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Big Bones
Sixteen-year-old Bluebelle, also known as BB or Big Bones, lives her life unapologetically. She loves life! She loves food!
When BB has a worse-than-usual asthma attack, her mom insists she go to the doctor. There, she is told that she is overweight (no surprise) and prediabetic (big surprise) and must lose weight, move more, and keep a food diary. To get out of this immediate health crisis, she agrees to make an effort.
Then a tragedy occurs in the family, and things get seriously complicated. Suddenly, losing weight and moving more are the least of her worries. As for the food diary, though, BB doesn't just document what she's eating, she documents what she's feeling--and she has a lot to say!
When BB has a worse-than-usual asthma attack, her mom insists she go to the doctor. There, she is told that she is overweight (no surprise) and prediabetic (big surprise) and must lose weight, move more, and keep a food diary. To get out of this immediate health crisis, she agrees to make an effort.
Then a tragedy occurs in the family, and things get seriously complicated. Suddenly, losing weight and moving more are the least of her worries. As for the food diary, though, BB doesn't just document what she's eating, she documents what she's feeling--and she has a lot to say!
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2018
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did-not-finish
September 13, 2021DNF @ pg 45. This was triggering the fuck out of me and I just.. can't. Onto the next one.
April 12, 2019
Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
Bluebell or BB as she is better know (or Big Bones) is a sixteen-year-old girl who is overweight. She actually doesn’t mind being overweight and embraces her body. She loves food, decent food, but when she has an asthma attack her mum takes her to the nurse who warns her she must lose weight.
After a heated discussion over wanting to get an apprenticeship as a barista instead of going to sixth form, whilst in the nurse’s office, the nurse and her mum come to a decision. She has to keep a food diary for six weeks and she has to join a gym, then they can talk about the apprenticeship when she returns.
BB is a headstrong young woman who likes a challenge so she sets out to write her food diary, although it becomes more of a normal diary featuring food. This is her diary.
Big Bones is an amusing, laugh-out-loud at times book that deals with teenager BB and her weight and her love for food. It also covers her family issues, her mum and dad are having a break from each other and her dad has moved out of the family home. There is also BB’s little sister, thirteen-year-old Dove who loves Parkour.
As well as keeping a food diary and going to the gym (when she can be bothered), she also gets herself a part-time job at Planet Coffee, a cafe run by Australian Alicia who thinks as her staff as aliens, or earthlings, depending on her mood. It is here that BB is trying to get her apprenticeship.
Each chapter is titled mainly by a different food item and BB tells you why she loves or hates that item, as well as something that happens in her life too. I like BB, she didn’t care that she was overweight, she didn’t want to do the same thing everyone else was doing, she was happy just being herself. Yes at times she could be self-centered but I think that had more to do with her age than her weight.
I loved her take on life and also the way she thought about food. It had to look good and taste good, she was a food connoisseur. Dove loved her food too, the difference between the two is that Dove is this slight, slim young girl who never kept still. She was always out with her friends jumping from one rooftop to another, pushing her limits.
This is a beautifully written book that deals with far more than a young girl being overweight. It deals with a lot of things that teenagers BB’s age are going through. Family issues, problems with siblings, what to do once you have finished school, waiting for GCSE results, friendships, and young love.
By the time I’d reached the end of the book, it felt like I’d been following a real persons life. I was invested and I was sorry to reach the final page and would love to hear more from Bluebell in the future.
Bluebell or BB as she is better know (or Big Bones) is a sixteen-year-old girl who is overweight. She actually doesn’t mind being overweight and embraces her body. She loves food, decent food, but when she has an asthma attack her mum takes her to the nurse who warns her she must lose weight.
After a heated discussion over wanting to get an apprenticeship as a barista instead of going to sixth form, whilst in the nurse’s office, the nurse and her mum come to a decision. She has to keep a food diary for six weeks and she has to join a gym, then they can talk about the apprenticeship when she returns.
BB is a headstrong young woman who likes a challenge so she sets out to write her food diary, although it becomes more of a normal diary featuring food. This is her diary.
Big Bones is an amusing, laugh-out-loud at times book that deals with teenager BB and her weight and her love for food. It also covers her family issues, her mum and dad are having a break from each other and her dad has moved out of the family home. There is also BB’s little sister, thirteen-year-old Dove who loves Parkour.
As well as keeping a food diary and going to the gym (when she can be bothered), she also gets herself a part-time job at Planet Coffee, a cafe run by Australian Alicia who thinks as her staff as aliens, or earthlings, depending on her mood. It is here that BB is trying to get her apprenticeship.
Each chapter is titled mainly by a different food item and BB tells you why she loves or hates that item, as well as something that happens in her life too. I like BB, she didn’t care that she was overweight, she didn’t want to do the same thing everyone else was doing, she was happy just being herself. Yes at times she could be self-centered but I think that had more to do with her age than her weight.
I loved her take on life and also the way she thought about food. It had to look good and taste good, she was a food connoisseur. Dove loved her food too, the difference between the two is that Dove is this slight, slim young girl who never kept still. She was always out with her friends jumping from one rooftop to another, pushing her limits.
This is a beautifully written book that deals with far more than a young girl being overweight. It deals with a lot of things that teenagers BB’s age are going through. Family issues, problems with siblings, what to do once you have finished school, waiting for GCSE results, friendships, and young love.
By the time I’d reached the end of the book, it felt like I’d been following a real persons life. I was invested and I was sorry to reach the final page and would love to hear more from Bluebell in the future.
January 28, 2018
I loved this reading experience because it felt like I was living with BB. I knew what she had to eat every day, but you get to know so much more about her and her family, it was just great to be surrounded by interesting characters and feel a real connection with them all.
It didn't help that I was constantly craving a snack while reading this because the descriptions somehow make everything sound tasty. I've read about the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to toxic relationships with food, so to get the other perspective was eye opening.
Overall, this is a great book about body positivity, trying to be healthy and finding a balance. I loved the development of BB's attitude and genuinely care about what happens to her after the final page!
It didn't help that I was constantly craving a snack while reading this because the descriptions somehow make everything sound tasty. I've read about the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to toxic relationships with food, so to get the other perspective was eye opening.
Overall, this is a great book about body positivity, trying to be healthy and finding a balance. I loved the development of BB's attitude and genuinely care about what happens to her after the final page!
April 4, 2019
I haven’t felt so torn after reading a book as I did when I finished reading Big Bones by Laura Dockrill. There were a lot of things I liked, and some not so much, and some I felt mixed on. I’m going to try and explain my thoughts best I can in this review.
Firstly, don’t let the beginning put you off reading the rest of the story! Although the first half of the book was told in a writing style that seemed a little overdone and hard for me to appreciate, once I got further into the story things evened out. I am glad I kept reading because then we are given a story which deals with some very important themes and topics, and really ended in a heart-warming way. So when you get it, make sure to keep reading!
The doctor sets a task for Bluebell, which is to keep a food diary. So, this book is actually her food diary, although it reads more like a story than a food diary… But at the same time, I liked that it was supposed to be a food diary because every now and again we got some really lovely descriptions of yummy food! The main character unapologetically loves food and eating. She loves cooking too and I got so hungry reading this book time and time again. Definitely advise having a snack on hand while reading.
I thought that this book had a very important message about loving your body in a healthy way. You don’t need to be very defensive of your body when you start to realise you truly love it just the way it is. You’re allowed to be strong and fit without aiming for losing weight. You can totally own your weight and love yourself without needing to change your appearance. I was so here for those positive and important messages!
But at the same time, there was something that unsettled me… a character in this one needs some temporary wheelchair usage. Which I can understand is very frustrating for said character and if it was them complaining about it, I would sympathise more and allow for it. When you go from full mobility to limited mobility it is tricky. But Bluebell who isn’t the injured character, acts like it is almost the end of the world that this happens! Which I very much didn’t appreciate as a) the other person should be the one acting like that and b) It actually isn’t the end of the world. There are a lot of people permanently using wheelchairs and take it from my younger sister: she’s still living the best life.
Another thing I really loved about this book were the complex family dynamics! I don’t want to explain the situation as I would love for you to read about it yourselves. But there is a complex family situation and I loved that family was integrated into the book and made to be such an important part of it. When Bluebell is going through hard times or wants advice she turns to her family, even when it is quite topsy-turvy. I am completely the same and appreciated seeing that happening in a novel as well!
One more thing that troubled me was the double standard I saw. While I loved that Bluebell owned her weight and didn’t like when people saw her and treated her differently or applied stereotypes to her based on her appearance and weight, she sort of did the same to other people. There was an instance involving someone at the gym where she judged them due to the place they worked and them being thin. I just thought that double standard was a bit unfair.
