I had a hard time getting into the story. I didn't finish it and don't feel that it's right for me to review or rate it, but I will give it 3 stars because I don't think it's bad, it just wasn't for me and NetGalley requires a star rating.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I liked this one a bit more than I expected. It addresses fat phobia and misogyny. It also explores personal passions and the beauty of loving your body and what it can do. The plot is a bit predictable but the characters are compelling enough to drive the reader forward. And it leaves the reader with a number of points to reflect upon.

I really wanted to like this book, but honestly I was disappointed. I'm going to keep this spoiler-free so that people can see this to decide if they want to check this out or not.

For starters, this book is filled with internalized fatphobia and some general anti-fat bias. I've read books with that before and that was not my problem. My problem is that the book never really addressed it. Addie seems to have come to the point where she recognizes that her internalized fatphobia is a problem and it is harmful to her, but there is no discussion of how she got to that point, there is no overarching message of fat acceptance or liberation. I think there are moments that are certainly realistic with that, because nobody erases those problems overnight. I know that this is my personal preference as a fat reader, but I think when these self-esteem issues are being written by an author who publicly wrote about receiving weight-loss surgery, I would prefer them either not write fat main characters or push back against anti-fat bias more clearly. The tone is different coming from fat, non-fat, or formerly fat authors, and I do think that difference matters.

Even if we set that first point aside, because that is definitely a personal preference, the plot of this book ranged from confusing to downright nonsensical. The overall plot follows a talented, fat dancer who wins her dream fellowship opportunity, but needs to raise $6,000 in three months in order to go, so she and her friends decide to put on an underground burlesque show at their school, charging $100 per ticket. That is a ridiculous amount of money to expect students to pay (even if they're rich, these kids are amateurs and the show is not worth that).

The second portion of the book features Addie and friends pushing back against the idea that burlesque is sexual/inappropriate and saying that them getting in trouble for putting on the show is sexist. There are definitely points to be made about the moral policing that the school tries to do, but it feels disingenuous for the first part of the book to be about Addie and friends exploring how sexy and confident they feel while stripteasing and dancing, then for them to claim there was nothing sexual about it. Like their mindset seemed to clearly be about sensuality and sexiness, but then they claimed otherwise when the school came after them? It was confusing and didn't make much sense to me, but I also think that the fact this was put on by high schoolers at a high school made it harder for me to fully be on their side. If this had been set at a college, I think the message could've been much clearer, but in this setting, I did think it was confusing. I want to be clear that I absolutely support burlesque and I don't intend this plot critique to be prudish or shaming, I just think that a plot that hinges on me uncritically supporting high schoolers' right to strip in an underground burlesque club is not great.

The other big plot issue I had was the subplot with the d*ck pics. There's basically a subplot where one of the friends is being harassed online periodically and starts getting DMs of d*ck pics. The friends find out who was sending them, and they....do nothing real about it? Like they don't report it to the school or seek any other disciplinary action. Instead they do a sort of public shaming, which...sure. But I really did not understand the need to have this subplot at all and to have it but then not have the characters do anything about it. I get that in the real world, reporting that stuff is difficult, especially when it's anonymous like it was in the book at first. But here, they find out who it is and it's just not addressed in a serious way.

Overall, I don't recommend this book. There were just so many issues I had throughout reading it, and I kept getting frustrated by the choices the characters were making. I feel like YA authors have a responsibility to show some models for how people should behave and respond to situations, and this book did not do that. The plot felt more like NA character behavior because I just could not understand why this setting was chosen and why the characters did what they did. I didn't find a message to take away from this book and wish I'd just re-read Dumplin' instead.

This book has been sitting on my to-be-read shelf for a while, and oh how I wish I had read it sooner. It was fabulous. Addie is an amazing and confident dancer, but she doesn't fit the mold of the typical dancer- she is fat. When Addie gets into her dream dance summer intensive in Milan she is excited to work with a famous dancer who looks like her, but when she cannot afford to attend Addie and her friends come up with the plan to put on an underground Burlesque show to earn the money. The show and a new boy in her life, help Addie push aside the negative thoughts about her body and fully accept who she is. But when trouble at the school comes knocking Addie and her friends have to defend themselves, and all other women who dare to bare more.
Addie is so relatable to all women, no matter their shape, size, skin color, age, etc. She has moments of insecurities about her body and who she is, just like everyone does. She also has many moments where she feels beautiful and powerful in her own skin. This book looks hard at what society has to say about women's bodies, which has become a very important topic in recent years. It has the themes of acceptance, speaking up, friendship, love, and so many more that hit home. I loved this book and couldn't put it down for the last half. Every girl should read this book.

