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73rd out of 133 books
—
137 voters
The Next Big Thing
In this funny, poignant debut, a plus-size heroine becomes a reality TV show contestant and discovers she's already beautiful enough to be the next big thing.
Kat Larson figured she had nothing to lose by becoming a contestant on the new reality show From Fat to Fabulous-except maybe a few dozen pounds. Then she'd finally be able to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Nick...more
Kat Larson figured she had nothing to lose by becoming a contestant on the new reality show From Fat to Fabulous-except maybe a few dozen pounds. Then she'd finally be able to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Nick...more
Paperback, 342 pages
Published
March 1st 2005
by Berkley Trade
(first published 2005)
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Kat is a big girl hiding a big secret: she's in love with an Englishman who thinks she's all of a size 4. She hears about a TV show called "From Fat to Fabulous" and decides to enter. She hopes to lose all the weight she needs to before the ravishing Nick (a London fashion designer) enters her life and finds out the truth about her.
Formulaic chick lit, but so not boring. I actually vascillated back and forth. I knew Nick was going to meet her and find out the truth, but I was thinking that perha...more
Formulaic chick lit, but so not boring. I actually vascillated back and forth. I knew Nick was going to meet her and find out the truth, but I was thinking that perha...more
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Maybe it's because I'm a little (or a lot) overweight, but books where the main character is chubby and loses weight always interest me. While I know it's just a fictional character, I guess I feel like, if they can do it, so can I.
This book is about Kat who weighs over 200 pounds, and like most chubby girls, is unhappy about her weight. One day her friend Donna shows her a listing in the paper that there is going to be a reality show made to help fat girls get thin. It's a mix between Big Brot...more
This book is about Kat who weighs over 200 pounds, and like most chubby girls, is unhappy about her weight. One day her friend Donna shows her a listing in the paper that there is going to be a reality show made to help fat girls get thin. It's a mix between Big Brot...more
I just loved this! I laughed through the whole thing. The story stars Kat, an average girl, living a safe life, working at a so-so job down in Memphis. She has an online relationship with a guy from England whom she's never met, and hasn't been entirely honest with him....she's overweight (a size 18) and he has no idea, and from what has been said in their conversations, it seems he would not be cool with it! Her best friend at work sees an ad in the paper looking to cast contestants for a new r...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I wanted to like this book, but found it to be very boring.
Even though I hate to give up on books, I contemplated stopping when I was about 40% through, however after flipping through and reading the very last page, then I decided I had to keep with it to see what happened to get Kat to that point. So I finished it.
I felt like it skipped over a lot of things that would have been important to a weight-loss reality TV show such as the exercise regimens. The book did get more interesting towards...more
Even though I hate to give up on books, I contemplated stopping when I was about 40% through, however after flipping through and reading the very last page, then I decided I had to keep with it to see what happened to get Kat to that point. So I finished it.
I felt like it skipped over a lot of things that would have been important to a weight-loss reality TV show such as the exercise regimens. The book did get more interesting towards...more
This was a fantastic book. It was a quick, entertaining read that made me laugh and made me tear up a couple times. I highly recommend this one.
Johanna Edwards was the first author to endorse my book Free Style. I wound up buying all of her books. This one is one of my favorites!
excellent book and so much fun to read. this got me hooked on johanna edwards. a must for anyone who loves chick lit.
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This book is a fictional story about reality TV. Overweight and out-of-shape Kat Larson finds her life flipped upside down when she is cast in the new weight loss reality show "From Fat to Fabulous" (Think: Biggest Loser) where she finds herself living in house full of women she is never met before. There, she must eat right and exercise in an effort to try to take home the prize-- a hefty paycheck.
On the show, Kat is forced to confront a lot of issues which have been holding her back in life,...more
On the show, Kat is forced to confront a lot of issues which have been holding her back in life,...more
When I started back on the journey of more aggressive reading I did a search at my library for Chick-Lit and this was one of the first books to pop up on screen. 'Okay,' I thought, 'There could be something here...' As a recovering reality TV junkie I was fascinated with the storylin. Right off the bat I knew Nick was no good for Kat but was curious to see how that would unfold. Ba-boom! The twist with the show had me dropping my jaw a little bit and laughing with just a hint of tragic irony. It...more
Kat Larson is 27 and overweight. She's struggled with her weight all her life and doesn't understand why she can't lose it. When Kat's bestie, Donna, shows her an ad in the paper for a new reality show, From Fat to Fabulous, she's not sure what to think. But then, her internet 'boyfriend', Nick, starts to talk about a face to face meeting - Nick thinks Kat is a size 4 not a size 18 - and Kat decides to take a chance and try out for the show, she's got nothing to lose but the fat. No one is more...more
So, guess who wants to be the next Jennifer Weiner? If you said Johanna Edwards, you are correct! I did really enjoy this book (I thought it was very cute), especially since my guilty pleasure when I'm tired of, like, thinking is watching reality TV. Our heroine Kat is a feckless PR rep who, at the urging of her loyal best friend, auditions for the reality show "From Fat to Fabulous." And gets picked. She winds up in a house with five other plus-size ladies competing to see who can lose the most...more
THIS WAS A VERY GOOD BOOK. I WAS A LITTLE IFY ON IT AT FIRST. BUT IT'S ABOUT A GIRL WHO IS 'OVER WEIGHT' AND SHE CAN'T GET A 'REAL LIFE' BOYFRIEND SO SHE GOES ON THE INTERNET AND IS 'DATING' A GUY ON THERE. HER FRIEND/CO-WORKER TELLS HER ABOUT THIS REALITY TV SHOW WHERE SHE CAN LOSE WEIGHT (KIND OF LIKE BIGGEST LOSER, BUT IT'S PLAYED DIFFERENTLY!) SO SHE TRIES OUT FOR THE SHOW BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO MEET HER INTERNET BOYFRIEND AND HE THINKS SHE IS SKINNY!! IT'S DEFINITELY ANOTHER MUST READ!
