Customer Reviews

The Next Big Thing

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Memphis Belle, Kat Larson has spent the better part of her life being the butt of fat jokes. When she discovers that a new reality show (Fat 2 Fabulous) for women size 16 and over is scouting for participants, she eagerly signs up. This is just the medicine for her inability to get herself into shape and to meet the internet love of her life (who she coincidentally has never actually met, and the only picture he has of her is a grainy shot she doctored with Photoshop). Because after all, losing weight will make everything in her life fall into place, right?

She and her on-line lothario Nick (who resides in London), exchange daily emails and occasional phone calls, laced with phone sex. He professes his love for her, and constantly wants her to visit him in London. He is under the mistaken impression that Kat is a size 4; it is obvious from their first conversation just how shallow Nick is.

Once she is accepted, she hooks up with her new roomies, they discover that the show is not just about losing weight. There is the hunky exercise guru who works the camera more than the contestants; the horribly healthy meals that they are served (of course, counter-acted with the tomb of temptation - a pantry full of everything you could ever want to gorge out on); and the contestants themselves, who for the most part squabble and fight with the evil Alicia who is so full of herself that it is surprising that she would want to be associated with a show with the word "fat" in it.

The show is full of lots of surprises - in addition to the dieting they have to participate in games in order to secure money and prizes (ultimately, the person with the largest bank wins in the end). They get money for exercising as well as losing weight and winning games. Like "Survivor," they even get a chance to have someone special come visit them. You can probably guess whom Kat's "someone special" is.

While Kat obsesses over the way that the public has perceived her, she finds a tender ear in the show's host, Jagger, who has obviously taken a liking to the sarcastic southerner.

At times, it is hard to like the character of Kat; she can be caustic and whiny, but by the end, she manages to provide a lot of insight on what it is to live in an oversized body. In addition to losing weight, she manages to learn a lot about herself. There are a lot of characters, but each is so well-defined that the story does not get muddled. There are also a lot of laugh-out-loud moments when six cranky women are stuck in a house with no padlock on the junk food vault. The pacing of the story is excellent and keeps the reader glued until the very end.

I enjoy reading well-written chick lit, and this was no exception. The plot here is fairly simple: Kat is overweight and in an internet-relationship with an Englishman who believes her to be a size 4 - she lied because he said he doesn't like fat chicks. So she goes on a reality show to lose the weight, hoping to improve her body so she'll finally be ready to meet her internet boyfriend in person and be a positive role model for overweight people.

The plot is written in a sweet manner and there are some funny parts, though none that make you laugh out loud. It is fun to watch Kat deal with her onscreen competitors and try to lose weight at the same time.

Not everything in the book seems realistic (even with the high bar set by reality tv shows!) but it is still amusing to follow. You do get annoyed with Kat because of her constant lies to Nick about her weight and her constant shout outs to her employer, but even her inability to be happy with who she is doesn't completely ruin the novel.

I'd recommend this if you're looking for chick lit that falls outside of the usual *girl meets boy/falls in love with boy/problems arise/they make up and live happily ever after* chick lit novels that are out there.

Heroine: plump/average

Meet Kat Larson of Memphis. TN. As a plus-size woman working in public relations, she's painfully aware of how image is everything. Which is why Kat, a size 18 but wanna-be-4 so that she can finally meet her English online Romeo, is considering signing onto a weight loss reality show like "From Fat to Fabulous". It would be publicly humiliating, but also inspirational, right? And she'll have a forum for speaking out on the issues that the plus-size woman faces. And anyway, the prize money would make up for any degradation she might suffer, as would snagging Nick and living the perfectly-happy-ever-after life she's been daydreaming about.

But of course nothing goes to plan and Kat finds herself in a power struggle with food, her housemates, and that hunky boyfriend. Can a change in dress size truly bring her the happiness she longs for?

What worked for me:

This story was right on about the thin clothes hiding in the back of the closet, and contained many other salient points about being a heavyset woman.

Kat has good taste in books; I, too, love Steph Plum and know what she means about not being able to put pen to paper and automatically (and painlessly) channel Janet Evanovich.

I think I would have experienced feelings similar to Kat's about being on a show of that sort. Actually, I don't think I could take the fishbowl experience, but it was interesting to read about what life on a reality show set might be like from the comfort of my own private home.

Size-wise Kat starts out fairly abundant but whittles herself down to a plumpish average.

