Boarding school book!

I love them.

Bridget Bloom has her work cut out for after getting accepted into her new school. A school where everyone is the best. Go on this journey with her while she discovers herself and learns so much along the way. A lot of life lessons learned.

This book is cute and I loved it. A very sweet read.

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

Bridget Bloom is a huge star -- at least in her own head. When she arrives at Richard James Academy, a boarding school with a nationally known music program, she is sure it is her moment. But then she learns that she failed her music theory entrance exam, so she will not be able to perform until she is able to prove she has mastered music theory. And the dean of the school encourages her to use the time to work on her humility, by not performing at all. Bridget is discouraged but determined to make her place in the school. As she finds new ways to pursue her music interest, all the while making new friends in unexpected places, Bridget learns there are more ways for her to shine than she expected.

This is a terrific and heartwarming story. Bridget is, true to the book's title, an unforgettable character, and the book explores interesting themes around fame, friendship, and being open to new experiences.

Highly recommended!

This is a story about finding your voice. Coming from a small town where she never fit in, Bridget Bloom is beyond excited to start at the prestigious Richard James boarding school in Chicago and finally showcase her singing talents with classmates and teachers who will appreciate them. The school is known for its arts programs, especially its music program which has launched the careers of many people who have gone on to careers in Broadway. And one of its students is YouTube star, Duke Ericson. But shortly after she arrives, Bridget learns that because of her poor grades on a music theory entrance exam, she must spend the year in the general education program — she is not allowed to perform, which Bridget and her dads were relying on to secure a sponsorship to help pay for tuition. And the scary Dean of Students, a former Broadway star, challenges Bridget to show her humility by not singing at all during her first semester and focusing on other areas.

Bridget feels lost — with no friends, a roommate that seems to hate her, and no chance to do the thing that has always brought her the most joy, singing. But she is committed to trying to make it work. Slowly, she develops a group of friends, including Duke, and finds other ways to contribute to the music program which, much to her surprise, she finds she is not only quite good at but she also enjoys. As the first semester comes to a close, though, Bridget must face whether it will be possible for her to remain in school — and whether the Dean of Students may have been onto something with her suggestion to work on her humility.

I really enjoyed this book! Bridget is such a strong and multifaceted character — both supremely confident about some aspects of her life while also often doubting herself and what she has to contribute outside of singing. It is terrific to see her bloom (excuse the pun) as she realizes, both as a friend and as an accompanist and a songwriter, she has much to contribute — and strengths and interests she never thought to explore. The supporting characters were also terrific, from Liza to Max to Ruby to Hans, as they went on their own journeys with Bridget — shaping her and being shaped in turn. Bridget’s reflections on what it means to be a friend, and the ways she may have fallen short in the past, was particularly well done. This book is perfect for anyone who is a fan of musical theater or stories of friendship and found family.

Strongly recommended!

I.LOVED.THIS.BOOK

Bridget is the perfect plus-sized heroine who is not afraid of her curves and letting her voice tell her story. When she attends the prestigious Richard James school for their music focus program (MFP) and gets out of her rinky dink small town, she thinks life is a breeze. Except the rug gets pulled out from under her as she did not get into the MFP program. Though she can stay at the school, she cannot perform. This is like telling her she is not allowed to breathe. Bridget straightens her spine and is determined to show the dean that she is made of sterner stuff and she's going to buckle down and get into the program if it's the last thing she does. Along the way, she meets an interesting cast of characters who turn into good friends and she learns that sometimes the spotlight is not all its cracked up to be.

This is a book that will hit you in all the feels. I cried at the end. I won't spoil it but I wish I'd had friends like Bridget and the other MFP kids who seem super genuine and creative. While the musical theory bits were lost on me since I can't play a note, that certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I found the book hard to put down. It was an absolute delight and something I would absolutely read a second time.

My thanks to HarperTeen and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Theater and drama kids, rejoice! This one is for us! Bridge is a passionate performer and singer. So much so that she is accepted into the Richard James academy for it's prestigious music program. When Bridget fails her music theory placement things don't go to plan. In an effort to learn music theory and embrace humility, Bridget begins to rely on her inner being instead of her voice.

As a young-adult coming-of-age story, Bridget is not perfect. But keep reading! While she starts off quick to judge other's and self-focused to a flaw we see Bridget progress with the school year. The musical theater references were what made the story most appealing for me as a self-proclaimed musical nerd. It felt like being around like-minded friends.

Thank you, Allison L. Blitz for the journey!

Thank you Net Galley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for a e-arc of this book.

