I would first like to call attention to criticisms of this novel; mainly, that the fat rep within this novel is offensive and perpetuates harmful stereotypes against fat people. I am not in the position to state whether the fat rep in this novel is offensive, or to absolve the author of any wrongdoing. Fatphobia is pervasive within our society and listening to the voices affected by fatphobia is essential to having productive conversation. We must start centering fat people within discussions of fatphobia.

That being said, I did enjoy this book. I quickly grew attached to the characters. The novel switches from Georgia and Marley's point of view, and sometimes shifts to Emerson's (although less frequently). It really pulls at your heart strings; I think everyone can relate to the way body image can control your self-esteem. I found myself really invested in their lives and grieving Emerson alongside Marley and Georgia as they try to understand her passing; I laughed when they laughed and cried when they cried. This was a well written book.

But I do have something to quibble about (which I guess actually affirms some of the criticism surrounding the book). Emerson's excerpts from the book were very powerful - you could really feel her loneliness; however, there were times when her perspective felt almost voyeuristic instead of personal. Like, the author was hammering home her weight, and how much she binged that day, and how she couldn't fit into certain places. The use of such facts felt very dehumanizing at times, like we're supposed to be repulsed by Emerson herself instead taking the time to understand the trauma that Emerson has and the situation she was in. I felt like sometimes it distracted from the real message Emerson wanted her friends to understand. I'm not saying that health should not be talked about at all but I think it distances Emerson from the important things: her lack of acceptance in society, her vulnerability to people who would take advantage of her, her isolation from people who genuinely loved her, and her own self-consciousness. I do think that it was an interesting look at diet culture, but I think the messaging got scrambled. It made her into a number, or worse some kind of over eating monster, which is definitely not what I think Higgins was going for.

I will be refraining from giving this a star rating.

This was really entertaining. I’m definitely intrigued and will continue with the series. When Vhalla wasn’t not-like-other-girling, she was a bright and compelling heroine. Aldarik was also interesting, and I’m excited to see how the story progresses.

At times, I felt like the pacing detracted from the story. I also think this hindered the authors ability to world build. But, I’m willing to be lenient with that because I think the next books will be a great opportunity to expand on what we didn’t see here.