Regardless, by the end of the book, I was satisfied. Closing the book felt like a warm hug – that was how heart warming the ending was. And I liked seeing how Bluebell as a character had grown and developed so much over the course of the novel. I was so happy!
This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2019/0...
Firstly, don’t let the beginning put you off reading the rest of the story! Although the first half of the book was told in a writing style that seemed a little overdone and hard for me to appreciate, once I got further into the story things evened out. I am glad I kept reading because then we are given a story which deals with some very important themes and topics, and really ended in a heart-warming way. So when you get it, make sure to keep reading!
The doctor sets a task for Bluebell, which is to keep a food diary. So, this book is actually her food diary, although it reads more like a story than a food diary… But at the same time, I liked that it was supposed to be a food diary because every now and again we got some really lovely descriptions of yummy food! The main character unapologetically loves food and eating. She loves cooking too and I got so hungry reading this book time and time again. Definitely advise having a snack on hand while reading.
I thought that this book had a very important message about loving your body in a healthy way. You don’t need to be very defensive of your body when you start to realise you truly love it just the way it is. You’re allowed to be strong and fit without aiming for losing weight. You can totally own your weight and love yourself without needing to change your appearance. I was so here for those positive and important messages!
But at the same time, there was something that unsettled me… a character in this one needs some temporary wheelchair usage. Which I can understand is very frustrating for said character and if it was them complaining about it, I would sympathise more and allow for it. When you go from full mobility to limited mobility it is tricky. But Bluebell who isn’t the injured character, acts like it is almost the end of the world that this happens! Which I very much didn’t appreciate as a) the other person should be the one acting like that and b) It actually isn’t the end of the world. There are a lot of people permanently using wheelchairs and take it from my younger sister: she’s still living the best life.
Another thing I really loved about this book were the complex family dynamics! I don’t want to explain the situation as I would love for you to read about it yourselves. But there is a complex family situation and I loved that family was integrated into the book and made to be such an important part of it. When Bluebell is going through hard times or wants advice she turns to her family, even when it is quite topsy-turvy. I am completely the same and appreciated seeing that happening in a novel as well!
One more thing that troubled me was the double standard I saw. While I loved that Bluebell owned her weight and didn’t like when people saw her and treated her differently or applied stereotypes to her based on her appearance and weight, she sort of did the same to other people. There was an instance involving someone at the gym where she judged them due to the place they worked and them being thin. I just thought that double standard was a bit unfair.
Regardless, by the end of the book, I was satisfied. Closing the book felt like a warm hug – that was how heart warming the ending was. And I liked seeing how Bluebell as a character had grown and developed so much over the course of the novel. I was so happy!
This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2019/0...
August 22, 2018
Fucking ableist bullshit. It’s meant to be all body positive, but those sections fell flat for me, and actually just felt mean.
And don’t get me started on the wheelchair bits. Nope. Big nope
And don’t get me started on the wheelchair bits. Nope. Big nope
January 6, 2019
what a perfect first read for the year. We all set weight loss goals at the start of each year. And here is Bluebell who loves food and is happy with the way she looks. When she is told to keep a food diary for the summer she is not a happy camper but soon it becomes part of her day. Each chapter is a different food how she feels about it and how it makes her feel. She loves the preparing, the cooking and the eating of food. She is funny and sweet and a bit crazy when she is upset. I loved Bluebell aka Big Bones and now that I have finished her story - diary I miss her.
"I am proud to be a girl. Because that's a fact. But prouder that I love myself. Because that's a choice." pg 302.
"I am proud to be a girl. Because that's a fact. But prouder that I love myself. Because that's a choice." pg 302.
February 17, 2019
My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant follows 16-year-old BB as she deals with the aftermath of a terrible asthma attack that very nearly killed her. She's told by her doctors that since she has been deemed medically overweight and prediabetic, the best thing she can do is eat healthier and exercise more in order to improve her health. BB agrees to make an effort, but when an unexpected family tragedy occurs, losing weight becomes the last thing on her mind...
I DNFed this at 10%.
Perhaps that was a mistake, for maybe it would've eventually gotten better, but all I know was that it was impossible for me to put up with the cruelty and neglect of certain groups of people found in this book.
Let me start this review by talking about BB, our protagonist, and the main source of my dislike of this novel.
I had no appreciation for BB whatsoever! She had no empathy for other people, and it seemed like she was constantly contradicting herself, which was quite odd. At one point in the book, when she was told by a nurse that she had an unhealthy relationship with food and that she was medically obese, BB totally denied it, even after previously mentioning (several times might I add) how she knew she was overweight and how she knew she had the tendency to eat unhealthily. Super confusing... In addition, whenever she narrated, it seemed like she would just randomly change the topic of conversation without any build-up! Weird!! And it gets worse...
BB was also very ignorant and cruel towards individuals who struggled with eating issues different than her own. She referred to people starving themselves of food as shallow and vain and accused them of only caring about being thin. This brands eating disorders as "just wanting to be skinny" which is extremely problematic because no, that is not always what eating disorders are.
Since I stopped reading this book pretty early on, I don't know whether BB developed as a character or not, but I don't really think that matters. BB already said some very offensive things towards certain communities of individuals, so I think that the damage has already been done and that no level of character growth could really make BB more likeable, at least in my perspective.
And even though BB was my main problem with this book, I still don't think I would have enjoyed it had she been replaced with a more likeable MC. The writing itself was not very mature, and it lacked a certain flow to it that resulted in the sentences sounding choppy and poorly composed.
And before I wrap this review up, I think I should just throw it out there that the author really misrepresented medical professionals in her writing. The nurse that BB interacts with throughout the book is very rude, mean, and awful towards her. She body-shames her and even goes to the extent of calling her "fat", which isn't empowering in the least, contrary to what the book's synopsis says. I've been to enough doctors in my lifetime to know that this is not the way they are trained to treat their patients. I don't know if the author did this just for the sake of drama in the book, but it really only made me, a reader, feel deeply uncomfortable.
Overall, I really didn't enjoy My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant. I found it to be quite harmful and neglectful of real-world struggles. I'm really disappointed that I didn't like it, for I was so excited to get my hands on a novel brimming with body positivity and empowerment. But, alas, this book just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I can't say I recommend it.
I DNFed this at 10%.
Perhaps that was a mistake, for maybe it would've eventually gotten better, but all I know was that it was impossible for me to put up with the cruelty and neglect of certain groups of people found in this book.
Let me start this review by talking about BB, our protagonist, and the main source of my dislike of this novel.
I had no appreciation for BB whatsoever! She had no empathy for other people, and it seemed like she was constantly contradicting herself, which was quite odd. At one point in the book, when she was told by a nurse that she had an unhealthy relationship with food and that she was medically obese, BB totally denied it, even after previously mentioning (several times might I add) how she knew she was overweight and how she knew she had the tendency to eat unhealthily. Super confusing... In addition, whenever she narrated, it seemed like she would just randomly change the topic of conversation without any build-up! Weird!! And it gets worse...
BB was also very ignorant and cruel towards individuals who struggled with eating issues different than her own. She referred to people starving themselves of food as shallow and vain and accused them of only caring about being thin. This brands eating disorders as "just wanting to be skinny" which is extremely problematic because no, that is not always what eating disorders are.
Since I stopped reading this book pretty early on, I don't know whether BB developed as a character or not, but I don't really think that matters. BB already said some very offensive things towards certain communities of individuals, so I think that the damage has already been done and that no level of character growth could really make BB more likeable, at least in my perspective.
And even though BB was my main problem with this book, I still don't think I would have enjoyed it had she been replaced with a more likeable MC. The writing itself was not very mature, and it lacked a certain flow to it that resulted in the sentences sounding choppy and poorly composed.
And before I wrap this review up, I think I should just throw it out there that the author really misrepresented medical professionals in her writing. The nurse that BB interacts with throughout the book is very rude, mean, and awful towards her. She body-shames her and even goes to the extent of calling her "fat", which isn't empowering in the least, contrary to what the book's synopsis says. I've been to enough doctors in my lifetime to know that this is not the way they are trained to treat their patients. I don't know if the author did this just for the sake of drama in the book, but it really only made me, a reader, feel deeply uncomfortable.
Overall, I really didn't enjoy My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant. I found it to be quite harmful and neglectful of real-world struggles. I'm really disappointed that I didn't like it, for I was so excited to get my hands on a novel brimming with body positivity and empowerment. But, alas, this book just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I can't say I recommend it.
February 6, 2018
2.5 stars
DNF :( First time in a while.
rtc closer to release date
DNF :( First time in a while.
rtc closer to release date
June 12, 2018
Big Bones follows the story of Bluebelle as she is told to lose weight by her doctor and is instructed to keep a food diary and join the gym, in exchange for allowing Bluebelle to keep her job at the cafe she works at and not pursue further education. Big Bones is therefore told as a "food diary" and follows her journey on her weight loss, as well as her usual, everyday life.
