Something Wild and Wonderful (2023) by Anita Kelly is the kind of romance book that makes me love romances! In his first mile of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in the desert of southern California, Alexei meets Ben, who Alexei stops from stepping on a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. Alexei is hikingContinue reading “Something Wild and Wonderful”
Tag Archives: anxiety
The Rebel Girls of Rome
It took me a little bit to get into The Rebel Girls of Rome (publication day July 8, 2025) by Jordyn Taylor, but once I did, I was hooked. Going back and forth in time in the present-day, from the perspective of Lilah who is visiting Rome with her grandfather Ralph (Raffaele), and in 1943,Continue reading “The Rebel Girls of Rome”
How to Get a Life in 10 Dates
In How to Get a Life in Ten Dates (publication date December 10, 2024), I loved meeting Jenny L. Howe’s newest characters–Haleigh and Jack–who live in the same world with some of the same characters from Howe’s first two books–On The Plus Side and The Make-Up Test. Twenty-five year olds Haleigh and Jack have beenContinue reading “How to Get a Life in 10 Dates”
The Make-Up Test
The Make-Up Test (2022), by Jenny Howe, is a fat-positive, second chance romance set in the fraught world of the Academy. It’s filled with dogs, geeky medieval literature references, impostor syndrome and extreme competitiveness, and a difficult parental relationship that included a lot of anti-fatness. And the best part is how Howe describes the mainContinue reading “The Make-Up Test”
Full of Myself
Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image (Pub. Date April 2, 2024) by Siobhán Gallagher is a nicely-done, visually-appealing memoir in graphic form, dealing with difficult topics, such as body image, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Siobhán starts off with her childhood in the Canadian Maritimes, as she began keeping a diary asContinue reading “Full of Myself”
Right Where I Left You
Right Where I Left You (2022) by Julian Winters, is a super-cute, queer teen romance filled both with queer characters of color, and comic book and video game fan references. Isaac Martin has just graduated high school and is enjoying his summer before heading off to college in the fall. Despite his sometimes-crippling anxiety, hisContinue reading “Right Where I Left You”
Big Boned
Big Boned (2021) by Jo Watson was a random library pick based on its title, cover, and jacket copy, which begins “Can she be herself in a one-size-fits-all world?” I knew that I had to read this young adult romance, which promised to be fat positive. Lori is a high school senior, an artist whoContinue reading “Big Boned”
Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead
Do you have a friend who tries her best but struggles all the time? Or maybe that’s you? Either way, you will enjoy the story of Gilda, a twentysomething lesbian atheist who ends up working as a receptionist in a Catholic church. It’s coming in July 2021.
Reading While Fat 