School Library Journal Review
Gr 7--10--Sixteen-year-old Bluebelle, known as BB, is large and not ashamed of her size. After having a serious asthma attack, BB is told to lose weight and start exercising. She strikes a deal with her mother: keep a food diary, go to the gym, and arrange an apprenticeship at Planet Coffee (where she works) and she can quit school. Throughout the summer, BB uses her food diary to write about her love for her little sister Dove, her thoughts on her parents' separation, her crush on fellow Planet Coffee employee Max, and her love of food. When Dove is badly hurt in a parkour accident, BB is devastated. She struggles with feelings of guilt and her inability to open up to others. As the summer draws to a close, BB has to choose what she wants from life and not what anyone else wants for her. BB's honesty, her comfort with her own body, and her love for her family and best friend shine through. By the end of the story, she may have lost weight, but that is incidental. VERDICT Full of heart, BB's authentic voice will strike a chord with anyone who doesn't want to be defined by the way they look. Recommended for all collections.--Kefira Phillipe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, IL
Kirkus Review
Bluebelle joins a growing cadre of body-positive YA protagonists in Dockrill's novel, originally published in the U.K. as Big Bones (2018).Sixteen-year-old Londoner BB is fat. She states as much purely as a matter of fact. Though confident in her size, she is less confident about her future. Rather than return to school after summer holidays, BB wants to stay on as an apprentice at the local cafe where she works. When the nurse at her wellness checkup suggests she keep a food diary to help her control her weight and complications from asthma, it quickly becomes a bargaining chip: BB will keep the diary and go to the gym in exchange for her mother's blessing for her apprenticeship scheme. The food diary quickly morphs beyond a log of her food intake, as chapters headed with a variety of food items, from trifle to panini, serve as launchpads for BB's running musings on food, friendships, family, and life in general. This is a device trying too hard to be clever, as the foods referenced often make only a passing appearance. BB is often long-winded, turning what would otherwise be a fun coming-of-age beach read into a tome. BB and most of the supporting cast read as white, though her best friend, Camille, is identified as mixed-race with an Afro.Though the sparkling heroine does not need to lose weight, the book itself could do with some slimming. (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Sixteen-year-old BB (it stands for Bluebelle, not Big Bones, despite what some people at school say) loves food. She loves cooking it and she loves eating it. So when, at the doctor's office after an asthma attack, a nurse tells her she's overweight, on the fast track to diabetes, and has to start eating less and moving more, BB is less than thrilled and not entirely won over. To convince her doctors that her eating habits aren't actually unhealthy, she begins a food diary, which quickly becomes a real diary. Short, food-centric chapters are propelled by BB's bold, intrepid voice as she navigates shifting family dynamics (her parents have separated but her dad keeps coming around; her athletic, Parkour-ing younger sister is growing increasingly more daring), her own unsteady plans for the future, and a tentative romance. Though this British import takes a stand for body positivity, some of its commentaries occasionally miss the mark, and the plot itself has a tendency to meander. Still, BB's effervescence and raunchy humor will win plenty of readers.--Maggie Reagan Copyright 2019 Booklist