Unfortunately, I had really mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I loved Bluebelle's fiery personality and how this book very much has a "body positivity" message, with the importance being on Bluebelle's character, as opposed to her image. I also loved how distinctive each of the characters were - I really liked Bluebelle's sister, Dove, especially her interest in free-running, and her relationship with Bluebelle. I thought the dynamics between the characters were great, as were the feminist rants that were frequently mentioned throughout.
However, what didn't work for me was the way that the book was formatted. It was written as a "food diary" format, which became a bit repetitive for me. I get that it was important to describe the food, but I felt it became a little bit boring as the novel went on of a whole page description of a single food for example and it didn't add anything to the novel. Again, I know this was added because of the format, but as a reader, I feel the number of times this was done could have been reduced dramatically. Also, despite it being a "food diary", it was explaining personal issues such as relationships that just would not be present. Even in the novel, it frequently stated things like "Oh I'm so sorry to my doctor who is going to read all this". I feel like the food diary aspect limited and constrained the book and think it would have been just as successful, even more so, if it was written in a normal novel format - it would have worked just as well.
I do recommend this novel as it does have important messages throughout and the characters are great, but the format and the way that it was written knocked my rating down a little. Still an interesting read though.
Unfortunately, I had really mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I loved Bluebelle's fiery personality and how this book very much has a "body positivity" message, with the importance being on Bluebelle's character, as opposed to her image. I also loved how distinctive each of the characters were - I really liked Bluebelle's sister, Dove, especially her interest in free-running, and her relationship with Bluebelle. I thought the dynamics between the characters were great, as were the feminist rants that were frequently mentioned throughout.
However, what didn't work for me was the way that the book was formatted. It was written as a "food diary" format, which became a bit repetitive for me. I get that it was important to describe the food, but I felt it became a little bit boring as the novel went on of a whole page description of a single food for example and it didn't add anything to the novel. Again, I know this was added because of the format, but as a reader, I feel the number of times this was done could have been reduced dramatically. Also, despite it being a "food diary", it was explaining personal issues such as relationships that just would not be present. Even in the novel, it frequently stated things like "Oh I'm so sorry to my doctor who is going to read all this". I feel like the food diary aspect limited and constrained the book and think it would have been just as successful, even more so, if it was written in a normal novel format - it would have worked just as well.
I do recommend this novel as it does have important messages throughout and the characters are great, but the format and the way that it was written knocked my rating down a little. Still an interesting read though.
February 23, 2018
One of my favourite books of 2018 so far! Brimming with body positivity, nugget sized bites of feminism and belly laugh humor. Trigger warning for eating disorders and food related anxiety.
February 12, 2018
Our main character, Bluebelle, got roped into keeping a food diary but she ended up writing down her entire Summer story instead. Every chapter is named after a dish, food, candy... Anything the least bit edible! Guess I can easily tell you guys it got me hungry at times...
Bluebelle, aka BB or Big Bones, is a sixteen year old girl who's very comfortable with herself and the way she looks. She describes herself as being fat because it's simply a fact. I love her for it. It can't hurt you if you say it before anyone else can use it against you.
She loves herself, loves her fat, loves her food and she's proud of it. She shows us that it is okay to love food, to love to eat, to not be skinny.
However, she also teaches us that even though you might be overweight, you still have to take care of yourself and your body. It's such an important message to add and it's what made this book so special to me.
Bluebelle's sister, Dove, is also one admirable person. She's skinny, fit, loves a challenge and is pretty much what Bluebelle isn't when it comes to their bodies. Knowing that Dove still supports BB in her decisions, her way of life and is always the upbeat person she is.. Family means everything when you're "different".
As for the actual content: it broke my heart at times. Some situations, memories, trains of thought were so familiar to me. It reminded me of everything I had to go through. I do love how there isn't any actual mention of bullying in Big Bones since it isn't only the bullying you struggle with when you're overweight. It's so much more than that.
During the first.. 10% of this novel I really wanted to DNF it. There are some things said at the start of this novel that felt so offensive. After a while it became clear that it wasn't exactly meant that way, more as a way to show how some people think, but will definitely not be the only one who thinks it starts out a bit offensive.
I've forgiven the book for it, but I doubt everyone would?
As for the writing style of this book, I liked it, but I disliked it at the same time. Bluebelle's voice is definitely very unique. She's sassy, straight-forward, sarcastic and... well... Sometimes a bit egocentric. All of that but add an extra scoop on top?
It felt like too much sometimes and it took away from the message the author wants to send, I guess.
All in all I did enjoy this novel and I love the message it holds. You simply have to dive into it with an open mind and get in deep enough to actually see the point of this story because it's an important one!
I also used a lot of quotes in this review because all of them are so... true and really went straight to my heart when I read them.
There's also mention of bulimia in there, so be warned of that.
4 / 5!
Kathy
Quotes used in this review originate from an uncorrected proof and can differ to the finished copy.
I don't need to worry or wonder why the world stares at someone like me; they need to worry and wonder why THEY stare at someone like me.
Bluebelle, aka BB or Big Bones, is a sixteen year old girl who's very comfortable with herself and the way she looks. She describes herself as being fat because it's simply a fact. I love her for it. It can't hurt you if you say it before anyone else can use it against you.
She loves herself, loves her fat, loves her food and she's proud of it. She shows us that it is okay to love food, to love to eat, to not be skinny.
However, she also teaches us that even though you might be overweight, you still have to take care of yourself and your body. It's such an important message to add and it's what made this book so special to me.
I am proud to be a girl. Because that's a fact. But prouder that I love myself. Because that's a choice.
Bluebelle's sister, Dove, is also one admirable person. She's skinny, fit, loves a challenge and is pretty much what Bluebelle isn't when it comes to their bodies. Knowing that Dove still supports BB in her decisions, her way of life and is always the upbeat person she is.. Family means everything when you're "different".
I've learnt that people secretly like it a bit if other people don't like themselves because it gives other people power.
As for the actual content: it broke my heart at times. Some situations, memories, trains of thought were so familiar to me. It reminded me of everything I had to go through. I do love how there isn't any actual mention of bullying in Big Bones since it isn't only the bullying you struggle with when you're overweight. It's so much more than that.
During the first.. 10% of this novel I really wanted to DNF it. There are some things said at the start of this novel that felt so offensive. After a while it became clear that it wasn't exactly meant that way, more as a way to show how some people think, but will definitely not be the only one who thinks it starts out a bit offensive.
I've forgiven the book for it, but I doubt everyone would?
If they don't want to be skinny, that's just as offensive as calling somebody fat. Funny how people think it's rude to go round calling people fat but not skinny. Skinny people get self-conscious too.
As for the writing style of this book, I liked it, but I disliked it at the same time. Bluebelle's voice is definitely very unique. She's sassy, straight-forward, sarcastic and... well... Sometimes a bit egocentric. All of that but add an extra scoop on top?
It felt like too much sometimes and it took away from the message the author wants to send, I guess.
You have to love yourself. It's the start of everything, the rest will follow naturally.
All in all I did enjoy this novel and I love the message it holds. You simply have to dive into it with an open mind and get in deep enough to actually see the point of this story because it's an important one!
I also used a lot of quotes in this review because all of them are so... true and really went straight to my heart when I read them.
There's also mention of bulimia in there, so be warned of that.
4 / 5!
Kathy
Quotes used in this review originate from an uncorrected proof and can differ to the finished copy.
July 15, 2018
Trigger warnings: fatphobia, fat shaming, injury to a loved one, poop, mention of eating disorders.
So here's the thing: I was sold on this by the first page, where the protagonist gushes about how much she loves crumpets. Because SAME, GIRL. SAME. But with the exception of a couple of hilarious scenes, I mostly found myself let down by this.
It's the story of a fat teenage girl who's instructed to keep a food diary. And instead of just using it to track what she eats, she treats it more as a literal diary, where she writes down everything that's happening to her. Each chapter is named after a different type of food and starts out with her thoughts on that food. Which, don't get me wrong, I quite liked.
However. This was VERY light on plot. Like, until about the 50-60% mark, this was literally just BB talking about all the different kinds of food she loves and how she wants her boss to sign a piece of paper granting her an apprenticeship. Which got pretty boring pretty quickly.
In contrast, the second half of the book had almost TOO much going on. And it turned into a weight loss story, which wasn't really what I was expecting given how much the book focused on body positivity and being happy as a fat girl. I think the intention was more of a "you can be fat AND fit" sort of a deal, but it didn't really come across that way to me.
