Take Up Space, Y'all: Your Bold & Bright Guide to Self-Love

by Tess Holliday, Kelly Coon

Make your own rules and treat your body well in this uplifting, inspirational, and fact-filled guide to navigating social media, taking care of yourself, and loving your body by top plus-size model Tess Holliday and award-winning author Kelly Coon. 

Take Up Space, Y’all gives teen readers a joyful, can’t-put-this-down reading experience with advice and colorful anecdotes from body positivity activist, top plus-size model, and inclusivity consultant, Tess Holliday. Tess Holliday has been on a mission to shift society's mindset on what is beautiful, what is healthy, and what matters most of out life and living authentically. Now she and co-author, Kelly Coon, are combating the immense pressures society places on teens--from grades to social status to looks--and acknowledging these can have a negative impact on one's physical and mental health. Let Tess, Kelly, and various professionals guide you to taking up all the space you need making good eating choices for your body choosing fashion that defines you steering clear of social media trolls seeking help from trusted adults in hard situations and more! Through fun quizzes, bit-sized stories from Tess's life, writing prompts, and digestible sidebars, this guide is sure to empower you to unleash self-love and to conquer societal pressures while having fun at the same time.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2025

Reviews

[Angelyca · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is filled with misinformation about weight, genetics, and eating habits. For example, the author claims that 80% of overweight people are overweight because their ancestors survived famines.... a theory that oversimplifies and distorts the science. In reality, weight gain primarily comes down to consuming more calories than the body needs.

The author leans heavily on so-called “experts” to give this narrative a sense of credibility, but the arguments feel more ideological than factual. At its core, this book reads like a beginner’s guide to fat acceptance, encouraging readers to deflect personal responsibility for their weight and unhealthy eating patterns.

I strongly advise against giving this book to teens. Rather than helping them, it risks reinforcing harmful ideas about health, eating, and body image. This is supposed to be a self help book for teens but it is littered with random photos of Tess Holliday and parts of the book are basically an autobiography about her. This book was made for fuel Tess Holliday's ego, not to help the youth.

[Victoria Sn · Rating 1 out of 5]

got this for free off someone who was getting rid of it.
I had books and magazines like this as a kid and teenager but the fun style does not gel with the subject matter, there is too much self insert nonsense in this book and while tess has her fans they are mostly women in their thirties and forties so a child or teenager would not be interested in her opinions and life.
The most egregious parts of the book is the scientific misinformation that cite no sources and as an irish person I find the comments about famine genetics tone deaf and lacking in actual understanding of the science behind it.

[Holley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crazy this book was published. It is so full of harm with an actual mental health section about being isolated with dark thoughts and the solution being “welp, that’s just how brains are.” No hotline numbers, no advice to talk to a trusted adult. Repeatedly telling teens today (who this is trying to market to) to not trust what doctors and dietitians, aka Science, tell you. As someone with a teenage daughter, thank god she had no idea who Tess Holiday was when I asked.

[Katie Frooman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Genuinely not what i expected and not very good. It has a lot of material about Tess and not as much actually helpful for like tween/teens as i expected. It has some weird references and questionable science and quotes. I was hoping for something that felt kind of like a modern version of what American Girl might have made in the late 90's. It reads "ignore the haters" which isn't very helpful for young people in the throes of such a hormonally and relationally intense time, for the target audience I was expecting something more concrete and less ideological pep talk and personal anecdotes.

[Jhanna Firestone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Respectfully, who green lit this drivel into existence? It IS harmful to teens. It should genuinely be taken off the shelves. No one should be able to read this.

[Justin Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Damaging to teens. Buy this book for your teen if you want them to develop obesity-related illnesses and binge eating disorder.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a teacher/educator, counselor, parent, or mentor, this is the perfect book to recommend to your students, children or mentees if they're ever having self-esteem or body image issues. It's written to be read by tweens/teens, but could probably be understood by a mature 9 year old, & has nuggets of wisdom even for adults. For millennials/Gen X, it reads like a magazine with interactive quizzes, mini interviews, & discussion prompts, so 90s/2000s nostalgia, which is fun, & it's very informative & educational as well. 👌🏼

I'm sure I'm not the only reader that feels this way, but I wish it existed when I was a tween/teen, would have really helped me back then. Has a lot of advice on how to take of your body & basic hygiene, as well as touches on recognizing red flags & green flags in relationships, how to create healthy boundaries, & how to reshape the mind to think in healthier ways; stuff I had to learn the hard way over the years & could have used help with while I was growing up.