“This is the way big things happen; I know it is. You leap because you know you’re going to stick the landing.” Love love love. So much fun to explore the ides of burlesque. I totally would have gone to an underground show in college had I been invited. What a joy to get to know the bond between these characters, and see their confidence grow.

I love everything fat-centric about this book. All of the self-love, being present in your body, taking up space, etc, etc, etc, was excellent. It's the narrative story itself that felt lacking. I needed more actual storyline to propel the story along. It felt dragging in places and I needed a stronger story to stay interested.

I lovvvvved this YA story by a debut Canadian author that was all about body positivity and self-confidence. Perfect for fans of Julie Murphy's Pumpkin! Plus what a stunning cover!! I can't wait to grab a copy to put on my forever shelves :) Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Way too descriptive. It seemed to me like the author was using a thesaurus trying to be a mixture of a philosophy professor and a poet. Either way I didn’t like the style or the message. “She’s” overused too. Things like “Christopher, pale and splotchy pink with red cheeked face, captain of the soccer team, I’m the academic program” IF this doesn’t bother you, then read it.

Larsen does an excellent job of trying to show how women are both shamed for loving their bodies, and for not doing so, especially if they are large, or fat, or otherwise atypical. Additionally, she draws attention to the shameful way that sexual self-expression is often vilified when it is not done in a way that conforms to male societal expectations. I think this is a great book for anyone who agrees that self-expression is no longer for the male gaze to approve.

Oh, and also, she and her nerd boy are adorable.

This book has great descriptions and interesting characters. I appreciated the diversity of the characters and their strong friendships.

I really enjoyed Larsen’s writing style. It was fairly straightforward, which I prefer in my contemporary stories, while also including some really hard hitting sentences that you felt deep in your soul. There were a few times when I caught myself tearing up or fist pumping the air! When a book makes me physically connect to it, I know it’s a keeper for me.

Addie was the star of this book for me. I loved her strength, especially when it came to shaking off all of her insecurities. She felt like a real character and person, someone who I immediately connected with. Now there were a few decisions she made that I didn’t necessarily feel were very realistic, but I guess that’s the case with most fictional stories. Gotta have that conflict, you know! But other than that, I felt she really gave us someone to root for and want to make a difference in how body positivity is such a great movement. As for the other characters, they were all interesting in their own right, if a little forgettable as a whole. I wish we could have gotten to really know them each a bit more individually, but this was really Addie’s story so we only ever get to experience them from her perspective. I did love their little friend group dynamic though. They were such a supportive bunch and I loved how they pushed her to shine. The romantic lead, Jack, was cute, but I’m glad that the romance was just a little sub-plot and not the focus of the story. Also, and I mean this 100%, fuck her mother. She is a terrible and selfish woman.

Now there were a few issues that I had with this book. While I loved the idea of an underground burlesque show to raise money, the actual show was such a tiny part of the book. I wish it had been given more time and description than what it was given. It happened, we glanced over it, and then it was over. For supposedly being such an integral part of the plot, it didn’t really stand out. Also… I NEED MORE DANCING. As a dancer growing up and in school, there was a lot of dance talk but not a lot actual dancing. I would have loved more scenes in dance class or practicing. To be fair though, this is really just my personal issue lol! The pacing also dragged a bit in the middle of the book, but I tend to feel that way about most contemporary novels in general.

With that being said, I feel like any issues I had with the book just melted away at climax, when it comes time for Addie to make her final stand. I don’t want to give too much away but… OH. MY. GOD. I haven’t read any speech in a novel before that moved me and left me feeling quite as empowered as Addie’s did. It was exactly how women and girls everywhere have felt at one time or another, and reading it being expressed like that was extremely powerful. If for no other reason than that, you should read this book.

I've finally read a book with a plus size MC and I'm proud. I loved the fact that herself and her friends were all confident in their bodies made me smile throughout the book.

If you love inspirational and empowering stories, this is it. It gives you all the right feelings and hits home.

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt for giving me a copy.

4.25 stars

What Dumplin' by Julie Murphy was for the 2010s, The Big Reveal is for the 2020s.

As a fat performing artist myself, The Big Reveal definitely had me feeling some kind of way. Addie's experience as a young woman moving through the world in what society views to be an unflattering body hit rather close to home, but I did ultimately come away from the novel feeling uplifted. The choice to use the conversation surrounding body positivity to segue into the greater conversation about how women's bodies are policed from a young age is absolutely inspired and really opens up the book in a way that I found incredibly impactful.