#TheUnstoppableBridgetBloom #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-Arc copy of The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom. I

Bridget Bloom is so excited to be starting a high school in Chicago where she can focus on what she loves most - singing. However, after she gets there, she finds out she failed the theory exam, which means she can’t join her program. Even worse, she can’t get a sponsor for scholarship money. When she begs the dean to reconsider, the dean tells her she should be more humble. Out of spite, Bridget decides she will do just that and not sing at all that semester.

I loved the writing here, but Bridget was so annoying the first half of the book. It took so long for her to have character growth, almost to the point of being too long. The moments of sincerity are great, and again, loved the writing, just be prepared to maybe dislike the protagonist for a while!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bridget Bloom is made for musical theater. She has the voice. She has the skills. She has the talent. She has the confidence.

But she is lacking in her knowledge of music theory.

And she doesn’t find out how much that knowledge is necessary until she arrives on campus at a prestigious college preparatory boarding school for her first semester and learns that her low test scores on her music theory exam have placed her in the general education program—not the music program, which was supposed to be her one-way ticket to achieving her dreams.

When Bridget confronts the dean of students, she is given the opportunity to take certain music classes, act as the accompanist for one of the music program classes, and then to retest at the end of the semester to see if she can join the music program. But most of all, Bridget has to work on her humility. And how will Bridget work on her humility? By not singing.

I adored this coming-of-age story, y’all. It is heartwarming, gave me the warm fuzzies, and kept me grinning.

It shows how the way in which one approaches challenges can reveal one’s true nature. This is Bridget’s first time away from home, and she is learning about opening up to others. She is learning to put others’ needs before her own. And she is learning that there is more to her than her voice.

I appreciate how the story centers around a plus size heroine, whose “body just is”. (That’s a quote from the author’s note, by the way.) She doesn’t fret about its size. She doesn’t try to change anything. She is comfortable in her own skin. It does what she needs it to do and that’s all there is to that.

I enjoyed Bridget’s vibrant personality. She is larger-than-life, but she learns to share the spotlight with others, too.

Max is both adorable and adorkable. What a cutie. I delighted in Max and Bridget’s banter, his blushes, how he keeps showing up for her, and how they make music together.

We even get character arcs and growth from supporting characters in this one.

It was an easy 5 stars for me.

I received an advance copy from HarperTeen and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It was such a sweet and funny coming of age story. All of the characters were relatable, especially Bridget, Liza, and Ruby. There was the perfect amount of boarding school drama without it being over the top.

A great body positive novel. It is so important to accept ourselves for who we are. I loved the self discovery experiences the character goes through.

To preface this, I am a plus size professional theatre creator and performer and went to college for music and theatre. I wanted to love this book. The description was exactly what I love to see: a plus size girl owning her talent and not backing down. While I didn't anticipate this book being 100% about her being plus sized, I also didn't anticipate Bridget to be a completely entitled, full of her self, brat with no respect or care for anyone outside of herself. She did grow up in this book, but I had to keep reminding myself all the way to the epilogue that she was 16 and from a very small town with no idea how the world works. After the first 5 or so chapters, I wasn't even sure if I was going to finish this book because I disliked her so much, but I am glad I did. I think any high schooler or even early college would love this book, but having been in the world of professional theatre for over a decade I couldn't love it.

Things I did love:
1. Bridget owning her space and knowing her worth - this is huge and I would have loved seeing someone like this when I was younger.
2. Max - he is a delightful foil to Bridget and clearly cares about her and the people around them
3. The Students - there is very little drama and in-fighting within the students. In most performing arts focused schools this is not the case. The competition is drilled into them by the faculty and it was nice to see that not the case here.

There were other things I enjoyed, but overall I wouldn't pick up this book again.

This was a fun book with a lot of heart. Bridget is a LOT, but the kind of a LOT that's fun to root for (think Elle Woods or Rachel from Glee). My favorite storyline was the one involving Hans. <3

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- this was an okay read! i liked the representation, the formatting of the story, and the development the characters go through during the duration of the story. it’s a cute debut, and there will be an audience with people who love contemporary stories.

What a breath of fresh air! This YA romance was “Glee” meets “Never Have I Ever” and I loved every second. Bridget Bloom is a diva in all the wrong ways until she gets taken down a few pegs and is forced to give up the spotlight. This is a story about female friendships, love, and pursing your passions. There are also themes of body positivity, several LGBTQ+ characters, and a lot of other diversity in a way that I love to see in current literature. After loving this book, I looked up the author @allisonlbitz and discovered she’s a licensed psychologist (I knew I loved her!) This book comes out on May 2 and I’d recommend to anyone looking for a feel good story with substance. Thanks to @netgalley for my ARC!