Pick it up for the young people in your life, or to help yourself along a journey of self-love. You'll be glad you did!

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dripping with insecurities, this author tells lies in a "not like the other girls" "quirky" ways.
Also this book is about her. She wants to talk about herself and then say whatever tf she wants because she is heavily obese and doesn't enjoy people saying that her body is going to give out on itself (how's the knee, Tess?).
Also, comparing us in the LGBT using the word 'queer' as a reclamation to her using 'fat' as the same situation is wild. How about you step tf back, do NOT talk about the LGBT like we are people who abuse our own bodies (overeating). We are not the same.
This book is actually fatphobic in the sense that Tess Holliday is making excuses on obesity's behalf. You can be overweight, you can be healthy, etc. But if you think being several hundred pounds is healthy, I think you should see a doctor (and NOT doctor shop to get the answers you want to put in your book).
Yeah, this book will probably damage someone. 0/5 stars.
My fat rolls also give this 0/5 stars.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, fast read that gives advice, as well as specific guidance on what to do in certain uncomfortable situations. Although geared towards pre-teens and teens, adults can also benefit from its grounded advice. The quizzes at the end of each chapter are a fun way to engage with others, to help spread the book’s message of positive thinking.

[Gala · Rating 1 out of 5]

Misinformation cover to cover. This book makes dangerous claims without any proof

[Emily Faye · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the book aims to offer empowering advice on fashion, makeup, and self-confidence, much of the content feels outdated—most of it has already been widely shared on platforms like TikTok and YouTube for years. Tess Holliday’s attempts to relate to a younger audience come across as out of touch, as if the advice is arriving 10 to 15 years too late.

Some sections, particularly those addressing bullying and health, felt unhelpful or even misleading. The few moments of genuinely good advice were unfortunately brief and rushed, making them easy to overlook. Overall, the book lacked the depth and originality I was hoping for.

Keep in mind, today's teens have a very different experience compared to those from 10–15 years ago.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for middle school and highschoolers. Also for their parents. It is a very practical and digestible book to help guide children through these difficult years. It also helps parents to realize what the children are going through and how to handle it. I highly recommend it! I think they should bring it into the middle school curriculum.

[Tasha Widhson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read!!!

[Mehmet Yigit · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book does not give any factual scientific information whatsoever. Its aim is to spread the toxic agenda of "fat acceptance" at the expense of health and relationships. A very dangerous book to give to teens.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! As a teacher and school librarian, I immediately saw value for students. This book covers so many of the "question marks" that come up for young people & gives a great starting point for tackling these issues. I loved the engaging design of the book as well and think it would suit both pre-teen & adolescent readers. While the book is geared towards young people, I think this could still be a valuable read for educators, parents, or anyone who has a young person in their life - this book gives great context as to what our younger family members, family friends, students, etc. are going through and how we can support or guide them. My first step would be giving them this book!

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt like a warm hug from a good friend. Tess and Kelly made a great self-help and personal growth book for teenagers of any background. They gave helpful and hopeful information that will stay timeless and covered topics such as body image, mental health, friendships, and making and keeping healthy habits. They cover important topics in an upbeat and often lightly humorous tone that will resonate well with readers. I would recommend this book to people of all ages and especially to middle and high schoolers. I wish I'd had a book like this growing up!

I am grateful to have received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful and inspiring <3

[Donna Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot in here I wish I'd known as a teen. This book is super helpful and fun and toes that thin line of speaking to teens without being completely annoying or cloying. And while they offer solutions on how to address issues yourself (ie how to set boundaries, what kind of product to use for what kind of hair or skin, ways to redirect negative / all-or-nothing thinking, etc.), the constant refrain is to talk to a truted adult and to see a doctor for serious medical problems and mental health crises. And the consultants for the book include actual professionals -- a pediatrician and psychologist among them. The book includes a list of resources in the back, from help hotlines to food services and more. Each chapter has a quiz section, which is silly but fun. And despite a lot of the negative reviews I've seen, it's actually well researched and informative. But it makes sense that a book like this (positive, helpful, inclusive, tackling hard topics, and teaching teens to care for themselves first and love themselves so they can be better, happier students and friends and people in the world) would get a lot of backlash.