So I wanted to love this book, I really did. But ultimately, I found the format a little repetitive and I almost would have preferred if it had been in more of a Bridget Jones format - a literal food diary at the start of each chapter, followed by all BB's thoughts on what's been happening lately. I also found BB not the most likeable of characters at times. She's very...extra. And 90% of the time, I preferred her little sister, Dove.
All that said, I laughed more than I should have when she faked an asthma attack to get out of spin class, because that was literally how I got out of swimming classes in PE for most of high school. Swim a couple of laps, then suddenly start wheezing. So...same, girl.
So here's the thing: I was sold on this by the first page, where the protagonist gushes about how much she loves crumpets. Because SAME, GIRL. SAME. But with the exception of a couple of hilarious scenes, I mostly found myself let down by this.
It's the story of a fat teenage girl who's instructed to keep a food diary. And instead of just using it to track what she eats, she treats it more as a literal diary, where she writes down everything that's happening to her. Each chapter is named after a different type of food and starts out with her thoughts on that food. Which, don't get me wrong, I quite liked.
However. This was VERY light on plot. Like, until about the 50-60% mark, this was literally just BB talking about all the different kinds of food she loves and how she wants her boss to sign a piece of paper granting her an apprenticeship. Which got pretty boring pretty quickly.
In contrast, the second half of the book had almost TOO much going on. And it turned into a weight loss story, which wasn't really what I was expecting given how much the book focused on body positivity and being happy as a fat girl. I think the intention was more of a "you can be fat AND fit" sort of a deal, but it didn't really come across that way to me.
So I wanted to love this book, I really did. But ultimately, I found the format a little repetitive and I almost would have preferred if it had been in more of a Bridget Jones format - a literal food diary at the start of each chapter, followed by all BB's thoughts on what's been happening lately. I also found BB not the most likeable of characters at times. She's very...extra. And 90% of the time, I preferred her little sister, Dove.
All that said, I laughed more than I should have when she faked an asthma attack to get out of spin class, because that was literally how I got out of swimming classes in PE for most of high school. Swim a couple of laps, then suddenly start wheezing. So...same, girl.
February 9, 2021
**Extremely controversial and probably offensive things are said in this review (although I did attempt to be as polite as I could) but may I just remind you that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if you don’t agree, that’s okay but please be respectful of everyone's views. Thank you :)**
‘BIG BONES’ by LAURA DOCKRILL is a young adult novel following Bluebelle (also known as BB) who is instructed by a nurse at the beginning of the summer to complete a food diary but BB has a lot to say and tells her story of navigating the world when she’s overweight, documenting her love life and a traumatic accident which turns her family upside down.
Discovering this in my library was beyond exciting as I’ve had this novel on my radar for a while as it seemed incredible and inspiring. Being anti-diet culture and promoting body positivity and self-love is something I am insanely passionate about so I was beyond excited for this one.
However, I was severely let down.
From the messages delivered, to the writing style, to the characters, I found myself struggling to find something I liked because this book was, in my opinion, terrible.
Firstly, our protagonist, BB, was horrid. She was selfish, judgemental, rude, one-dimensional and quite frankly, insufferable.
My main issue with her was how self-absorbed she was throughout the entirety of the novel in which she fails to develop, grow or change by the end. Everything needed to be about her, which several of the characters highlight. When the accident occurs, BB begins to mourn and mope about and when her best friend, Cam, asks BB about it, her response is ‘Look, you have no idea what it’s like to have this happen to you.’ Apparently, Cam was as shocked as I was as she responds with ‘It hasn’t happened to you. It’s happened to your sister...you’re being selfish.’ In which BB doesn’t take this onboard and instead victimises herself and doesn’t change.
This selfishness is repeated on several occasions. One of the characters is poorly and throws up everywhere. Is BB concerned? Worried? Or even remotely fazed by it? Nope. Instead, she says ‘Wish she didn’t have to be doing being sick right now because I need to ask her to apply to my apprenticeship. Jeez’ Almost if she is shocked at the audacity for this poor girl to be unwell at the time she wants something from her.
This isn’t the only thing which irked me about BB. Her judgemental and nasty attitude towards everyone in her life made her incredibly unlikeable in an unreedemable way. She’s constantly internally being mean about people, from saying things like ‘Alicia is always very dehydrated; her lips are always crusty and looking like shrinking fried cod. Maybe that’s why she’s always a moody cow, cos she’s so thirsty?’ to her Dad endeavouring to be nice to her and he says: ‘She [The mother] didn’t go to college, neither did I, and look at us!’ and BB internally says ‘yeah, LOOK at you’ with a tone of disgust and shame...towards her caring, employed, loving parents! She had absolutely no respect for her parents, she literally called her mother an ‘attention-seeker’ to her face, whilst she was sobbing, for suggesting she has something to do with BB’s weight. It honestly disgusted me.
BB constantly goes on at how amazing and pretty she reckons she is but only gets her confidence from putting others down, from saying mean things like I’ve previously mentioned, to body-shaming her ‘skinny-minnie’ sister, I personally find it appalling that she gets her confidence from taking it away from others.
BB was the only developed character in the book, despite there being a wide cast. There wasn’t enough effort put into developing the love interest so I didn’t care at all about BB’s romance.
The family plays a major role in the book as they are the ones we see most frequently but I had issues with those too. Firstly, the mother seemed so ridiculously unrealistic. In the opening chapter, BB is overtly verbally abused by a nurse for being overweight, told she ‘eats like a feeding machine’, told she is ‘being selfish for being so fat’ and she’s going to end up in a grave. Yet, the mother completely ignores this and starts crying saying that it’s her fault her daughter is fat because she’s divorcing her husband? I am perplexed.
The mother and father are also experiencing a dreadful divorce but they’re dragging their daughters into it? The Dad is constantly asking BB what the mother is doing and who she’s being seeing and the mother refers to the father negatively in-front of her children, calling him an ‘old rat’. How is that fair to the children?
The little sister, Dove, was initially intolerable as I found her so rude, calling her sister a ‘fat-ass’ but I grew to like her a little and her bond with BB was cute. I also appreciated how she did parkour, it’s a hobby I’ve never read about in literature before so that was refreshing to see. However, that’s the only thing I seemed to like.
Moving away from the characters, the overall message that the book was trying to promote was poorly executed. Pitched as a body confident book about feeling comfortable in your own skin, I found this was completely unsuccessful. Controversially, I believe this was stepping over the line because there’s a difference between loving your body regardless of its size and lack of conformity to unachievable and toxic societal standards and glamourising childhood obesity. The book begins with BB having an asthma attack triggered by her weight, which nearly killed her. Am I supposed to feel empowered by that? This child almost died because of her weight. When a medical professional then tells her she’s at high risk and needs to lose weight, BB refuses because she thinks she’s pretty like that. She is pretty, but she’s also unhealthy. When it gets dangerous, you have to draw the line. Yes, all bodies deserve respect. All bodies are worthy of love. But loving yourself is taking care of yourself, and if that looks like losing weight to save your life, then that’s okay. That is what I’d feel empowered by, not deliberate ignorance of medical professionals, neglecting your body and respecting and loving yourself to save yourself.
Some of the execution was good though. BB completely rebels against diet-culture, something I am extremely passionate about and dismantles the ‘thinness equals happiness’ myth which has completely destroyed my life but this takes over such a small percentage of the message as the rest is completely overshadowed by glamourising morbid obesity.
Another thing which I found to be incredibly offensive was the overt ableism. After an accident occurs, leaving one of the characters disabled, BB mourns her like she’s died and this is used as a way to propel the plot forward and allow the protagonist to learn something which is that we must live life to the fullest incase ‘we end up in a wheelchair’. No. Disability does not mean life isn’t worth living. It doesn’t mean your life is over. To imply this was absolutely disgusting to me.
Furthermore, the writing style was just as horrible as the rest of the book. Understandably, it is epistolary and it is supposed to mirror the writing of a sixteen year old child (who barely passed her English GCSEs) but it was fragmented and choppy and hindered my enjoyment of the novel and was horrendous to read.
The plot was so bland. For the first half of the book, nothing occurred. Boredom crept in as I wasn’t engaged. After two hundred long, tedious pages, do we finally get a pivotal moment which was handled terribly. This book could have easily been condensed.
Moreover, it seemed like the author was trying too hard to be funny and quirky but it came off as weird and disturbing. For example. ‘Bum tills’? I don’t have words. Also, the overly descriptive section of a diarrhea attack? That wasn’t funny. It made me feel physically sick to my stomach. BB’s pets are called ‘2B’ and ‘Not 2B’. In what universe is that humourous?
