A beautiful collection of poetry that gets right to the heart of what it means to live as a fat woman.

I really have no idea what I just read... It was a mis-mash of "poetry", I suppose, but 99% of it was all negative towards the larger woman. I thought this book was supposed to be uplifting?! I actually feel really sad now.

4/5⭐️

“My body will never forgive me if I let you find it guilty for existing.” - Decriminalize the Fat Body

I’ve read lots of academic literature and formal essays on fatphobia and overcoming shame associated with larger bodies but reading it in such a poetic way is truly freeing in a way that is hard to describe unless you’ve lived it. Add in the witchy undertone of the whole book, Kat Savage has created a must-read for any woman made to feel less, ashamed and wrong because of her body.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This beautiful collection of poetry delves into the raw and authentic struggles of body image in a way that's incredibly relatable and moving. Kat Savage masterfully weaves her words to shed light on how mental health, self-esteem, and relationships are affected by the harsh and unrealistic standards the world imposes. 🌎

Reading this book felt like having an intimate conversation with a dear friend. I found myself on an emotional rollercoaster, wanting to give Kat the biggest hug for her bravery and vulnerability. 🤗 Her story is so genuine and courageous, making me want to scream at anyone who couldn't see her worth and value for being exactly who she is! 😤💕

"Fat Girl" is an absolute must-read for anyone who's ever struggled with body image or simply wants to feel a deep connection to another human's journey. Kat Savage, you are a true gem, and your words have left an indelible mark on my heart. 💖📖

What an incredible and accessible book of poetry. Each poem resonated with me in various ways- and even a woman (or man) who has not been shamed for their weight (does a person such as that exist?) can connect with the theme of self-love and acceptance.

Fat Girl Magic by Kat Savage is a moving collection of poems that feels incredibly real and relatable. The author captures the feelings, hopes, fears, and pains of being fat with honesty and depth. The beautiful illustrations throughout the book add to the emotional experience.

Reading this book resonated deeply with me. Each poem felt authentic, portraying the inner world of someone living in a larger body in a society that often misunderstands and marginalizes them.

I recommend Fat Girl Magic to anyone who wants to feel represented or to gain a better understanding of what it's like to be fat. For fat readers, it provides a sense of being seen and understood. For others, it offers valuable insights and promotes empathy. Kat Savage's work is a reminder that everyone deserves respect and understanding, regardless of their size.

Thank you #NetGalley and #CentralAvenuePublishing for the advance copy of #FatGirlMagic!

So, when I requested this book, I did not know that it was a collection of poetry. I will out myself and say that I’m not habitually the biggest fan of poetry. With that being said, much of this book spoke to me, and I think it will speak to many inducing who have lived in fat bodies. I had a really difficult time formulating coherent thoughts about how I felt about this collection because I’m almost 36 now, and have worked very hard on my relationship with myself and my body, so I almost felt like I needed this book more 10 years ago. However, every time I thought that, the next poem would really resonate. And not in a typical level, but somewhere inside, to some part of me that has carried these wounds for a long time. So with all of that being said, I really enjoyed reading it. The paragraphs between poems highlight some very real diet culture issues and I really appreciated that added content too!

a beautiful collection of poetry that felt so enlightening. the ideas of perception centering around our bodies was so strong, i felt very connected to these poems.

This was an absolutely beautiful collection of poetry that I related to very well throughout it. This book feels like a hug and a middle finger to the judgmental world all wrapped up in one. This was vulnerable and raw and it touched my heart. Thank you

h pretty solid! I like the images put in between and the way the book is structured to almost tell a story.

This is a collection of poetry, which I am not sure is very clear by the book description. The "witchy framework" is also very limited, to a poem that uses witchy images opening each of three sections. I found this book to be incredibly, incredibly triggering for a book that I thought was going to be a celebration or even body neutral. It is more of a memoir -- and nearly half the poems are about shame feelings around things like the numbers on the scale or the terrible things that other people have said and done due to the fatness of the writer. There is a place for this type of book, but I feel that neither the title nor the book description accurately captured what this book was about or what I would be walking into.

〝he whispers words
of love into my skin,
into my heart,
speaks of perfection, of beauty
and unconditional adoration

I find it all so hard to believe,
such big pills to swallow,
words I can't quite let myself accept

my hands feel for every flaw,
magnified by generational scars,
words cut into my flesh long ago

I trudge uphill
over and over again
like the man doomed
to roll a rock

I trudge,
I try,
I try again〞

★★★.5

thank you to central avenue publishing and netgalley for providing me with this arc.

this is a unique dissection of the truly powerful journey from the way others perceive, label, and judge our bodies to our own discoveries, acceptance, and love we find for ourselves. it invokes a witchcraft framework to explore the journey to self-love and acceptance in a uniquely honest way. intended to be thought provoking and insightful, this collection will pull you from your loneliness, help you realize the magic within yourself, and welcome you into a coven of healing and the shared ideal that all bodies deserve respect, love, and space within our society.

I really enjoyed this collection. the illustrations were beautiful, the sprinkle of witchcraft was a fun touch and the overarching theme was well thought out and easy to follow. I guess I would still classify this as "instagram poetry" but a couple of steps above your classic rupi kaur. what I really enjoyed is that it seems like the author wrote poems for other women around the country based on their own stories and experiences. for example, the poem above called uphill was written for bri in oregon. I think that's a really clever way to make the poems and topics a bit more unique while also highlighting the theme of womanhood and reiterating that no woman is alone in these feelings, experiences and insecurities.

I'd definitely recommend this to someone who's somewhat new to reading poetry, want's to read something "easy" but not fun or lighthearted or someone who enjoys reading about women's stories and womanhood in general.

ig: @winterrainreads

As someone who is over weight this book really resonated with me.. I had to take my time while reading this book. There were multiple moments where I became emotional and cried. This is truly a beautifully written collection of poetry and I’m happy I was able to read it.

I fully expected to cry reading this book and I definitely did. This book fully encompassed what it is like to live as a person in a bigger body, who sees and hears things everyday that make them hate their body. I loved the images included among the poems as well - a great visual reminder of our bodies. A fantastic book and wonderfully cathartic in many ways. I plan to buy this book and bookmark my favorites for when I need to return to them.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

𝑭𝒂𝒕 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 (𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬) 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒦𝒶𝓉 𝒮𝒶𝓋𝒶𝑔𝑒, 𝒞𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓁 𝒜𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓊𝑒 𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

This book is, in fact, magical. And relatable. And empowering.
Fantastic. Can’t wait for the world to read it.

I loved this book so so much from the poems to the self help within the book it was like a big sister or aunt etc giving the best advice possible and making you feel like you belong in such a cruel world where you don’t have to feel shame for being curvy or bigger

I loved these poems and the accompanying illustrations. They are potent, viscera and challenge us to do the best thing in life- to love ourselves.

<i>when I'm alone,
I feel perfect in every way,
but surrounded by people,
an overwhelming feeling
of being less than,
of being not good enough,
takes over

my fantasies have
branded me beautiful,
but others don't see
the same in me

so what is real?
what am I to believe?</i>

A beautiful collection of poetry with fitting little illustrations.
I enjoyed it immensely and I am so grateful that I got to read this book.

Incredibly relatable for anyone who has grown up as a fat girl. I really liked how this moved to a point of empowerment by the end, and it is short and sweet so can be picked up any time for some motivation. I particularly enjoyed the message that you don't need to feel empowered and accepting of yourself all the time.