[Nivea | Court of Romantasy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn’t just a read—it’s a movement.
Tess Holliday and Kelly Coon have crafted the ultimate guide to help young people love themselves and set boundaries.

It’s all about learning to unapologetically be YOU. 💖 From navigating social media to rocking the style that makes you feel unstoppable, this is the book I wish I’d had when I was younger—but it still resonates so deeply with me today.

Chapter 12 that mentioned the binoculars is something I have been working through even as an adult. Loved this so much!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful guide for teens! I read it because I was curious, and I'm so glad I picked it up. As the kids in my life grow up, I am going to make sure every single one of them has access to this book.

[Denise Hatcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds me of a magazine I loved as a young person: Seventeen. It is divided into two sections: Love Your Outer You, and Love Your Inner You. Each section has six chapters designed to encourage readers to feel better about themselves. Each chapter ends with a short quiz for the readers to better understand themselves, and a playful dialogue between the two authors. In the transcribed dialogues, Kelly always complimented Tess and reminds her that she is amazing.

I found some of the insights to be empowering, such as the chapter on bullying. But, I sensed a lot of anger in some of Tess’s comments. Some of the answers she suggests her readers use when they do not like a situation made me think that she might like conflict. This was a fun book to read and thumb through on my exercise bike on a cold, winter day and I am ready to return it to the library.

[Allison Coopersmith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to approach this book with an open mind, but I need to disclose a few biases:
- I’m very wary of the self-help industry. Too often it preys on people’s insecurities, with gurus who lack real qualifications but are skilled at selling the idea that they live better lives than you—whether or not that’s true.
- I’m especially wary of self-help marketed to children, who are incredibly vulnerable. I genuinely believe you should need actual education or credentials to sell advice to kids, not just a few years working as a plus sized model.
- I believe in caloric realism and the vast body of research on the health risks of obesity. This shouldn’t be a “bias” any more than believing the earth is round. Yet this book is filled with anti-health dogma framed as research, to the point that no one could enjoy it unless they’d already converted to fat acceptance.


Why would teens take advice from Tess Holliday?

Let’s be honest: teenagers don’t know who Tess Holliday is. Her heyday was a decade ago, which feels recent to me as a 31-year-old, but most of the intended audience were in diapers—or not even born—when Tess was relevant. The book opens with a long, gushing interview between Tess and co-writer Kelly Coon, seemingly to prove Tess is worth listening to. But she isn’t someone teens naturally admire.
And if she’s not famous to them, she should at least be qualified, right? Wrong! Tess has zero qualifications. She has never studied psychology, child development, or any related field. She has no experience working with kids. By her own admission, she’s actively struggling with an eating disorder. Why would anyone take body-image advice from someone in crisis herself?



Self-help book or vanity project?

Large sections of the book feel less like advice for teens and more like a fan magazine about Tess. There are many glam photos of her, Q&As that add little to the topic, and even an entire chapter on her tattoos. There are entire sections where the authors seemingly just forgot that they were writing a self help book. Tess also uses the book to repeatedly clap back at her haters—who are not the target audience—and to describe her eating disorder in detail, which is neither helpful nor appropriate for teens. It all raises the question: who exactly is this book for? 



No actual useful advice

The advice Tess does give is impractical or flat-out useless. She acknowledges the harm of social media, but her solution is simply to log off and hang out with friends in person—rollerblading or Googling conversation starters (yes, this is real advice from the book). That’s not realistic for kids today, or even most adults, since so much of life happens online.
Her anti-bullying advice is similarly shallow: tell them to stop, then don’t let it bother you. Infuriatingly, she repeats the old “you won’t see these people in a few years” line, which sounds fine to adults but is meaningless to a 12-year-old. Six years until graduation is half their life.

Her guidance on body image isn’t better. She points out that beauty standards change, but never addresses how to cope with not fitting those standards in the moment. And her response to depression or dark thoughts—essentially “that’s just how brains are, try changing your thinking”—isn’t just useless, it’s potentially harmful. If you’re not qualified to address mental health, just don’t.



No clear age group
The book is labeled for ages 12–18, which is a HUGE range, and the tone is all over the place. Makeup, tattoos, and eating disorders clearly target older teens, while reminders to ask a parent about food allergies sound more suited for a 4-year-old. The overall vibe is very “how do you do, fellow kids?” I can’t picture a teenager of any age actually enjoying this book. Tess’s usual target audience is older millennial women, and this feels like the kind of book an aunt buys her niece, and then the niece never actually reads it.