Another thing I absolutely despised was the failure to recognise and respect certain things and instead give into ludicrous stereotypes and societal stigma. There’s a quote which reads ‘We have a nursery across the road and some of the nannies that come in are so fat, that they’d make you [BB] look anorexic.’ Not only is this problematic because of how cruel and rude it is but it’s also conforming to the stereotype that anorexia is just being thin. It’s 2019. Get educated. Anorexia is a MENTAL illness, not physical and not everyone with an eating disorder is underweight. This honestly enrages me because the ignorance is inexcusable in my opinion. How did this mess get published? It’s disgusting. Overall, it contributes to the stigma we already have and any young, impressionable readers will believe comments like this are appropriate and I lack words to express how shocked I am by this.
Overall, in my opinion, this book has earned it’s one-star rating (only because there isn’t an option to give it zero) This book appalled me, from the problematic and toxic execution of messages about weight, bodies and diet, to the bland and boring characters, to the amateur writing style and slow, lacklustre plot, this book is one I regret reading and I will never recommend it to anyone.
‘BIG BONES’ by LAURA DOCKRILL is a young adult novel following Bluebelle (also known as BB) who is instructed by a nurse at the beginning of the summer to complete a food diary but BB has a lot to say and tells her story of navigating the world when she’s overweight, documenting her love life and a traumatic accident which turns her family upside down.
Discovering this in my library was beyond exciting as I’ve had this novel on my radar for a while as it seemed incredible and inspiring. Being anti-diet culture and promoting body positivity and self-love is something I am insanely passionate about so I was beyond excited for this one.
However, I was severely let down.
From the messages delivered, to the writing style, to the characters, I found myself struggling to find something I liked because this book was, in my opinion, terrible.
Firstly, our protagonist, BB, was horrid. She was selfish, judgemental, rude, one-dimensional and quite frankly, insufferable.
My main issue with her was how self-absorbed she was throughout the entirety of the novel in which she fails to develop, grow or change by the end. Everything needed to be about her, which several of the characters highlight. When the accident occurs, BB begins to mourn and mope about and when her best friend, Cam, asks BB about it, her response is ‘Look, you have no idea what it’s like to have this happen to you.’ Apparently, Cam was as shocked as I was as she responds with ‘It hasn’t happened to you. It’s happened to your sister...you’re being selfish.’ In which BB doesn’t take this onboard and instead victimises herself and doesn’t change.
This selfishness is repeated on several occasions. One of the characters is poorly and throws up everywhere. Is BB concerned? Worried? Or even remotely fazed by it? Nope. Instead, she says ‘Wish she didn’t have to be doing being sick right now because I need to ask her to apply to my apprenticeship. Jeez’ Almost if she is shocked at the audacity for this poor girl to be unwell at the time she wants something from her.
This isn’t the only thing which irked me about BB. Her judgemental and nasty attitude towards everyone in her life made her incredibly unlikeable in an unreedemable way. She’s constantly internally being mean about people, from saying things like ‘Alicia is always very dehydrated; her lips are always crusty and looking like shrinking fried cod. Maybe that’s why she’s always a moody cow, cos she’s so thirsty?’ to her Dad endeavouring to be nice to her and he says: ‘She [The mother] didn’t go to college, neither did I, and look at us!’ and BB internally says ‘yeah, LOOK at you’ with a tone of disgust and shame...towards her caring, employed, loving parents! She had absolutely no respect for her parents, she literally called her mother an ‘attention-seeker’ to her face, whilst she was sobbing, for suggesting she has something to do with BB’s weight. It honestly disgusted me.
BB constantly goes on at how amazing and pretty she reckons she is but only gets her confidence from putting others down, from saying mean things like I’ve previously mentioned, to body-shaming her ‘skinny-minnie’ sister, I personally find it appalling that she gets her confidence from taking it away from others.
BB was the only developed character in the book, despite there being a wide cast. There wasn’t enough effort put into developing the love interest so I didn’t care at all about BB’s romance.
The family plays a major role in the book as they are the ones we see most frequently but I had issues with those too. Firstly, the mother seemed so ridiculously unrealistic. In the opening chapter, BB is overtly verbally abused by a nurse for being overweight, told she ‘eats like a feeding machine’, told she is ‘being selfish for being so fat’ and she’s going to end up in a grave. Yet, the mother completely ignores this and starts crying saying that it’s her fault her daughter is fat because she’s divorcing her husband? I am perplexed.
The mother and father are also experiencing a dreadful divorce but they’re dragging their daughters into it? The Dad is constantly asking BB what the mother is doing and who she’s being seeing and the mother refers to the father negatively in-front of her children, calling him an ‘old rat’. How is that fair to the children?
The little sister, Dove, was initially intolerable as I found her so rude, calling her sister a ‘fat-ass’ but I grew to like her a little and her bond with BB was cute. I also appreciated how she did parkour, it’s a hobby I’ve never read about in literature before so that was refreshing to see. However, that’s the only thing I seemed to like.
Moving away from the characters, the overall message that the book was trying to promote was poorly executed. Pitched as a body confident book about feeling comfortable in your own skin, I found this was completely unsuccessful. Controversially, I believe this was stepping over the line because there’s a difference between loving your body regardless of its size and lack of conformity to unachievable and toxic societal standards and glamourising childhood obesity. The book begins with BB having an asthma attack triggered by her weight, which nearly killed her. Am I supposed to feel empowered by that? This child almost died because of her weight. When a medical professional then tells her she’s at high risk and needs to lose weight, BB refuses because she thinks she’s pretty like that. She is pretty, but she’s also unhealthy. When it gets dangerous, you have to draw the line. Yes, all bodies deserve respect. All bodies are worthy of love. But loving yourself is taking care of yourself, and if that looks like losing weight to save your life, then that’s okay. That is what I’d feel empowered by, not deliberate ignorance of medical professionals, neglecting your body and respecting and loving yourself to save yourself.
Some of the execution was good though. BB completely rebels against diet-culture, something I am extremely passionate about and dismantles the ‘thinness equals happiness’ myth which has completely destroyed my life but this takes over such a small percentage of the message as the rest is completely overshadowed by glamourising morbid obesity.
Another thing which I found to be incredibly offensive was the overt ableism. After an accident occurs, leaving one of the characters disabled, BB mourns her like she’s died and this is used as a way to propel the plot forward and allow the protagonist to learn something which is that we must live life to the fullest incase ‘we end up in a wheelchair’. No. Disability does not mean life isn’t worth living. It doesn’t mean your life is over. To imply this was absolutely disgusting to me.
Furthermore, the writing style was just as horrible as the rest of the book. Understandably, it is epistolary and it is supposed to mirror the writing of a sixteen year old child (who barely passed her English GCSEs) but it was fragmented and choppy and hindered my enjoyment of the novel and was horrendous to read.
The plot was so bland. For the first half of the book, nothing occurred. Boredom crept in as I wasn’t engaged. After two hundred long, tedious pages, do we finally get a pivotal moment which was handled terribly. This book could have easily been condensed.
Moreover, it seemed like the author was trying too hard to be funny and quirky but it came off as weird and disturbing. For example. ‘Bum tills’? I don’t have words. Also, the overly descriptive section of a diarrhea attack? That wasn’t funny. It made me feel physically sick to my stomach. BB’s pets are called ‘2B’ and ‘Not 2B’. In what universe is that humourous?
Another thing I absolutely despised was the failure to recognise and respect certain things and instead give into ludicrous stereotypes and societal stigma. There’s a quote which reads ‘We have a nursery across the road and some of the nannies that come in are so fat, that they’d make you [BB] look anorexic.’ Not only is this problematic because of how cruel and rude it is but it’s also conforming to the stereotype that anorexia is just being thin. It’s 2019. Get educated. Anorexia is a MENTAL illness, not physical and not everyone with an eating disorder is underweight. This honestly enrages me because the ignorance is inexcusable in my opinion. How did this mess get published? It’s disgusting. Overall, it contributes to the stigma we already have and any young, impressionable readers will believe comments like this are appropriate and I lack words to express how shocked I am by this.
Overall, in my opinion, this book has earned it’s one-star rating (only because there isn’t an option to give it zero) This book appalled me, from the problematic and toxic execution of messages about weight, bodies and diet, to the bland and boring characters, to the amateur writing style and slow, lacklustre plot, this book is one I regret reading and I will never recommend it to anyone.
March 27, 2019
3.75/4 🌟 I was lucky enough to have been sent this and that affects my opinion in no way.
I really enjoyed the main character Bluebell and could relate to the food diary. I liked the positive message at the end and I like how each chapter has a food title. It made me think about food in different ways and it actually motivated me to want to be healthier and fitter.
I really enjoyed the main character Bluebell and could relate to the food diary. I liked the positive message at the end and I like how each chapter has a food title. It made me think about food in different ways and it actually motivated me to want to be healthier and fitter.
