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A review by shellballenger
Big Girl: A Novel by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
5.0
Type of read: Commuter Read.
What made me pick it up: The title and description immediately pulled me in. Add that it is set in the 90s and has extremely relatable subject matter, and I was sold.
Overall rating: 'Big Girl' just hit different. As an individual who identifies as a female growing up in the 90s, 'Big Girl' was a jarring remembrance of everything that was shoved down our throats while telling us not to eat. While I can't completely relate to Malaya and her experiences, I very much felt the struggle she experienced with food, weight, cultural views, and outside perceptions. My absolute favorite part of the book, which left me sobbing on my commute to work, was the interaction between Malaya and her mother near the conclusion of the book. Straight up, I felt seen and understood. 'Big Girl' is the story of traumatic self-acceptance that we all have been a part of in one way or another - whether we were the ones giving, receiving, or simply standing by and not intervening to stop the trauma. I recommend this book with zero hesitations.
Favorite quote from 'Big Girl': "This is what it is to be a woman. Everything is your job. Your job is everything. To be attractive, successful, raise smart, healthy children who are ready for life. To be available to everything. To be everything. And you work hard at it. At everything. At doing all this everything right. And in the back of your mind, you're holding your breath and waiting for someone to hand you a prize. Something that says 'you did a good job, you did good at everything.' And someone appreciates it. If you're lucky, you get little flashes here and there. A promotion at work or someone notices you've lost a few pounds, but you always hope for that one person who will look at you and see all the everything you do, and applaud."
Reader's Note: 'Big Girl' includes multiple uses of the N-word as well as multiple disordered eating tactics, thought processes, and peer encouragement. Also, I feel it should be noted, I actually enjoyed this as an audiobook but wasn't able to find that edition available for rating/review.
What made me pick it up: The title and description immediately pulled me in. Add that it is set in the 90s and has extremely relatable subject matter, and I was sold.
Overall rating: 'Big Girl' just hit different. As an individual who identifies as a female growing up in the 90s, 'Big Girl' was a jarring remembrance of everything that was shoved down our throats while telling us not to eat. While I can't completely relate to Malaya and her experiences, I very much felt the struggle she experienced with food, weight, cultural views, and outside perceptions. My absolute favorite part of the book, which left me sobbing on my commute to work, was the interaction between Malaya and her mother near the conclusion of the book. Straight up, I felt seen and understood. 'Big Girl' is the story of traumatic self-acceptance that we all have been a part of in one way or another - whether we were the ones giving, receiving, or simply standing by and not intervening to stop the trauma. I recommend this book with zero hesitations.
Favorite quote from 'Big Girl': "This is what it is to be a woman. Everything is your job. Your job is everything. To be attractive, successful, raise smart, healthy children who are ready for life. To be available to everything. To be everything. And you work hard at it. At everything. At doing all this everything right. And in the back of your mind, you're holding your breath and waiting for someone to hand you a prize. Something that says 'you did a good job, you did good at everything.' And someone appreciates it. If you're lucky, you get little flashes here and there. A promotion at work or someone notices you've lost a few pounds, but you always hope for that one person who will look at you and see all the everything you do, and applaud."
Reader's Note: 'Big Girl' includes multiple uses of the N-word as well as multiple disordered eating tactics, thought processes, and peer encouragement. Also, I feel it should be noted, I actually enjoyed this as an audiobook but wasn't able to find that edition available for rating/review.