I signed up for a book subscription over the Christmas holiday and on my survey I said I was looking for some escapism from the heavy news of the world and that I would read any genre. My first box contained this book: a YA romance about a plus sized, fashion obsessed lesbian in LA.

Perfect escape: Very light reading, quirky characters, snappy dialogue, sweet first love. It’s totally predictable (as are most YA novels and probably all romance novels) but thoroughly enjoyable.

Would I have ever bought this book on my own? Probably not. Am I glad to have read it? Sure!










( )

My second attempt at trying romance and another early DNF at around 15%. It's too early and I am seriously not qualified to review these kinds of books yet, so no stars and more of a me problem.

It's definitely pretty cute and the writing is so much better than the last one I read, but it just wasn't for me. I think I liked the idea of experiencing the sapphic summer I never got to have, but I think I need something older, if not in character at least in tone.

I also just don't think I want to read a story in which everyone has a blog or app or whatever. Not knocking anyone who does that and I'm a long way from LA or 17, so maybe the cloud this old lady is yelling at isn't in the wrong.

Time to stop randomly picking from the Audible Included library and actually try and find something that sounds good for me.

Firstly, don’t read this book when you are hungry. You’ll just crave food or snacks or coffee or numerous other things while reading almost every second page. Now, you can’t say I didn’t warn you 😀😀😀

I loved Abby’s character. She is very funny, has a great sense of style, loves fashion, promotes body positivity and wants everyone to be confident in their body and clothing choices. I love when she mentions that being fat is not an insult even though other people tend to make it that way. I thought the fat rep was great, atleast something that I could closely relate to, especially the part about parent’s opinions about our bodies and their belief that becoming thin will make us pretty and happy. As someone who is very subtly shamed about my weight frequently in the guise of “being healthy”, I was happy to see that neither Abby nor her friends consider her weight to be a problem.

The development of Abby and Jordi’s relationship is also very sweet. It starts off with friendship, hesitant smiles, little flirtations and the setup was so much fun to read about. I loved how Jordi never missed taking pictures of Abby because she found her so beautiful and considered it her best work. Their interactions, their well thought out dates and intense makeout sessions were too cute.

Along with the love story, my favorite part of the book were the friendships. Abby’s girl gang is awesome and I really loved their dynamic. It’s also realistically portrayed – Abby being closest to Maliah even though they are best friends with Zoe and Brooke, Abby not being very happy that Maliah is spending more time with her boyfriend leaving less for their girls only bonding. Abby’s almost accidental friendship with Jax is hilarious and I loved hanging out at all the burger joints with them. He may be a dudebro, but he grows on Abby over time and is also extremely supportive of her. There is one particular scene where he explains why he wanted to be her friend and it was very very sweet.

I love this book for a lots of things – bringing East LA to life for me (I’ve never been to the west coast), amazing friendships including f/f and f/m, a cute summer sapphic romance, well fleshed out POC characters and lots of beautiful clothes and food. But my favorite aspect of the book is definitely body positivity and also Abby’s belief that being confident in her body doesn’t mean that she needs to put herself (atleast her pictures) out there on social media.

( )

teen fiction (summer before senior year, first love with queer interest in present-day L.A.)
I liked this more for its diverse main character (openly gay girl who is fat and pink-haired and an accomplished fashion blogger) and clever dialogue than for the story itself. Both girls are already 'out' and don't encounter any adversity for their gayness during this story--it is pretty much a sweet, simple love story, with gay (and very career-driven) characters. The book jacket rates this age 12 and up; I would say that's fairly accurate, esp. for kids who are interested in reading about characters like themselves (or their friends). There isn't any sex in here, but a lot of serious kissing. ( )

An upbeat, sincere tone - 17 yr narrator is hoping to pursue a career in fashion, wants to have her own girlfriend/ "love story", but resigned to be the sidekick best friend to Maliah & her boyfriend Trevor. Treats gently her lesbian identity, family relationships, and her first falling in love with her fellow intern (Jorid Perez) at a trendy clothing shop in LA neighborhood. Full of breezy, southern Calif style experiences & a realistic coming of age plot line. An Evergreen book award nominee for 2021. ( )