February 14, 2018
My feelings for this book have been clearly seperated into two different emotions. The first half of the book was worth 2 stars. It only talked about food and was very superficial. I often asked myself what the point of this book was because it was like reading about any completely normal 16 year old. Really, talking about food is only interesting for so long and 200 Pages is definitely way too long (unless you're writing a cookbook). The summary also says this is a very funny read but I would call it lighthearted at most, funny is really stretching it. The second half of the book was much better it was worth 3 or even 3.5 stars. The story got way more interesting and finally I could read about things other than food. But 50% worth of 2 stars is just too much to give this book a 3 star rating.
This book is about a "fat" (she uses that word to describe herself and that's the only reason I'm using this insulting term) girl who is completely happy with how she looks. And I have to applaud that because body positivity is a very positive and powerful thing to write about in a YA book. That's obviously the part of the book that I like the most. It's also the reason that I would love to give this book more stars. But a good message isn't enough for me to make it a good book. Because the only thing that happens is that she decides at one point to love herself more and to start going to the gym. Not to get skinny, but to be healthy and strong. It's a perfect message but just not enough of a story. It's jut sad that everything that's in the summary of this book is everything that happens in the book. There is nothing more to the story besides from a tiny love story.
Bluebelle was a bit too over the top for me. She annoyed me because she really didn't think twice about making life changing decisions and overall really didn't use her brain that much. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but I really don't know any other way to describer her. I did like most of the other characters. They were all very different and this book didn't contain too much stereotypes. I just think I was looking for something with more depth and if you are looking for depth, this is certainly not the book for you.
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This book is about a "fat" (she uses that word to describe herself and that's the only reason I'm using this insulting term) girl who is completely happy with how she looks. And I have to applaud that because body positivity is a very positive and powerful thing to write about in a YA book. That's obviously the part of the book that I like the most. It's also the reason that I would love to give this book more stars. But a good message isn't enough for me to make it a good book. Because the only thing that happens is that she decides at one point to love herself more and to start going to the gym. Not to get skinny, but to be healthy and strong. It's a perfect message but just not enough of a story. It's jut sad that everything that's in the summary of this book is everything that happens in the book. There is nothing more to the story besides from a tiny love story.
Bluebelle was a bit too over the top for me. She annoyed me because she really didn't think twice about making life changing decisions and overall really didn't use her brain that much. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but I really don't know any other way to describer her. I did like most of the other characters. They were all very different and this book didn't contain too much stereotypes. I just think I was looking for something with more depth and if you are looking for depth, this is certainly not the book for you.
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April 17, 2018
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Actual rating 3.5 and this is one where I really wish goodreads had the 1/2 star function. It's not quite good enough for the 4 but the 3 feels a bit harsh.
I have fairly mixed feelings about this book. I love the body positivity and the fact that Bluebelle didn't just eat junk food- which I think is a huge misconception about overweight people in general but especially teenagers. I generally enjoyed her voice and cared about her and her family. Also Max is lovely and there need to more love interests like him in YA.
I loved the food descriptions, the portrayal of family, work and the trauma of going to the gym for the first time. I also really liked the emphasis on going to the gym to get fitter and better yourself rather than going to get skinny.
One of my issues was that one of the main points of the book was to not judge people by appearances but BB does this all the time there are constant snidey comments about how other women look. Whether it's based on their appearance, their clothes or their size. I found this uncomfortable considering how much BB hates being judged by her weight.
Another small issue I had was that I really hate toilet humour- the entire chapter dedicated to diarrhoea was a big no no for me but I understand that there will be people who found it funny and/or relateable.
Overall, this is a solid 3.5, I'm glad I read it and will look out for more by Laura Dockrill.
Actual rating 3.5 and this is one where I really wish goodreads had the 1/2 star function. It's not quite good enough for the 4 but the 3 feels a bit harsh.
I have fairly mixed feelings about this book. I love the body positivity and the fact that Bluebelle didn't just eat junk food- which I think is a huge misconception about overweight people in general but especially teenagers. I generally enjoyed her voice and cared about her and her family. Also Max is lovely and there need to more love interests like him in YA.
I loved the food descriptions, the portrayal of family, work and the trauma of going to the gym for the first time. I also really liked the emphasis on going to the gym to get fitter and better yourself rather than going to get skinny.
One of my issues was that one of the main points of the book was to not judge people by appearances but BB does this all the time there are constant snidey comments about how other women look. Whether it's based on their appearance, their clothes or their size. I found this uncomfortable considering how much BB hates being judged by her weight.
Another small issue I had was that I really hate toilet humour- the entire chapter dedicated to diarrhoea was a big no no for me but I understand that there will be people who found it funny and/or relateable.
Overall, this is a solid 3.5, I'm glad I read it and will look out for more by Laura Dockrill.
July 5, 2020
I thought this was quite a refreshing, unique read! It remind me a little of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging when it comes to the humor, and I really liked the body positivity and BB's self esteem. There wasn't a lot more substance to it though, and I felt like the storyline was a bit rushed - it would have been nice to see more plot points resolved.
June 12, 2018
DNF .maybe I’ll try again one day,but this just wasn’t getting to me at all.
August 22, 2023
I received this book from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
16-year-old Bluebell or 'BB' as she's know to friends and family is fat, and she's pretty okay with this. BB loves her food, really loves it and she also loves herself and her body -however issues arrive after BB has an asthma attack during school exams and is instructed to keep a food diary by her doctor, which turns into a bit more an everyday diary as BB talks about her experience living in a bigger body in a world that has been programmed to think thinner is better.
This is a book I honestly wasn't sure about when I started it as I think I felt a little overwhelmed by Bluebelle's personality at the beginning of the book - there was definitely a personality clash but the more story went on, and the more the reader saw the softer, quieter and more insecure sides of BB than than public persona she parades around in, I liked her a lot more.
This is a book I wouldn't recommend reading if you're hungry or if you're dieting as there are so many food descriptions from yummy shepherd's pie with cheesy mash on top, to mushy, vinegary chips, YUM. There are also some gross food descriptions I could have done without to be honest as well, and there were times BB ate or thought about eating some things that really made me wonder.
I love BB's body confidence and how beautiful she knows she is. She does tend to focus on other people's size, especially if they are smaller like her sister Dove and her manager Alicia - she uses descriptions like bony and sharp to describe these people to over emphasise how thin they are in comparison to her. I was a bit iffy about her lackadaisical attitude towards exercise and her overall health, especially given her asthma, but I'm glad this was sorted by the end of the book and we see BB find joy in moving her body in different ways alongside joy of her curves. As someone who generally hates exercise, I understood her reluctance about it but have to admit that some kind of movement most days is better for us in the long run - and you can be fat and fit!
One of the things I loved most in this book was BB's relationship with her little sister Dove who is very opposite of BB in many ways. The way they looked after each other and had little moments together in sisterly companionship was just very nice, and every time I think of Bum Tills now I will probably laugh out loud.
16-year-old Bluebell or 'BB' as she's know to friends and family is fat, and she's pretty okay with this. BB loves her food, really loves it and she also loves herself and her body -however issues arrive after BB has an asthma attack during school exams and is instructed to keep a food diary by her doctor, which turns into a bit more an everyday diary as BB talks about her experience living in a bigger body in a world that has been programmed to think thinner is better.
This is a book I honestly wasn't sure about when I started it as I think I felt a little overwhelmed by Bluebelle's personality at the beginning of the book - there was definitely a personality clash but the more story went on, and the more the reader saw the softer, quieter and more insecure sides of BB than than public persona she parades around in, I liked her a lot more.
This is a book I wouldn't recommend reading if you're hungry or if you're dieting as there are so many food descriptions from yummy shepherd's pie with cheesy mash on top, to mushy, vinegary chips, YUM. There are also some gross food descriptions I could have done without to be honest as well, and there were times BB ate or thought about eating some things that really made me wonder.
I love BB's body confidence and how beautiful she knows she is. She does tend to focus on other people's size, especially if they are smaller like her sister Dove and her manager Alicia - she uses descriptions like bony and sharp to describe these people to over emphasise how thin they are in comparison to her. I was a bit iffy about her lackadaisical attitude towards exercise and her overall health, especially given her asthma, but I'm glad this was sorted by the end of the book and we see BB find joy in moving her body in different ways alongside joy of her curves. As someone who generally hates exercise, I understood her reluctance about it but have to admit that some kind of movement most days is better for us in the long run - and you can be fat and fit!
One of the things I loved most in this book was BB's relationship with her little sister Dove who is very opposite of BB in many ways. The way they looked after each other and had little moments together in sisterly companionship was just very nice, and every time I think of Bum Tills now I will probably laugh out loud.
