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Every Body Shines: Sixteen Stories About Living Fabulously Fat Kindle Edition

by Cassandra Newbould (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
See all formats and editions
An intersectional, feminist YA anthology from some of today's most exciting voices across a span of genres, all celebrating body diversity and fat acceptance through short stories.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Fat girls and boys and nonbinary teens are: friends who lift each other up, heroes who rescue themselves, big bodies in space, intellects taking up space, and bodies looking and feeling beautiful. They express themselves through fashion, sports and other physical pursuits, through food, and music, and art. They are flirting and falling in love. They are loving to themselves and one another. With stories that feature fat main characters starring in a multitude of settings, and written by authors who live these lives too, this is truly a unique collection that shows fat young people the representation they deserve.

With a foreword by Aubrey Gordon, creator of Your Fat Friend, and with stories by:
Nafiza Azad, Chris Baron, Sheena Boekweg, Linda Camacho, Kelly deVos, Alex Gino, Claire Kann, amanda lovelace, Hillary Monahan, Cassandra Newbould, Francina Simone, Rebecca Sky, Monique Gray Smith, Renée Watson, Catherine Adel West, Jennifer Yen
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  1. Print length
    301 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Bloomsbury YA
  5. Publication date
    June 8, 2021
  6. Reading age
    14 - 17 years
  7. Grade level
    9 - 12
  8. File size
    3873 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A deeply validating and joyful collection! Every Body Shines is the kind of book I’ve been waiting to see on shelves my whole life.” - Julie Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin'

“Readers can expect diverse takes on the experience of living as a fat person in modern times [ . . . ], to find characters of different gender identities, sexual orientations, cultural heritages, and race. No longer relegated to comedic relief or token sidekick, these fat teens, who are given multidimensional personalities, face troubles beyond others’ views of their size and are given room to cultivate their own identities. A broad selection of genres makes this appealing to an expansive swath of socially conscious readers.” - Booklist, starred review

“Presenting both joys and frustrations, this unapologetically honest collection features characters finding their voices alongside characters who fully embrace their bodies, challenge stereotypes, and refuse to let anything hold them back, effectively dispelling any notion of fatness as a singular perspective.” - Publishers Weekly

“Authors unite around body-celebrating fiction. Aubrey Gordon writes movingly about fat friendships and community in the introduction to this 16-story anthology, and readers might describe its stories as an assortment of fat friends holding out hands of welcome. Undeniably earnest and filling an important niche.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Here . . . everybody is given the space to glow . . . . A mindful, meaningful compilation of stories featuring characters who prove that being fat is not a deterrent to happiness, nor is it the main event of anyone's life.” - Shelf Awareness

About the Author

Cassandra Newbould is the creator and host of the Fat Like Me podcast and community. Fat Like Me is a show where Cass chats all things fat with authors, entertainers, and activists about life, the arts, and why we desperately need more body diversity in kidlit today. As a writer of middle grade and young adult fiction, Cassandra creates stories where kids of all sizes can see themselves featured as the main character and not just the funny fat friend.
Twitter - @FatLikeMePod; @CassNwrites
Instagram - @fatlikemepodcast

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08X1TSPCH
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury YA; 1st edition (June 8, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 8, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3873 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 301 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
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  1. Francina Simone

    Francina Simone

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Francina Simone is a multidimensional being uplifting the world one conversation at a time. She is a storyteller, comic illustrator, and author of THE GUARDIANS TRILOGY, a young adult urban fantasy that explores the strength of love and loss, SMASH IT an Othello retelling with a comedic twist and is featured in EVERY BODY SHINES an intersectional, feminist YA anthology. 

    When she’s not decoding the secrets of the universe or doing witchy things (checkout her shop), she’s writing stories full of humor and hard life lessons with sprinkles of truth that make us all feel understood. Her books focus on stories about girls throwing caution to the wind to discover exactly who they are and what it means to love.

    You can follow her on Youtube, where she dishes out social commentary and in depth book reviews, Instagram where she does tarot readings, plays with photography, and so much more, or Twitter where she muses on social issues with nuance and humor.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Rebecca Sky

    Rebecca Sky

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Rebecca Sky is a chronically ill author who lives on an island off the West Coast of Canada. Rebecca loves stories, plants, books (obvs), animals, and all you wild things.

    You can find Rebecca on Twitter: RebeccaSky or Instagram/TikTok: TheRebeccaSky.

    Find out more about Rebecca at www.RebeccaSky.com.