Contradictory body-image messaging

The book claims to promote body acceptance, yet much of it is about improving appearance. In one story, a girl is teased about acne. The obvious takeaway should have been that pimples are normal and everyone gets them. Instead, Tess pivots into skincare routines—as if perfect skincare would solve the problem. It’s tone-deaf, and it undermines the very message of self-acceptance. 



Product placement
The constant brand callouts throughout the book make it read like an advertisement.



Weird opinions presented as fact

Some of Tess’s declarations are just bizarre:
-Changing your body won’t ever make you happy, because you’ll always find a new insecurity (easy to say when she’s never lost weight—how would she know how it feels?).
-“We aren’t our bodies, they’re just cars driving our souls around” (unhelpful and strange—we can’t just trade our body in for a new one if we abuse it).
-“Food has no moral value.”



Junk science with zero citations

The book throws out sweeping “facts” without sources, relying on vague phrases like “experts say.” Examples: body size isn’t related to eating habits; health can’t be judged by size; atypical anorexia applies to Tess despite her not meeting DSM-5 criteria; fatness is 80% genetic famine-survival. These claims are misleading at best, and deceptive at worst.


Pro-fat dogma
I hesitate to say anyone is “promoting obesity,” since the phrase is often used unfairly, but Tess crosses that line. She spends pages calling out fitness influencers for being appearance-focused, but offers no practical guidance on healthy living. Starting small, building habits, getting over gym anxiety—these are real challenges she could have addressed, but she doesn’t, because she’s out of her depth. Ironically, the very criteria she lists for spotting untrustworthy advice would disqualify her.
She also insists we should never comment on appearance—even compliments about hair, height, or weight loss. While it’s fair to avoid remarks that might make someone uncomfortable, banning all comments is extreme and reflects her own insecurity more than a helpful lesson. Other people shouldn’t have to tiptoe around our feelings constantly, and if compliments trigger you, that’s something to work through—not a burden to put on everyone else.


Overall, this book was very bizarre and I would never recommend it to anyone—much less an impressionable child. The overall message I took away from it is that Tess has a lot of work to do on herself.

[Sarah | TwoBestiesOneBookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book yall. If I would have had this at 13, my poor mother would have probably been able to breathe more. Really important to talk about this subjects, not just with girls but all ages/all genders.

Love yourself 🩷

[Anna &#x1f9da;‍♀️✨&#x1f497; · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooo, I’m convinced all the one star reviews are just fatphobic haters.

I’m reading this as a 25 year old woman who has struggled with disordered eating my whole life and has seen massive weight fluctuations. I’ve recently lost 100 lbs and picked up this book hoping it would help me not hate my new body.

This book would have been great for me to read when I was 14 or 15. Not only does it promote self love and acceptance, it also teaches some pretty basic life lessons that teens with inactive parents might need (I did).

I am happy it didn’t give advice on how to lose weight or count calories. THIS BOOK IS FOR TEENAGERS THEY SHOULD NOT BE COUNTING CALORIESSSS!!! They should not be concerned with getting smaller. And as the book addresses, there are already wayyyy too many weight loss books available to read.

This book also did not promote anything “unhealthy.” Not really sure where that is coming from but, it encourages focusing on movement, nutrients, and self love. This is age appropriate. No where did it encourage bingeing or not caring for yourself. Actually everything it said was very much aligned with the past eating disorder therapy groups I have been in which ultimately lead to my weight loss.

Y’all need to stop giving your opinion on things you know nothing about. Leave it to the experts who wrote and consulted on this book (and are actually educated in this field). I wish peace and healing to you all. Hopefully one day you won’t be so upset and jealous that other people can be fat & attractive!

[Lilly G · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun and funny and hugely helpful book about self-acceptance and navigating today’s world as a teen (or any person who’s awake and has feelings). I loved the quizzes and wide range of topics, but I especially enjoyed the consistent focus on loving who you are, how you are while being surrounded by unmeetable beauty standards and judgment from others at every turn. I also really appreciated how the authors backed up the accessible advice with actual, expert-sourced evidence.