March 24, 2018
This was absolutely fantastic. Stand-out UKYA. Funny and smart and feelgood and with the BEST descriptions of food I've ever read. Not to be read hungry. I now wish it was summer & I can wear all my patterned floaty dresses again.
January 27, 2018
BB is the body confident hero we all needed. Wonderful as always x
August 16, 2021
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Bluebell Green is 16, and she's decided she's had enough of school. Rather than worrying about her GCSE results, she's going to get an apprenticeship at her weekend job - if she can convince the manager that is. When her mam drags her to the doctors following an asthma attack, the nurse tells her she needs to lose weight, and keep a food diary over the summer to track what she's been eating. She knows she's fat, and she doesn't care, but in order to placate her mam, she'll go along with it, and will even get a gym membership if she has to. But then her younger sister is injured, and BB loses her love of food, and starts to think that maybe she should make a change to her life.
I hated this book. I'll just admit it, and honestly, if I didn't want to clear it from my TBR, I would've DNFed it extremely early on. BB as a character was extremely immature - I'm not saying that as an adult complaining about a teenager being a teenager, but she didn't act like a sixteen year old, and there were far too many scenes and chapters that I would say was more like a 12 year old. She also had a horrendous relationship with food, and I'm all for being body positive, but she went around it the wrong way. It was like she wanted to shock people - especially the nurse - and would do it in any way possible. And then there was the whole plot line surrounding Dove's accident. BB acted like Dove being in a wheelchair - temporarily - was a death sentence, and the end of the world, and it was extremely ableist, and obnoxious. She also tried to make Dove's accident all about her, when really, it wasn't. Such a disappointing book!
Bluebell Green is 16, and she's decided she's had enough of school. Rather than worrying about her GCSE results, she's going to get an apprenticeship at her weekend job - if she can convince the manager that is. When her mam drags her to the doctors following an asthma attack, the nurse tells her she needs to lose weight, and keep a food diary over the summer to track what she's been eating. She knows she's fat, and she doesn't care, but in order to placate her mam, she'll go along with it, and will even get a gym membership if she has to. But then her younger sister is injured, and BB loses her love of food, and starts to think that maybe she should make a change to her life.
I hated this book. I'll just admit it, and honestly, if I didn't want to clear it from my TBR, I would've DNFed it extremely early on. BB as a character was extremely immature - I'm not saying that as an adult complaining about a teenager being a teenager, but she didn't act like a sixteen year old, and there were far too many scenes and chapters that I would say was more like a 12 year old. She also had a horrendous relationship with food, and I'm all for being body positive, but she went around it the wrong way. It was like she wanted to shock people - especially the nurse - and would do it in any way possible. And then there was the whole plot line surrounding Dove's accident. BB acted like Dove being in a wheelchair - temporarily - was a death sentence, and the end of the world, and it was extremely ableist, and obnoxious. She also tried to make Dove's accident all about her, when really, it wasn't. Such a disappointing book!
January 5, 2018
Bluebelle, aka Big Bones, loves food. Every chapter of this book has a food theme, starting with one of my personal favourites - crumpets! This is the food diary that Bluebelle was encouraged to keep following the appointment with the nurse that her mum dragged her to.
Bluebelle is a body confident 16 year old who has a very close bond with her sister and thinks she knows what she wants to do in life. She has just finished her GCSE Exams and wants to start an apprenticeship at Planet Coffee rather than stay on at school. This may (or may not) have something to do with Max who also works there. Dove her sister is the complete opposite of BB. She does not sit still and loves free running/parkour. Somehow Dove manages to eat what she likes and stay slim.
When a family tragedy strikes it prompts BB to reassess her relationship with food and start taking more care of her health.
I really enjoyed reading this warm and funny book. Bluebelle has such an honest voice (it is possibly too honest in places!) There were some moments where I genuinely laughed out loud. I still wonder where the author got the idea for bum tills…
This book will really appeal to teenagers who like reading humour/contemporary fiction.
NB: There is a brief mention of a bulimic incident involving a coat hanger (p282) However, the main character regrets this instantly. “Never had I wished I could undo an action so quickly”.
Bluebelle is a body confident 16 year old who has a very close bond with her sister and thinks she knows what she wants to do in life. She has just finished her GCSE Exams and wants to start an apprenticeship at Planet Coffee rather than stay on at school. This may (or may not) have something to do with Max who also works there. Dove her sister is the complete opposite of BB. She does not sit still and loves free running/parkour. Somehow Dove manages to eat what she likes and stay slim.
When a family tragedy strikes it prompts BB to reassess her relationship with food and start taking more care of her health.
I really enjoyed reading this warm and funny book. Bluebelle has such an honest voice (it is possibly too honest in places!) There were some moments where I genuinely laughed out loud. I still wonder where the author got the idea for bum tills…
This book will really appeal to teenagers who like reading humour/contemporary fiction.
NB: There is a brief mention of a bulimic incident involving a coat hanger (p282) However, the main character regrets this instantly. “Never had I wished I could undo an action so quickly”.
April 12, 2018
Laura is such a talent, and this book, starring a fat girl called Bluebelle who adores food and learns to love herself too, is brilliant. I've learned for myself how painful and damaging diet culture is, and this book is all about how wonderful food is, how important it is to take care of yourself and how much fun it is to be alive. A really wonderful, hopeful story for 12+
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. Please do not use it in any marketing material, online or in print, without asking permission from me first. Thank you!*
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. Please do not use it in any marketing material, online or in print, without asking permission from me first. Thank you!*
January 22, 2021
Unfortunately just not for me. Massively triggering, near enough non existent plot and a largely immature way of viewing food/being overweight that I generally wouldn’t recommend. Definitely not my cup of tea, and I’d recommend one approach with caution if considering reading or recommending.
April 8, 2018
Fun, cute but also one to make you think. Loved the body posi vibes!
April 1, 2019
*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the Publisher
Where has this book been all my life? No, seriously! Engaging, inspiring, and speaking truth left, right and centre, BIG BONES by Laura Dockrill is a story for absolutely every one of every age to read and is utterly fantastic.
Bluebelle, or BB, as she is known to everyone is a sixteen-year-old that stands out from the usual crowd and not just because of her weight. Constantly told by doctors, nurses, schoolmates, and to a lesser extent her mum, that she needs to lose weight, BB is unique in that she truly loves her body and enjoys eating good food. Confident, loyal, witty, and an excellent cook, BB lives her life on her terms. But when she makes a deal so that she can leave school where she is miserable, she must fill out a food diary and join a gym to keep up her end of the bargain. But as life throws BB some curveballs the food diary becomes so much more and BB may just become stronger than ever!
There is so much in this book that I identified with but sadly I never had BB's body confidence as a teenager and can still struggle with it now as an adult. Society's ridiculous expectations of women in this day and age are powerfully portrayed, alongside the absolute fear and disbelief that many people have when they encounter a fat person with confidence and self-belief. Our bodies are ours and ours alone - unique and strong in so many ways, and to demand they all look the same is simply ridiculous, and the way we look is only a small portion of who we are at the end of the day and I think this message is excellently put across in a funny and deft way in this novel.
BIG BONES by Laura Dockrill is more than just a story about body confidence though. It is a story about friendship, relationships, figuring out the future, and a sisterly love and bond like no other, and there are so many laughs along the way that you will have tears streaming down your face a lot. Told in the form of a diary, you will fall in love with BB and her love of food, you will fall in love with her energy and strength, and you may even fall a little bit more in love with yourself by the time you turn the last page.
A must-read for teenagers right through to OAP's, this book is truly special.
Where has this book been all my life? No, seriously! Engaging, inspiring, and speaking truth left, right and centre, BIG BONES by Laura Dockrill is a story for absolutely every one of every age to read and is utterly fantastic.
Bluebelle, or BB, as she is known to everyone is a sixteen-year-old that stands out from the usual crowd and not just because of her weight. Constantly told by doctors, nurses, schoolmates, and to a lesser extent her mum, that she needs to lose weight, BB is unique in that she truly loves her body and enjoys eating good food. Confident, loyal, witty, and an excellent cook, BB lives her life on her terms. But when she makes a deal so that she can leave school where she is miserable, she must fill out a food diary and join a gym to keep up her end of the bargain. But as life throws BB some curveballs the food diary becomes so much more and BB may just become stronger than ever!
There is so much in this book that I identified with but sadly I never had BB's body confidence as a teenager and can still struggle with it now as an adult. Society's ridiculous expectations of women in this day and age are powerfully portrayed, alongside the absolute fear and disbelief that many people have when they encounter a fat person with confidence and self-belief. Our bodies are ours and ours alone - unique and strong in so many ways, and to demand they all look the same is simply ridiculous, and the way we look is only a small portion of who we are at the end of the day and I think this message is excellently put across in a funny and deft way in this novel.