    See more on the author's page
  3. Cassandra Newbould

    Cassandra Newbould

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Cassandra Newbould is the editor and a contributor of the YA intersectional, fat, feminist anthology Every Body Shines. Things I’ll Never Say is her debut contemporary YA novel. As host and creator of the Fat Like Me podcast, Cassandra has discussed the

    need for more intersectional body diversity in kid lit. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. When she’s not writing, you can find her at a poker table reminding the other players to never underestimate the power of a determined girl and her cards.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

jamey catalano
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a book that celebrates Body Diversity!!
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book is exactly what we need in a society that idealizes skinny bodies as the norm. I hope that it helps build confidence in young adults to celebrate the body that they are in no matter what it looks like! Here's to stepping stones for mainstream fat acceptance and helping young adults be happy at any size!
2 people found this helpful
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GP
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read for YA and Adults!
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a page-turner, filled also with insight into the importance of acceptance, and celebration of all body types! Hope to see this timely book on all school library shelves. Grab several, for the young adults in your family and circle!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Hope this book helps everyone who reads be comfortable in their own body.
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
Even though I’m not a young adult I do have some in family. I really feel like this book of short stories will help their self confidence & love the body they are in.
One person found this helpful
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M. Stivison
5.0 out of 5 stars Positive Stories
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2023
I loved Aubrey Gordon’s introduction to this collection. I particularly liked Dupatta Diaries, by Nafiza Azad, a story of family, pressure, body image and magic. There are also descriptions of delicious food and beautiful clothes in this one. Another standout for me was Weightless, by Sheena Boekweg. This is a scifi twist on body acceptance.

Not every story in this collection was for me, but it was a special feeling reading about fat protags and knowing that no one was going to start a good diet or magically lose weight or just feel happy and suddenly change body type or all of the tropes for overweight characters in fiction. All the fat characters just exist in fat bodies, and have major or minor adventures in those bodies. Sometimes they face fatphobia and discrimination, but even then, I knew the conflicts wouldn’t be solved by magically losing weight.

This collection shows wildly different characters and different genres. The main thing that ties them together is simply that all the protagonists are fat and none of the protagonists go on a diet to start their real life.
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CYNTHIA C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Such an important subject for young woman and girls!!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2021
This book should go into the hands of any one girl or woman who isn't loving her body. Our thoughts are so important to our life. If we have negative thoughts about ourselves, people see it and treat us like we value ourselves. This book is fast reading, touching, and such important thought as to our reality - every body does shine if the woman or young woman sees herself in that light! Tell your friends about this one! It's very special!
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Megan Olds
4.0 out of 5 stars Fat and fabulous and shining as a star
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2023
This book was really good! It's all about taking back something that society has (wrongly) made negative and wearing it proudly and frankly --- promoting self-love and the special beauty in every individual, no matter "what" or "if" or someone else's opinion. Kudos to these authors, because not everyone is like that, and I have hope alongside them that this book will encourage and bring hope to more people. We need to keep fighting this unique kind of discrimination and bullying, as well as the demons in our own heads, that goes unnoticed or --- yes --- even gets warped by many people as being well-meaning and justified.

(How come fat-shaming has become so accepted and normal in this world?? Yes, I'm skinny myself, but I too feel uncomfortable hearing people focus so heavily on nitpicky, critical things like someone's figure or what they should or shouldn't do about it. It doesn't matter if or if not that person can "control" it or "work on" it. What they look like should never be the projector wall for your judgment --- the grandma in "Orion's Star" by Catherine Adel West totally reminded me of Mama Odie's number in The Princess and the Frog. Guess what, everyone? Fat and fabulous people can have all the same dreams, too, from sports to firefighting to filmmaking. And what they need --- just like anyone --- is your love and respect.)

Expected but big and needed-to-be-addressed topics like food and clothing are included in here, as well as interesting ideas I hadn't thought of originally, like how (duh, everyone) weight only exists because of gravity, so what if we ignored that ridiculous qualifier for a person?, and potential nonbinary clothing sections in stores. There's a lot of diversity within even the different genres and cultures and such that are used and explored in these stories, from fantasy to contemporary and Indigenous to Indian.

Yes, there are some cliches, but they're not unfeeling in my opinion. I also personally really got stories like "Dupatta Diaries" by Nafiza Azad that explored the difficult dynamics one can have with someone like their parent even if they love them. A couple of my other favorite stories were "Filling the Net" by Monique Gray Smith and "A Perfect Fit" by Jennifer Yen.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this anthology, and I hope that it will bring more empathy and perspective to this niche of the world!
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Niko Haley
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Stories Delivered With Care!
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2021
This is a wonderful collection of moving stories— each one crafted with a lot of heart and is totally inspiring. Definitely would recommend to a fave kid in your life as well as people of all ages given the quality of this anthology. Well done!
One person found this helpful
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Utopia State of Mind
4.0 out of 5 stars a glorious and heartfelt anthology
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2021
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Before I even began, I loved the premise of Every Body Shines. The ways that these stories celebrate fat characters existing and living their best lives. Of being able to read about the little things you might never have thought of in your own life. Used by society as bodies to be shamed or made fun of, Every Body Shines is heartfelt as it both examines fatphobia but also the joys of their lives. How we internalize the fatphobia, how it's passed down to us, but how Every Body Shines celebrates their hopes, futures, and ghosts.
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