Although the number is increasing in recent years, it’s hard to find YA books with fat protagonists — and a positive representation. Some of my favorite reps are fat kids who don’t see being fat as anything beyond an adjective that describes their body. The books on this list feature a wide variety of kids with dreams, messy love lives, beautiful friendships, and often, loving families. Some of them are working their way to more self-love, while others are already confident in their own skin. If you’ve been looking for more YA books starring fat teens, this one’s for you.
Review | Kind of Sort of Fine
Kind of Sort of Fine is written from two perspectives, that of — overachiever-who-just-had-a-nervous-breakdown — Hayley Mills and Lewis Holbrook. Lewis is a fat teen who has decided that this will be his year. He will take charge of his life and perhaps even lose weight and ask the girl he likes to go out on a date with him. Hayley’s parents and guidance counselor insist that she let go of tasking electives and switch to something more fun, and less emotionally draining, like TV Production! Hayley is less than thrilled to be hanging with the less ambitious crew, but when she and Lewis start making mini-documentaries about their classmates, Hayley starts to question the path she originally planned for herself. And maybe Lewis will finally get out of his own way?