I’ve read some of the other recent reviews here and I’m kind of baffled. Did we read the same book?? Seems like some readers couldn’t get past their own fatphobia and are taking that out on the book because they see a woman like Tess Holiday accepting and loving herself and, for whatever reason, can’t stand it. Would they critique this book in the same way if it was written by a naturally thin person? I doubt it. Which is a great example of why this book is so important and how vital the message of self-acceptance is for *all* shapes and sizes.

Also, to everyone claiming this book has no citations…do 5 seconds of research, click through the QR code under “Research Notes” at the back, and check out the extensive bibliography. Honestly, a lot of these reviews read like a scripted smear campaign.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

picked this book up potentially for the teen girls group i lead. i was looking for something empowering, real, and relatable for teens in a way maybe i couldn’t reach them as an almost 30 year old.
this wasn’t it. while it starts harmless enough, there’s a few things i noticed: the references were outdated, some of them older than me. The proposed comebacks were inflammatory. It read more like a book I would have read at that age. and maybe i would have given 3 stars there but the other thing was some very weird analogies about the human body being a car, in some way separate from you as a person. just no, you can trade in a car, your body you have for life. part of growing up is learning to take proper care of it, (don’t do drugs, kids) something is book seems to dance around (including one bit where they said being heavy is due to your ancestors experiencing famine, which honestly seemed a little weird and truly comes from a place of privilege considering all the third world countries who have not only starved in previous generations, and also now.) You can just tell that the author hops on a pseudo science soapbox for that portion lolll

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Guides to beauty and fashion generally become hilariously outdated; I have a collection of 1950s etiquette manuals that I bought in the 1970 and 80s, but what I should have been doing was buying brand new copies of books published in those decades, because I can only imagine how horribly the advice within them has held up.

Take Up Space, Y'all embraces the modern body positive zeitgeist with a vengeance. Tattoos figure largely, and the expectation that standards are bad and expectations should be ignored comes up frequently.

My mother was in my head as I was reading this, and she wants you all to sit up straight, get your hands out of your pockets, and for goodness sake, do SOMETHING about your HAIR. This would make a great gift from a cool aunt to a tween or teen struggling with body image, but I will pass on purchase for my school library, since the information will no doubt be completely different in five years, and budgets are tight right now.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly loved this book. Take Up Space, Y’all felt like having a real conversation with a friend who just gets it. Tess Holliday does such a beautiful job breaking down what it really means to accept yourself — not the polished, social media version of self-love, but the raw, everyday kind where you choose to be kind to yourself even when it’s hard.

What I connected with most was how she talks about the parts of ourselves that people sometimes see as “negative.” She reminds us that those things don’t make us less — they make us human. The book really helped me reflect on how often we shrink ourselves just to make others more comfortable, and how powerful it is to stop doing that.

Tess’s words are funny, honest, and real. She makes you feel like it’s okay to take up space exactly as you are — no apologies, no filters. It’s not about becoming perfect; it’s about learning to be present and proud of who you are right now.

This book left me feeling seen, understood, and a little braver about loving myself fully.

[Charessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Running Press for the advanced copy to review!

Another one to hand the kids/teens in your life/library! While some of this is very specific and may not apply, it's also very helpful. I'm talking full on step-by-step solutions to some issues in life, tables and lists of examples to help demystify a situation, actually helpful tips, and quizzes that will get to the bottom of some subjects that may be a bit confusing. I was genuinely surprised by how in-depth and practical the advice is in this one!!

The humor and personal anecdotes by the author(s) may feel a bit cringe at times, but it can indeed be helpful to read another person's story and see that it is indeed possible to survive adolescence. It adds to the practicality and realness of the advice they give because they lived it and it worked for them.

I'm going to be very happy to put this in a display for kids trying to navigate life. Even I as an adult got something out of it!

[Jennifer Cook Nafziger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I guess I am in the minority here since I am not spewing hate and vitriol for this book. I picked this up at an indie bookstore in California. It drew me in because of its co-creator, Tess Holiday… a fat positive activist that I have followed for years. I guess THAT is what people hate the most… because you know, everything that makes fat look remotely positive is a big, fat lie and we should all be on GLP-1’s or just die already, right?

On the contrary, I found this book to be an inclusive look at self-care for teens. I especially enjoyed the quizzes (like the teen magazines of yore) and the journaling prompts at the end of the chapters. This book allows ALL bodies to be good bodies and talks about a few things that many aren’t talking about. I will be proud to share it with my students.