Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Synopsis
Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers--and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television? Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition--under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it. But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men--and herself--for a chance to live happily ever after.
Review
I was very much on the fence when it came to requesting this book as I’m not the biggest fan of reality television shows like the Bachelor and I don’t tend to enjoy when they are the main focus of a book however I had this nagging sensation in my head telling me to request it so I did.
Thank god I listened to my head. This book was everything and I honestly didn’t realise how much I needed this book in my life.
Being a plus size woman myself I know the struggle of finding someone who looks like me in popular shows, especially reality shows which is why I think I don’t enjoy them. This book hit me hard in so many places and I was able to connect with Bea on so many levels. Every insecure thought, every doubt, every moment of overthinking a simple comment is something I’ve dealt with for a large part of my life. It’s feeling confident one moment and feeling incredibly broken the next, convincing ourselves that we’re going to be forever alone.
One to Watch really calls out the media and society for how badly treated people are if they don’t fit to what is deemed beautiful. The media has always placed these people in such a negative light and it honestly makes me sick to my stomach. It’s so painful to read the comments made about Bea from people on the internet and even in the media and it’s horrible that these things happen in real life.
I loved the use of blog posts, text messages and emails were used to help tell this story! If you know anything about me then you know I love a book that uses different mediums to get the story across. Another thing I loved about this book was the diversity of all the contestants of the show and how they all came across realistic. Whilst I didn’t connect with any of them, they were still interesting and unique characters who helped make this story and, in most ways, helped Bea come to love herself more.
The message of body positivity is the core of this book. It reminds us to love who we are and I loved that Bea didn’t change anything about herself in this book. She found love by being herself and she was successful. As I said at the beginning, I honestly did not realise how much I actually needed this book, especially now where I constantly struggle with my weight and my body as a whole. It’s reminded me that I deserve to be loved just as much as the next person. Normally this book would get a four stars from me but this book hit home for me and I related to it on so many levels so it’s hands down a five star read.
Overall, One To Watch was a fun, eye-opening and hard-hitting book that will always hold a place as one of my favourite books of all time. I really recommend reading this book, especially if you need a reminder that no matter how you look you still deserve all the love in the world.
Rating: 5/5 stars
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