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  • Published: 3 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780823451319
  • Imprint: Holiday House
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $19.99

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega




Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard. Harder when your whole life is on fire, though.

A NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD WINNER!

Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat.

People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter.

But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her?

Because it's time people did.

A sensitive, funny, and painfully honest coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.

An NPR Best Book of the Year!
A POPSUGAR Best New YA Novel!
A Cosmopolitan Best New Book!
A Bustle Most Anticipated Debut!

  • Published: 3 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780823451319
  • Imprint: Holiday House
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $19.99

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Praise for Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

A Cosmopolitan Best New Book of Winter 2020 ★ "Charlie's struggles are authentic and raw while Maldonado's bright prose makes for a page-turner. . . . An overdue and welcome ingénue."Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review "Charlie's emotional arc hits all the right notes, resulting in a warm and insightful coming-of-age tale."—Publishers Weekly "Sweet and sincere, Charlie Vega's journey is a delight."School Library Journal "Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is an accomplished debut, and its nuanced depictions of first love, a complex mother-daughter relationship and fat acceptance make it stand out."BookPage  "With a memorable cast that brings fresh faces and voices to a typically homogenous genre, this title focuses on the positives of the often difficult and confusing high-school experience: genuine friendships and allies, powerful first crushes, and discovering oneself. . . .  Charlie’s optimistic outlook, despite the challenges that come with her identity, will attract a widespread audience of romance lovers and expand their idea of what a romantic lead can look like."Booklist "We're so excited to get our hands on it."—Buzzfeed "Readers will appreciate Charlie from the get-go and rejoice when she herself begins to see the Charlie-celebrating light."The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is an utterly heartwarming story of love--of friends, of family, of romance and, most importantly, of oneself."—Shelf Awareness "Issues of body positivity and racial and gender identity are dealt with in a light, positive, and totally engrossing manner. This novel is perfect for fans of Julie Murphy's Dumplin' (Balzer + Bray 2015) and for any reader who struggles with feeling like they are 'not enough.'"—School Library Connection "This book feels like your best friend giving you a hug—it’s warm and sweet and healing."—Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best "A sweet and cheerful debut, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega moves with rom-com energy and a whole lot of awkward, goofy, chubby-girl-with-a-crush-on-a-boy vibes."—Gabby Rivera, author of Juliet Takes a Breath and Marvel’s America