How much did I love this book? Let me count the ways. This novel had everything that I adore, all in one: theater, music, swoony romance! The voice of Bridget popped from the first page, and her journey was well developed and moving, with loads of humor and heart. I love the theater world that the author created and the secondary characters were well-rounded and charming. Highly recommended!

* Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I admit that when I first started the book, I had my doubts. Bridget was NOT a character I liked, and I wasn't sure how she was going to redeem herself as the book progressed. However, by the end of the story, I had grown to enjoy Bridget and who she had become. The Bridget at the end had shown significant growth compared to the Bridget at the start - what a nice job the author did in showing this growth over the course of the semester.

I loved the supporting characters - Liza, Max, and Hans really helped the story move and even the more minor characters, like Bridget's dads, Octavia and Ruby, contribute solidly to the story. Finally, I loved the body positivity in the story - Bridget embraces and loves herself.

The story wraps up neatly and there aren't any major twists at the end, but I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and how Bridget found a new side of herself she never knew existed.

Bridget Bloom is an excellent example of a character who should be unlikeable, yet manages to elicit reader sympathy. Her self absorption is evident from the first pages, when she moves into her dorm room and proceeds to decorate both her side of the room and her roommate's side of the room, believing that her roommate will be grateful to have such stylish decorations on her walls. Bridget's confidence is at once amusing and entertaining.

This was fun, sweet, quirky, witty and so much more. I love it when we can watch our main character progress and grow and have a wonderful ending. This was better than I hoped for and expected!

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen and NetGalley of allowing me to read this ARC

Bridget Bloom is unstoppable! Attending a prestigious high school for the arts in the big city away from her little hometown in Nebraska, Bridget is ready to ascend and take her place amongst the stars of musical theater. Only there's been a mix-up and Bridget didn't actually make it into the program (cue dramatic music). If she's not in the program she can't perform and Bridget's need to perform is right up there with a fish's need for water. Challenged to give up the spotlight, Bridget is forced to discover if it's the stage she can't give up or the music that comes so naturally to her. Is there really a difference? Bridget will have to go quiet and listen to find out.

This is the first YA book I've read in a long while that I would gladly place on my classroom bookshelf. The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom is a charming read that has a strong narrative voice and a character arc of personal growth that feels authentic and earned.

Bridget Bloom is an excellent example of a character who should be unlikeable, yet manages to elicit reader sympathy. Her self absorption is evident from the first pages, when she moves into her dorm room and proceeds to decorate both her side of the room and her roommate's side of the room, believing that her roommate will be grateful to have such stylish decorations on her walls. Bridget's confidence is at once amusing and entertaining.

Bitz drops enough hints through the narrative so that any reader who is paying attention should understand that Bridget is an extremely unreliable narrator. In fact, The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom would make a great introduction to this concept for adolescent readers. Instead of finding Bridget's narration annoying or obnoxious, I found Bridget's journey towards realizing that she's actually kind of a shitty person pretty entertaining. Bridget is well-meaning, and though she's self-centered, she is not cruel. As the book goes on, she grows as a person, learns to listen instead of dominating every conversation, learns to ask questions about other people, and learns the difference between love and infatuation.

The secondary characters feel fully fleshed out, and every one of them has their own sort of personal journey. Liza is particularly enjoyable (and deserves a book of her own), and it was great to see Bridget learn to prioritize her friendship with Liza over her own desires. Bridget makes some mistakes with her friends as she learns to be a better person, but those mistakes and the lessons she takes from them feel real.

The outcome is fairly predictable, but Bridget's journey is a fun one. This is a very cute book and one that I think would be a good addition to classroom bookshelves.

Okay woah. I have so many thoughts, and so many feelings about this book.
I guess I will start this by saying that I was a bit unsure about this book at the beginning, Bridget was so quirky and self centered but that was exactly how she was supposed to be- it was wonderful reading her story, and seeing how far she has grown throughout it.
My three favorite things about this book are definitely Max, Hans and how body positive it was. There was so many subplots, and nothing consumed the story but Bridget’s passion to preform, and the things she did that led her to sing, and act better than before. I have no idea how to explain this but it's almost like reading this book has a constant giddy feeling- like reading a really cute romance scene, or wanting to throw the book across the room, except it's across the whole book not scenes.
I also really really adored the authors note.

4.5/5 stars! Ok; so hear me out. I'm a huge fan of Rachel Bloom, screenwriter, producer, and actor extraordinaire. And reading this premise I felt like this book was an anthem to queen Rachel, so I dove right in. I really enjoyed this story. It does a great job of supporting plus-size rep and I loved all the ins and outs of a musical academy. Bridget was fun and silly and grew throughout the tale. Would absolutely read from this author again.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

This was fun, sweet, quirky, witty and so much more. I love it when we can watch our main character progress and grow and have a wonderful ending. This was better than I hoped for and expected!

I really enjoyed this book. It was cute, quirky, and had such a big heart. I loved Bridget as a character and how she changed and grew throughout the book. I also really enjoyed all of the other characters especially Liza and Max. Overall a lovely book.