What didn't work for me:

I enjoyed it, but not everyone is wild about first person point of view.

Men who think that size 8 is "really pushing it" and that size ten is "way too fat for [their] taste" just make me crazy. I mean, they are entitled to their opinions, of course, and I am entitled to fantasizing about jamming a pen in their eye.

I had a little trouble at first buying the Nick character when he was just a faceless gent across the pond. Not because he wasn't well-written but because my subconscious made a wrong turn when "casting" an actor in the "role". (I won't say who it was here because it's bound to happen to you too. But feel free to scroll down here and find out after you've read the book :^D)

Overall:

"The Next Big Thing" is a humorous take on both the plight of women of size and what stands as entertainment in today's society.

Warning: there are some coarse words and some weight loss in this story.

If you liked "The Next Big Thing" you might also enjoy "Fat Chance", "Love at Large", "Inappropriate Men", "The Way It Is", "Waking Beauty", "The Fat Friend", "All of Me", "The High Price of a Good Man", "Good in Bed", "Jemima J.", "Sisterhood Situation", "Etta Mae's Little Theory", or the "Odelia Grey" series.

Kat Larson is a size 18 PR researcher, living in Nashville, who is carrying on an online affair with Nick, her gorgeous British 'boyfriend'. They have a perfect long-distance relationship except for the fact that he believes her to be a size 4 after she alters some pictures on her computer.

She becomes desperate to lose weight after Nick presses her several times to visit him in England and she uses up all of her excuses not to go. When her best friend, Donna, gives her an application for a new reality show called From Fat To Fabulous, Kat decides to apply and after several eliminations, is chosen to be one of the six contestants on the show.

What follows is a 'reality show within a book' with the roommates forging friendships, bickering, and becoming the typical television characters that reality shows tend to make the contestants into - with Kat becoming known as 'The Brat'. When a twist is added into the show, she nearly decides to leave the house, but then makes up her mind to stick it out - and consequently learns a lot about appearances and relationships.

This is definitely a great summer read; especially for reality show fanatics!

I liked this book and I also liked Eating Heaven. You should check it out too. Next Best Thing is very cute and extremely funny. It will be a good pick me up for people who are depressed and discouraged about their weight. It also motivates you to want to take control of your life and make changes. The only angle that was kind of not good was the romance with the main character and the host. It did not totally ring true until the end. But this is a small gripe in an otherwise masterpiece. I highly recommend.

Most of the book is very good, and the author has a very fluent writing style... however, around the middle of the book, the main character began to grate on my nerves with her annoying quips and sarcastic comments. Worth reading, but I lost my connection with the main character when she became a brat.

This chick lit type book about weight and all the issues it brings was a wonderful read.

Our main character, who has a fairly serious weight issue tries for and successfully gets on a reality show about weight loss.

Although this book is obviously written with lots and lots of humour, you still manage to feel the pain this character is in. EVERYTHING she does is about her weight.

The storyline is well written if a little cutesy at times and we genuinely like Kat.

Of course this story also touches a chord with all women - because it deals with body image and more specifically romance and worldview of weight.

My only slight negative would be that Kat is written a little too wishy-washy. This, in my opinion, is often the case in chick lit. I would have wanted her to pick her battles a little better.

Still, this novel about love, weight, weight and oh yeah! weight ..... is a great read.

Again this is one of those novels that I couldn't wait to read. I was hoping it would give me a happy large woman to cheer for...but instead it gave me a sullen whiner who seemed to snip at everyone. I couldn't rally behind her. I didn't really like her. The story line was actually pretty cool. Almost like The Biggest Loser meets Surreal Life meets Survivor...but it fell apart and ended up becoming unbelievable as the girl everyone loves to hate ends up being with the smarmy host who we're supposed to believe is a really nice guy...it becomes a sickeningly sweet over the top unbelievable romance instead of something real with heart and humor. Sorry this one just isn't worth your time.

I picked this book up yesterday and read the whole thing in a couple of sittings. I don't do that very often and was thoroughly impressed with the style and the storyline. It's nice to read a "chic lit" book that isn't all about dates and shoes and shopping. The reality show theme wasn't entirely my cup of tea (I don't like the shows) but by the end I found myself playing along. Really good!

Whoa, this book is like a punch to the gut and I mean that in the nicest of ways. It cuts through all the crap big people experience and it really hits home. It was shocking how much I related to the story. A lot of women will find this explains their feelings to a "T."

Really moving read.