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I love Kristan Higgins, but I didn’t love this book. It is a bit of a departure for her, tackling a pretty serious subject, the plight and discrimination that fat women face in this country. I admire her for tackling such a tough subject, but I missed her usual humor for sure. Or maybe I didn’t like it that much because it hits a bit close to home for me.
Emerson is one of those women who is so obese that she can barely get out of bed. She has a cousin who is her caretaker, and a boyfriend who brings her food. When she dies, she leaves a letter for her two best friends, Georgia and Marley.
They all met in fat camp as teenagers and remained friends over the years. Georgia and Marley share a house in New York and haven’t seen Emerson in years, so they are shocked at how large she had become and at her death. She leaves them a list that they all made together when they were in fat camp, and asks her friends to complete the list. This is a “when we are thin” list – tuck in a shirt, get a piggy back ride, eat dessert in public, and so forth.
The women tackle the list and learn a lot about themselves in the process. We are never told Georgia and Marley’s actual weight, just the body issues each of them faces. There is romance, too, but that wasn’t enough to save this book for me. I’m really curious as to what other people think of it.
3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT by Kristan Higgins. Berkley (August 7, 2018). ISBN 978-0451489395. 480p.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 
Well, I’ve never heard of this book but it has an intriguing premise. There needs to be more depictions of people with weight problems who aren’t just the butt of a cheap joke made at their expense. I’m also sick of a character’s weight (when they’re not that fat, not like Bonnie Grape in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”) being the center of everyone’s attention and all anyone can seem to talk about. I haven’t read any of Kristan Higgins’ books, do you have a favorite? 🙂
Higgins definitely gives women of size a fair shake here, there are no cheap jokes. I love her books, they are light and funny and she writes great characters and interesting stories. Can I recommend a series? The Blue Heron series, please read in order: The Best Man; The Perfect Match; Waiting on You; In Your Dreams; Anything for You