There were a few pacing issues in the second quarter of the book that initially made me think that this book was going to be a 3 star read at best, but the last third of this book really brought things home. I would highly recommend this to readers of all ages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I am sick of authors playing with the “I can't attend because I don’t have the money.” If you can get into something that is this big, such as a dancing opportunity after high school, then you are an adult…guess what it’s called a loan. Those with money started somewhere too and most likely it was a loan (also 6k is nothing…have you see what a cheapest car costs???). This whole, I will get pushed into the burlesque world to make money for my dream dancing opportunity means I 100% dislike this novel as being unrealistic in all respects. Let me see a loan vs subjecting myself to something I find horrific to make a point of a story. So, people that will like this book are those that are fine with unrealistic things but want a body positive story with a good cast of characters. I will give the author a plus on the writing, characters, and overall strong points.

This novel was an enjoyable, thought provoking read. Addie and her close-knit group of friends are all seniors attending an arts boarding school in Michigan. Although most kids who attend the school are well off, Addie is there on scholarship. When she is accepted into the dance program of her dreams in Milan, she is crushed to learn that it doesn't come with funding, forcing her to figure out how to get thousands of dollars to pursue her dreams.

Addie's mom cannot help her with the money, as she is already in debt and hardly listens to a word Addie says in the first place. So she and her friends hatch a plan to put on a secret, invite only burlesque show in an little-used storage area on campus to raise the money.

Other plotlines include Addie's rough relationship with her diet-obsessed mom, Addie's strong relationship with her mentor, encounters with a misogynistic student who sends a lot of unsolicited dick pics, an enviable group of friends, and boy problems, with an old flame and a new love interest.

This story does have a happy ending, but it will also leave you thinking. Many people may think that a bunch of teenagers doing a burlesque show on school grounds is wrong, but the author makes a compelling argument of why it isn't. Who gets to control the narratives about our bodies? Why are skimpy unitards okay for school-backed performances but no one can wear spaghetti straps in class? Why is okay to say that people, especially femmes, are asking for it if they wear "revealing" clothing? What even is revealing clothing? Why is it even less okay for fat people to celebrate their bodies?

Although this was a quick, fun read with a happy ending, it has left me thinking about the issues it brings up.

Fun and witty, this book about a plus size dancer is a must for any girl struggling with confidence. Written by the same woman who created Dumplin’, this book takes you on yet another exciting adventure of pursuing goals, love, and happiness in the funnest way possible!

This book is unashamed to be exactly what it portrays on the cover and I am HERE for it. There is nothing I didn’t love about this book: the characters are diverse and imperfect, the themes are relevant and poignant, and the writing runs the gamut from brave to vulnerable and proud to weak.

I loved ferocious Addie with her love of dance and the love for her friends, and I sympathized with her struggles over her weight, her mom, and her financial situation. Her friends were all relatable and adorable and made me wish I had friends like them in school.

I have two grown kids, and positive body image is something I worked hard on instilling in them from day one. It’s something I wished every parent would do. While this book focuses on the female body and body image positivity of females (among other things), I really think that the message behind being unashamed of who you are and what you bring to the table as a human being are messages any teenager could benefit from. Not to mention, the discourse on double standards on uniforms and dress codes between males and females throughout the book is something everyone should be talking about and thinking about.

I highly recommend this book. By the end, you’ll be smiling and you’ll feel a sense of righteousness that will make you want to smash the patriarchy too.

3.5 stars
This book was an entertaining, extremely relevant, and important read. We follow Addie who, in order to raise funds for the summer dance program she got accepted to, hosts an "underground" burlesque club with her three friends at school. I really appreciated the message of body positivity throughout the book; Addie is a plus-sized main character and she and her friends stand up for what they believe and stop at nothing to show the world their strengths and their beauty. Like I said, body positivity is a huge strength of this book and the storyline did such a good job of highlighting that. I loved the friendships throughout the book too, Addie has a great group of friends and they are all supportive of each other and have great banter. There's also a cute romance! The only thing I didn't love about this book and what really kept me from giving it a higher rating was the pacing. The middle of the book really dragged for me because, while the burlesque show was happening, there wasn't really any conflict until the last 20ish% of the book and after the plot and characters were established in the beginning, the story let me down. This is a very important read and I do recommend it, I just wish the pacing had been a little better.