20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great execution on an really interesting premise, July 19, 2005
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.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining fluff, October 27, 2005
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.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun read!, February 18, 2005
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.
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