It isn’t too late to pick up a great summer read! I picked One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London this past summer in my Book of the Month box because I was drawn to a book that represented plus-size women and body positivity.
A little biography about the author of this novel, “Kate Stayman-London is a novelist, screenwriter, and political strategist. She served as lead digital writer for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and has written for notable figures ranging from President Obama and Malala Yousafzai to Anna Wintour and Cher.” katestaymanlondon.com
I am placing a content warning for readers before summarizing the novel which includes: fatphobia and fat shaming.
Synopsis
Bee Schumacker is a successful plus-size fashion blogger living in Los Angeles, heartbroken by her sorta-but-not-really ex-lover and bingeing the Bachelorette-esque reality dating show, The Main Squeeze. She notices that all the contestants on the show are thin and conventionally attractive, so she decides to write an article criticizing the lack of diversity. Her stance on the lack of body representation goes viral and she is invited on to be the next Main Squeeze. Bee accepts and is launched into the world of reality TV, experiencing social media scandals, meeting sexy suitors, and making sure to not fall in love. But will she open up to one of these men and have a magical made-for-TV happy ending?
Review
I flew through this book. I finished it in literally a day. I was engrossed in Bee’s fabulous world and loved following her through her journey while she also grappled with the parts of herself that were holding her back. Bee is the confident, stylish woman I aspire to be. I’ve never been so emotionally connected to a character before this book. The pop culture references had me laughing out loud and the romantic interests and dazzling dates made me giddy.
Representation
Stayman-London doesn’t portray a perfect world for her main character, though she shows the truth of being in the public eye and going against the status quo. Bee is bombarded by negative tweets and articles telling her she doesn’t deserve to be on TV, but she is just as much supported and praised by others on the internet. This is true for the world we live in right now. There will always be trolls, but we as a society deserve to see positive representation of plus-size women on screen!
I highly recommend One to Watch for anyone looking for a fun romance book! I promise that you will laugh and cry all within the 432 pages. Pick it up at your local bookstore or online at Bookshop.org to support local bookstores!