"This an overall review of all the books, FYL this one was my favorite!

Meet Rory, Jordan, Ginger, Zara, and Callie. A group of plus-sized girls that fight back against school bullies, support and love each other, and find love along the way. I loved the group dynamic with the girls and their men, ten people in one scene? Hilarious moments were bound to ensue, and trust me, they did! I loved seeing a plus-size group of girls going through similar emotions, experiences and helping lift each other up. I can talk to my friends about many things, but plus-size issues aren't one of them. This is no fault of their own but my insecurities. There is nothing more embarrassing than having friends ask to go to the mall and going into stores that clearly don't have your size, and feeling so out of place. So, I loved this group of girls even though they were imperfect, sometimes harsh to one another, and did silly things instead of choosing the obvious solution, they had each other, and that was enough.

There were three issues I had with this book. Firstly, the flow of these stories was always the same! The girl meets a guy, likes the guy, dates him, a life-altering situation happens, guy or girl gets mad, leaves the one they love, they make up in dramatic fashion, the end! But it's the lack of reality that almost killed this series. Some of the situations the girls found themselves in, and the background stories made me roll my eyes. An overnight youtube star, public humiliation without real consequences, arranged marriage, paparazzi, involvement in police matters, harsh/unrealistic parental reactions, etc. If anyone knows me, I hate when reality is lost, and reality definitely walked out the door a few times, and Nicole Yoon walked in. Yes, honey, that was shade, but I still read her books, so don't go throwing stones.

Lastly, as a little girl, I didn't mind reading about the stereotypical main character, White, skinny, long-haired blonde/brunette girls. As I got older, I realized I wanted someone that looked like me and experiences that mirrored mine. Why is it so hard for a Black plus size girl or just a Black girl, in general, to be the main character without being sexualized, sassy, or considered a fetish? Black people are almost nonexistent in mainstream books. They aren't the everyday main character or even a general background character. Unless they are deemed the sidekick sassy best friend, I know I shouldn't place this frustration on Stelting as her books were focused entirely on other concerns. Still, it is incredibly disappointing to read five books and see every other race but my own.

Now what I'm about to say next may be controversial and get me some rolled eyes and "a just shut up and enjoy the book comment," but as always, I'm overly analytical, so get over it and keep reading without those eye rolls. Okay, so look, I would have liked to have met a regular guy. Each guy in these books was jacked, tall, and beautiful; basically, they were on model status. Many of the girls had drool on their lips and didn't know if they wanted to "Kiss em or lick em" when it came to their muscles. I love that this book says that curvy girls deserve and can have it all, that we are no less than any other person because of our body type. The question I have is.... what's wrong with a regular guy? Average body build? Softer men?

In reality, I have a more challenging time picturing myself with a skinner person than a muscular guy since people love to condition plus size women with men that are strong to compliment the size difference. As a kid, I heard that I would crush a guy if I sat down on them. So It is almost more defiant to be with a skinny/average guy and serve a massive "suck it" to the jerks in my highschool days. Now I know what yall are thinking, Tamia; you don't want a muscular guy? Girl, are you crazy. If a greek god walks into my life, don't think I'm passing it up, but let's normalize average male and female plus-size bodies together. Plus size women don't need a huge man to balance things out; all we need is love. Overall, this book made me feel like I could be the one. I can have the guy. I can have friends. I can enjoy life, and guess what? I can because I deserve it! My body doesn't dictate that I can't have love, and the curvy girl series embodied that. Shout out to my curvy girls and shout out to Stelting!"