This Book Isn't Fat, It's Fabulous

Try your hardest to not judge this book too much by its title and cover, otherwise you'll miss out on one of the most winning protagonists I've ever come across. Riley carries the rest of the wonderful "cast" of characters in a book that's hilarious, inspiring, and totally swoon-worthy. I wish we could have more characters like Riley in YA lit. This girl knows what she wants, and she doesn't wait for others to give it to her: she goes for it herself. Riley's confidence makes her a wonderful role model, while her insecurities--most of them having to do with her family and a little bit with her reputation--make her realistic so that she is easy to relate to. It wouldn't be right if I don't mention that this is one of those rare books with a heavy protagonist that isn't about having low self-esteem or trying to lose weight. Instead, Riley is comfortable with her body, making this book as the title suggests it is. Much like how I want more books featuring Asians that are not about the struggles of being Asian, so I think many readers will adore this book for giving them a fabulous plus-sized heroine to root for. Riley and Eric's romance is so adorable it would be a sin for me not to talk about it. Again, Eric is quirky, confident, stereotype-breaking, and so dedicated to Riley it's hard not to be jealous of her. Theirs is a head-over-heels flirtation that will likely make the most hard-hearted of us squeal with pleasure and want to form an Eric Hotra fan club. The bottom line? Don't misjudge this gem of a novel. It's got a little bit of something for readers of all ages, sizes, backgrounds, and story preferences. As far as contemporary YA fiction goes, this book is one of the strongest out there. I highly suggest you find a copy and check out this fun and touching story for yourself!

Riley Swain thinks she's in love with her best friend, D. It's the night before their spring break, and she confronts D with her feelings. She manages a real kiss with D, and then leaves him hanging. For Riley is going to fat camp for the two-week break. She knows this is just another maneuver by Elizabeth, her future stepmother, to get her out of the apartment. Of course, Riley can't tell her friends that she's off to New Horizons in upstate New York. Instead, she lies and tells them she's off on a spa holiday with her father and Elizabeth. To cover her tracks, she has to actually make a reservation ($3000, will her father notice it on the credit card?) at the spa in case her nosey friends check up on her. So Riley arrives at the train station a few hours late. Can they fault her for leaving her cell phone back in the limo and having to fetch it before getting on the train? While waiting at the train station for someone from New Horizons to pick her up, a strange boy (with nail polish, no less!) starts talking to her. He seems harmless enough, and she's surprised when she finds out Eric is actually there to pick her up. Arriving late at New Horizons does not endear Riley to the headmistress. Riley starts off her two-week "holiday" with one demerit to her name. She learns that three demerits sends her packing home. Riley is not fat. She's comfortable in her size-12 body, and easily gets along with boys. But Elizabeth chose New Horizons and her father seldom sticks up for her these days. So Riley is torn about staying at New Horizons or trying to get kicked out. It's only when D calls to tell her he's coming to pick her up at the spa to bring her home on her last day, that she hatches a crazy plot to get kicked out of New Horizons so she can return to the city before D can come get her. Afraid that her friends back home would ridicule her for being at a fat camp, she does everything she can to avoid telling the truth. She enlists the aid of Eric, whom she's become friendly with during her week at New Horizons. Little does she know that Eric's feelings are much deeper than she would ever have realized. This is Ms. Beck's first novel. Riley is a confident girl that knows what she wants. But hidden behind the confidence is indecision and confusion. Riley doesn't want to like New Horizons, but the new friends she has made and the connection with Eric cause her a moment's hesitation. She is afraid to come clean with her friends back home and the help she seeks from her new friends may be pushing her luck. I enjoyed the quick pace of Riley's life, and Eric's quirky personality was very endearing. I'll definitely keep my eyes open for more by Ms. Beck. This story was fun and amusing with Riley's adventures. Reviewed by: Jaglvr

THIS BOOK ISN'T FAT, IT'S FABULOUS NINA BECK Contemporary Young Adult Rating 3.5 Enchantments Riley Swain is used to getting what she wants in life, guys, friends, clothes. But suddenly she's on her way to fat camp (argh, the horror). She thinks her size twelve figure is fabulous, but apparently her father and stepmother- to-be have other ideas, which is why instead of going on the class trip to Mexico for spring break, she's headed to upstate New York and New Horizon. But Riley can't have her friends and fellow Manhattanites knowing the truth, so she concocts a cover story that she's actually going on a family bonding trip to an upstate NY spa. While there were portions of the book I really enjoyed, especially when Riley meets Eric, which might have been my favorite scene of the book, the rest of it seemed to hit a lull. The story moved quite fast from Riley at home in Manhattan to being shipped off to fat camp. I think the story would have benefited from a slower pace and a chance to know the supporting characters. The only characters I felt you really got to know was Riley with a bit of Eric and her almost obsession with her best friend D. I did however enjoy Riley's letter writing campaign to her lawyer and others to keep from having to go to New Horizon. Ms. Beck likes peppermint tea, movies with lots of synchronized dance sequences, boys with curly hair, and living in Brooklyn, New York. She also likes writing characters that make her laugh and make other people ask, "Um. . . is this autobiographical?" This Book Isn't Fat, It's Fabulous is her first novel. You can learn more about THIS BOOK ISN'T FAT, IT'S FABULOUS here: http://thisispoint.com/books/fatfabulous.asp Lisa Enchanting Reviews August 2008

Nina Beck has written a great book. Our heroine is Riley Swain who comes from money, has a best enemy not a best friend, and a guy who is her best friend but whom she has loved for a long time. Riley is content to play the New York Socialite and her manners and behavior would be fit for the tabloids if she were a Spears or a Swank. But since she just goes to an expensive high school, and hangs out with well-to-do friends, she is just the center of attention. But all of that is about to change. It's her senior year and she has coordinated and planned the senior trip to Mexico for the second week of spring break. But now her Father and soon-to-be step-mom have registered her to go to a Fat Camp at the New Horizons School for Young Ladies. While there, things in her life turn topsy-turvy; she starts falling for a boy who isn't her type and she needs to plan an escape so she can go on the trip and fool her parents. She starts examining her motives and behaviors in a real and profound way. Yet how can it all work out? She has lied to her best friend the day before leaving New York and she kissed him for the first time and it was not what she expected. She has booked a fake spa week to fool her friends about where she is. She now has a new man in her life, but is not sure what she feels about the old one, and her whole world is crashing down around her. Riley Swain who says that she is fabulous, and does not care what anybody else says, is now having feelings and is caring for people in ways she never knew she could. Can she untangle her feelings and save her social life that seems destined to crash and burn on Saturday? Read and find out. This book really is fabulous. I enjoyed it a lot, and lent it to a friend - she was laughing out loud on the first page. This book is not about a fat girl becoming skinny, it is about an unhealthy girl becoming healthy, and that starts on the inside with the emotions. This is one of the best books for young people I have read since Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and like that book, this has a lot to offer to the younger generation, and maybe even something for us older folks. (First Published in Imprint 2008-09-12.)