BIG BONES by Laura Dockrill is more than just a story about body confidence though. It is a story about friendship, relationships, figuring out the future, and a sisterly love and bond like no other, and there are so many laughs along the way that you will have tears streaming down your face a lot. Told in the form of a diary, you will fall in love with BB and her love of food, you will fall in love with her energy and strength, and you may even fall a little bit more in love with yourself by the time you turn the last page.
A must-read for teenagers right through to OAP's, this book is truly special.
August 26, 2019
So, I read this and I loved it, but I also felt conflicted by it and guilty about reading it.
Yesterday, I read some reviews on here and my concerns were not only justified, but it seems like I had some blinders on about some other topics discussed in this book--especially regarding fat shaming--but also there was lots of ableist behavior in this book.
In good conscience, I can't recommend you read this book because it is harmful, which sucks because I really enjoyed the writing style so much.
Yesterday, I read some reviews on here and my concerns were not only justified, but it seems like I had some blinders on about some other topics discussed in this book--especially regarding fat shaming--but also there was lots of ableist behavior in this book.
In good conscience, I can't recommend you read this book because it is harmful, which sucks because I really enjoyed the writing style so much.
May 20, 2022
I loved BB's character development. She went from "I love my body and I'll do whatever I want" to "I love my body and I'll do whatever I want, and I also want to be healthy"
Only reason this book is getting 4 stars is because of how bulimia was represented for a small portion of the book. For a few pages, it was mentioned, but I would've preferred if the author would've talked more about it and how bad it is for your body.
Only reason this book is getting 4 stars is because of how bulimia was represented for a small portion of the book. For a few pages, it was mentioned, but I would've preferred if the author would've talked more about it and how bad it is for your body.
August 13, 2018
I've been looking out for more YA contemporary books about fat girls... Or even girls who aren't comfortable with the size of their body or how they look. Because, I'm one of those girls, so I'm always on the lookout for good representation of this in YA. I'd heard a lot about Big Bones throughout the blogosphere and I was interested to see whether it was the type of book that I was looking for, so I decided to request a copy and see what I thought.
A heart-warming teen story from the unique voice of Laura Dockrill, about Bluebelle, aka BB, aka Big Bones - a sixteen-year-old girl encouraged to tackle her weight even though she's perfectly happy, thank you, and getting on with her life and in love with food. Then a tragedy in the family forces BB to find a new relationship with her body and herself. Moving, memorable and hilarious."
To be honest, I have no idea what I think of this book. Part of me thinks that it was an enjoyable read, but then part of me thinks that it was just strange and it did take me a very long time to read. This is actually quite strange for me because contemporaries take me a matter of hours to read, but I think that I was reading this for about a few weeks? Or something like that, anyway.
When I was talking about this book in one of my wrap up videos, I felt like I couldn't explain my thoughts about this book in a very cohesive way, and I think that's because I liked it... And I didn't like it...
As aforementioned, this book is about a girl who identifies as fat. One day, she goes to the doctors for her monthly weigh-in, and the doctor says that Bluebelle has to lose some weight and really look after herself. Bluebelle then strikes up and agreement with her Mom. Her Mom says that is Bluebelle goes to the gym and keep a food diary for the doctor, then Bluebelle can drop out of school and start an internship.
The concept of the book is very interesting, but I don't think that it was executed in a particularly amazing way. During the first.. 10% of this novel I really wanted to DNF it. For the first 70% of the novel, it was just Bluebelle keeping her food diary and not really doing anything exciting. It wasn't until AFTER this 70% point that she started looking after herself. There was also the problem with the CHARACTER of Bluebelle. She she was funny at first because she was so confident in who she was and she didn't care what other people thought of her, but then as the story carried on, she started to become really annoying and I found her to be quite unlikeable.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Dove (Bluebelle's sister), who is just amazing. She does parkour and is so brave. She has brilliant banter with Bluebelle which gives them such a nice relationship to read about, and I just think that she's a much more interesting character.
One of the positives about this book was that, even though Bluebelle had to keep a food diary, she treated it like a PROPER diary where she would be telling the doctors about her day and her crush on a boy... her personal feelings... So technically, this whole novel IS her food diary, and I thought it was such a unique way of telling the story, because it fitted in with what the character had to do in the story but then also acted as the way of telling the story. Bluebelle loves herself, she loves her fat, loves her food and she's proud of it. She shows us that it is okay to love food, to love to eat, and to try and feel comfortable in your body and to not feel pressured by society to look a certain way. However, she also teaches us that even though you might be overweight, you still have to take care of yourself and your body. It's such an important message to add and it's what made this book so special to me.
As for the actual content: it broke my heart at times. Some situations, memories, trains of thought were so familiar to me as for 10 years, I have suffered with anxiety about my body.. It reminded me of everything I had to go through. I do love how there isn't any actual mention of bullying in Big Bones since it isn't only the bullying you struggle with when you're overweight. It's so much more than that.
Overall, Big Bones was an ok read. It wasn't ground-breaking. But, there was something there that made me feel emotional, and even thought the story didn't start until 70% of the book, it was enjoyable.
Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Trigger warnings: fatphobia, anxiety, weight struggles
A heart-warming teen story from the unique voice of Laura Dockrill, about Bluebelle, aka BB, aka Big Bones - a sixteen-year-old girl encouraged to tackle her weight even though she's perfectly happy, thank you, and getting on with her life and in love with food. Then a tragedy in the family forces BB to find a new relationship with her body and herself. Moving, memorable and hilarious."
To be honest, I have no idea what I think of this book. Part of me thinks that it was an enjoyable read, but then part of me thinks that it was just strange and it did take me a very long time to read. This is actually quite strange for me because contemporaries take me a matter of hours to read, but I think that I was reading this for about a few weeks? Or something like that, anyway.
When I was talking about this book in one of my wrap up videos, I felt like I couldn't explain my thoughts about this book in a very cohesive way, and I think that's because I liked it... And I didn't like it...
“I don't mean to scare myself but leaving school is like leaving the womb for the second time.”
― Laura Dockrill, Big Bones
As aforementioned, this book is about a girl who identifies as fat. One day, she goes to the doctors for her monthly weigh-in, and the doctor says that Bluebelle has to lose some weight and really look after herself. Bluebelle then strikes up and agreement with her Mom. Her Mom says that is Bluebelle goes to the gym and keep a food diary for the doctor, then Bluebelle can drop out of school and start an internship.
The concept of the book is very interesting, but I don't think that it was executed in a particularly amazing way. During the first.. 10% of this novel I really wanted to DNF it. For the first 70% of the novel, it was just Bluebelle keeping her food diary and not really doing anything exciting. It wasn't until AFTER this 70% point that she started looking after herself. There was also the problem with the CHARACTER of Bluebelle. She she was funny at first because she was so confident in who she was and she didn't care what other people thought of her, but then as the story carried on, she started to become really annoying and I found her to be quite unlikeable.
“People look at bigger people and assume we shouldn't feel the need to ever get hungry because we have enough fat stored up to last us until our dying day. As if we can nibble off our sides like we're made of peach.”
― Laura Dockrill, Big Bones
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Dove (Bluebelle's sister), who is just amazing. She does parkour and is so brave. She has brilliant banter with Bluebelle which gives them such a nice relationship to read about, and I just think that she's a much more interesting character.
One of the positives about this book was that, even though Bluebelle had to keep a food diary, she treated it like a PROPER diary where she would be telling the doctors about her day and her crush on a boy... her personal feelings... So technically, this whole novel IS her food diary, and I thought it was such a unique way of telling the story, because it fitted in with what the character had to do in the story but then also acted as the way of telling the story. Bluebelle loves herself, she loves her fat, loves her food and she's proud of it. She shows us that it is okay to love food, to love to eat, and to try and feel comfortable in your body and to not feel pressured by society to look a certain way. However, she also teaches us that even though you might be overweight, you still have to take care of yourself and your body. It's such an important message to add and it's what made this book so special to me.
"If they don't want to be skinny, that's just as offensive as calling somebody fat. Funny how people think it's rude to go round calling people fat but not skinny. Skinny people get self-conscious too."
- Laura Dockrill, Big Bones
As for the actual content: it broke my heart at times. Some situations, memories, trains of thought were so familiar to me as for 10 years, I have suffered with anxiety about my body.. It reminded me of everything I had to go through. I do love how there isn't any actual mention of bullying in Big Bones since it isn't only the bullying you struggle with when you're overweight. It's so much more than that.
Overall, Big Bones was an ok read. It wasn't ground-breaking. But, there was something there that made me feel emotional, and even thought the story didn't start until 70% of the book, it was enjoyable.
Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Trigger warnings: fatphobia, anxiety, weight struggles
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