Summary:
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado is a coming-of-age story. We follow Charlie, a chunky Puerto Rican girl, and how she navigates the world around her. We witness her inner battle with herself, her mom, and society.
Opinion:
I had extremely high expectations of this novel. Crystal Maldonado was the first Latina Author that I have ever read. THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! From the very first chapter, my attention was hooked. The author made it so easy to follow along. The flow of the book was impeccable. One chapter went swiftly into the other. It was hard to place this book down. While I was working, I would think about the book. While I was sleeping, I would dream about the book. It was a very great book.
We get introduced to Charlie, our main character, and the issues she struggles with. She is a 16-year-old Puerto Rican chubby girl living in suburban Connecticut. Throughout the book, we see her struggle with her body image and how she believes people see her. We see her struggle with her relationship with her mother and best friend. We see her struggle with her grief of her father’s passing.
Overall, this book was exceedingly relatable. I am a Colombian American, so plenty of the story hit home to me. The part of the book where she sees her Latin family genuinely got to me. It felt like I was experiencing one of my family parties. When Charlie describes how her mother bothers her about her weight, I have and still struggle with that.
Rating: 5/5
I would highly recommend this book. It’s very relatable to anyone who has gone through what Charlie has. Whether younger or older, you will still feel it in your heart. This book had me laughing, crying, and gasping for my life. It reminded me of what high school was like and the feelings I used to have during that time.
Discussion Questions:
Charlie has a very negative outlook on how she perceives herself. We hear many reasons why the outside world wouldn’t like people who look like her. Do you think these reasons made Charlie have excuses for her actions? Do you think Charlie was too harsh to the people around her?
We are told that Charlie’s father, Hector, has passed. In what ways do we see Charlie and her mother still grieving? Does this affect their relationship? in a good or bad way?
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