The Curvy Girls Club by Michele Gorman

The worst part about being a fat woman isn't that people look at you with judgment in their eyes. It's that most don't look at you at all. You case to be a person for whom they need to account. They look over your shoulder, or at the ground in front of you, or they glaze their eyes and look directly through you. It's like being a ghost, but with none of the fun of haunting.

This not just a chick lit story. While full of LOL moments and humor, it has a serious theme/moral at its heart. Whether your fat or thin, tall or short, rich or poor, your heart should determine where you "fit", nothing else. And prejudice goes both ways...

The 411: Four women who attend Slimming Zone (Made me think of Weight Watchers or Curves for Women) finally decide that the meetings aren't really helping them lose weight. It has helped them make friends though...and why not start doing something with these friends besides meet at SZ, talk about their fat, weigh themselves, and leave bummed?

One theater visit later and the Curvy Girls Club is born. At its heart is the right idea: a club for the larger woman, a group of people who get together and don't judge, and even better, an organizer who takes the time to make sure the seats are big enough and all that, that every curvy girl will be comfortable.

Katie is the heroine of the tale. Katie has a lot going on, not just being president of the club. With Katie, we experience workplace drama, stress of being redundant, an office affair, weight loss, health problems, and personal growth. She discovers that being thin doesn't change much. People still judge and it still hurts. Losing weight comes with its own set of heartaches as the people around her react to it and change their attitudes toward her as a result.

I felt like this story really put into perspective just how much--too much--emphasis we put on ours and everyone else's bodies. It seems like fat or skinny, someone is judging, so we really have no choice but to just love ourselves regardless.

And oh, this was full of laughs, from "sharting" to side effects...

Jane was no stranger to unpleasant side effects. When she was on the cabbage soup diet none of us could be in the car with her unless the windows were down.

I recommend this book to all women--fat or skinny--who have ever felt self conscious or not accepted because of their body.

I loved it, all except for Pixie. I had a serious dislike for Pixie and I'd have liked the story resolved a bit different as far as that character was concerned.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.