I got this book for free, in exchange for my honest opinion via NetGalley.

A body positive coming of age Young Adult novel. Bridget is plus sized girl from a small town in Nebraska, knows she destined to some day be a star on Broadway. Upon getting accepted into her dream school, Bridget lives to perform but she ultimately hits a snag and is challenged to not sing for an entire year and not be the centre of attention.

I loved this body positive story of self-discovery. I could relate to different parts of the book like being curvy myself. I fell in love Bridget from page one and it was a fun ride as she goes from ego to humble. I didn't see the plot twists coming, okay maybe one or two of them. I also feel like I should mention that these kids have great taste in music.

Overall, it was a wonderful read and something I highly recommend. I will definitely be going back and rereading this again.

As a YA/Juvenile novel, Allison L. Bitz's The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom was truly impressive; the representation alone was phenomenal. It was also well-written and felt like a story about real people. I enjoyed reading the story of Bridget's discovery of who she was and what she wanted to do, along with the heartwarming characters.

Bridget is plus sized, and she doesn’t care. She knows she is a star and that some day she will be on broadway. She has been acting in her local theatre group since she was a child, and now she has finally gotten into the school of her dreams, in Chicago that is all about music and theatre, so far from small town Nebraska where she lives.
She knows she is it. She knows she has talent. And she is all prepared to show it off, but is told by the dean that she won’t be able to because she failed her music theory entrance exam. She can still go to the school, but she can’t be in any shows, at least not this year.

This iswhat she lives for, to sing. This is all she is. To be told that she can’t do this is almost too much for her. And to know she isn’t in the music program, when all her soon to be friends are, is almost too much too.

And so Bridget, for the first time in her life, has to *not* be the center of attention. She has to think of others.

What I enjoyed about this book is that although I figured out *some* of the surprises, I didn’t figure them all out. I love that Bridget’s weight is never a point of the book, but is very clear that she is not some skinny minnie. She owns it and moves on, and doesn’t let her slow her down.

I also love where this story leads us, that she discovers about her self, that she doesn’t have to be the one on stage, that she doesn’t have to be the star. And that the boy she knew from YouTube, that goes to this story, is not who he appears in his persona, online, that he is quite different too.

Sort of a love story, sort of a coming to power story. Yes, there is some romance, some lusting, but this is really about becoming more than you started out as, and isn’t that what a good novel does? That the chracter grows and changes?

I ate this one up. I love her when we first meet, in the first chapter, despite her bit of ego, and grow to love her more as she realizes what she is doing wrong. Great story.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I highly recommend it, not only for a believable fat character, but a believable teenage “romance” as well.

I came across this book randomly, while scrolling through new titles coming available on NetGalley. The author name was familiar to me, and after some minor digging, I realized that the author of this book is my former therapist! I enjoy the sporadic young adult novel, but it is not my go to. But I had to request this book knowing who wrote it!
The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom is about a teenager from small-town Nebraska who gets into a musical theatre school in Chicago. However, due to some unpredictable circumstances, Bridget finds herself unable to sing for an entire semester, which is devastating to her and her big personality.
As someone who is from Omaha, and currently lives in Kansas City (like two of the characters), it was fun to read about characters in places I've been. Bridget starts the book out as selfish and judgmental, but it was fun to read about her growth throughout the book, as she learns to think about others as well. The other characters were also fun to watch as they grew and shared more about themselves.

The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom is...unstoppable. Ok I'll stop with the title puns. I so enjoyed this book and especially Bridget's voice. She feels and acts like a real teenager. She stumbles over so many things, makes so many mistakes and tries so hard. I loved her enthusiasm and love for all things theatre and singing and I loved her drive. As an adult however I just wanted to shout at her for so many things - but I know I am NOT the target audience. :) Our library will definitely purchase this one and I could see how fans of Becky Albertalli will enjoy it.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did- I finished it in a day. It was a fun read with interesting characters that developed throughout the novel. Some developments were unexpected, as from the beginning I assumed <spoiler> Duke and Bridget would end up together </spoiler> And I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. I also really loved the dynamic between Ruby and Bridget. It helped to draw attention to Bridget's growth as a character and it felt like a more realistic relationship between roommates.

I also thought Richard James was interesting and realistic. Bridget's rejection was relatable and made the story much more compelling.

However, some parts of the plot were predictable. For example, <spoiler> I guessed that Hans was socks from the beginning and that Max had written Duke's music </spoiler>. While these elements could have been made less obvious, the story was still engaging and I still enjoyed the book.





Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an eArc