. Our main character deals with many issues that alot of us can relate with. Her brother being neuro diverse takes up more of her family's attention and that leaves her in a hard spot. The book discusses that as well.

What I loved about our MC was her character development. Her growth was really subtle and she took a whole 180. She gives hope to girls out there that we can be whatever we want. She's an artist, a damn good one. This story is about her gaining confidence, in herself and in her art. The arc is just phenomenally done

Our main love interest was the sweetest and the romance was really cute. Their love was so pure and wholesome. They were each others rock, they had each other back and they were everything. The definition of a healthy relationship.

The relationship between Lori and Zac was just so pure. They loved each other and I love for some good sibling moments. Their scenes actually bought me to tears a number of times. Also, Jake's relationship with her sister, Lisa, was really cute too. And also Lisa and Zac's friendship was adorbs.

The only thing I'm kinda iffy about is the representation of therapy in the book. From what I know real therapist don't go out giving advices and stuff. And the overall act of the therapist just didn't sit right with me idk why. Seemed a little unrealistic.

But apart from that, this was a solid book. A 4.5🌟 for me.

This was a wonderful journey into the battle most teen girls face to learn to love themselves. Realistically, our main character, Lorri, is full of self loathing and negativity towards her body. She adores her brother and rarely resents being his primary caretaker. Set in South Africa, yet a story for every girl in every corner of the world. The characters have depth to them, even the ones only mentioned in passing, and what could easily have become a grouping of cliches never manages to do so. The neurodiversity of her brother is portrayed accurately and lovingly. I will be highly recommending this book to all young women as well as those more senior of us who have yet to learn to love ourselves. Well done.

The start of the book was a little slow but then it picked up pace and it became more fun. I love Guy and Andile and Thembi, they were all loveable characters and I liked how they always had Lori’s back. Jake was adorable, however at the start their friendship kind of felt forced.
To conclude, it was a fun book that dealt with fat-shaming and how our inner selves actually become the villains and lead us to hate our bodies however they were. I loved her therapist a lot, she was like the best person Lori had and I liked how she helped Lori grow out.
Those who want to read this book, please first look at the trigger warnings and then move forward. This book is a fun ride throughout.