This book does have some poignant moments and dialogue I found the book to be a bit uneven.
By all means it is a wonderful brain vacation read. However, it feels unfinished. And many of the things I did find interesting were not explored at all. For example, the part about her job at the beginning could be shorter and the part in the house and afterwards a bit longer.
Not a bad book but with lots of room for improvement.
By all means it is a wonderful brain vacation read. However, it feels unfinished. And many of the things I did find interesting were not explored at all. For example, the part about her job at the beginning could be shorter and the part in the house and afterwards a bit longer.
Not a bad book but with lots of room for improvement.
Fat girl chick lit, basically. We plus-sized ladies need a little love sometimes too :)
So the premise is that the heroine is a size 18 with an internet boyfriend in a different country - who thinks she's a size 4. She decides to try and get on a new reality show based around big ladies living together in a house, getting cash in their banks for losing weight and winning contests devised by the producers. She gets on the show, her internet boyfriend finds out and turns out to be a complete jerk,...more
So the premise is that the heroine is a size 18 with an internet boyfriend in a different country - who thinks she's a size 4. She decides to try and get on a new reality show based around big ladies living together in a house, getting cash in their banks for losing weight and winning contests devised by the producers. She gets on the show, her internet boyfriend finds out and turns out to be a complete jerk,...more
A literary masterpiece it is not... but it never tried to be. The Next Big Thing was very fun light reading.
I love the character of Kat and thought it was great that she was flawed just enough to seem realistic but not too much that we hate her.
The book itself was very predictable and I had everything figured out in my mind before it even ended... but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
I love the character of Kat and thought it was great that she was flawed just enough to seem realistic but not too much that we hate her.
The book itself was very predictable and I had everything figured out in my mind before it even ended... but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
Kat Larson is overweight and in an online relationship with an Englishman who believes her to be a size 4. So when she hears about a new reality show (From Fat to Fabulous)to lose weight she takes it as a sign that she will finally get the motivation to lose the excess weight so she can finally meet Nick in person and at the same time 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 i...more
The plot is written in a sweet manner and there are some funny parts, though none that make you laugh out loud. It i...more
This was an interesting book about a fat girl who stars in a reality show called "from fat to fabulous". The book pointed out how losing weight doesn't solve all your problems. Too true. I'm thinner but sill anti-social and enjoy my bedroom too much!! Some things don't change and at some point you have to decide whether you can be okay with that.
It was a fun read about a reality show sort of like The Biggest Loser with many Big Brother type twists. The author has a talent for honest feelings and I will be looking to other books. This is a first novel and she isn't the best; but exceeded my expectations. Believe me, it was much better than the last J. Evanovich I read, Plum Spooky.
This was the first I read by Johanna Edwards and it is the first book which helped me determine what I truly wish to write myself, chick-lit. It is a wonderfully written witty piece playing on America's (and other countries) obsession with beauty and reality television. Also proves, sometimes the big girl gets the hot guy!
Quick read, fun romantic comedy, wasn't expecting any life changing epiphanies based on reading the back cover, but I what I did expect: humor, some characters I could relate to, and an interesting romance with a different spin, the author delivered well and then some - great job for Ms. Edwards first novel :)
I really enjoyed this, more so than I thought I would. There were parts were I got a little irritated, but for the most part, this was a good book. I must have thought so, because I've now read two more by this author. :) Actually, I ended up finishing the last half in one night. Recommended.
I enjoyed this book. While not overly difficult to follow, it was kind of eye opening. The main character, Kat, was hard to like in my opinion. She wasn't feisty enough in real life to have it make sense that she was on the reality show. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read.
It' nice to see a story about a regular girl, with real problems and acting like we would in some situations.
I like the book a lot but in the end it felt like there was something missing in it and I'm not talking about happy endings, anyway it could be different.
I like the book a lot but in the end it felt like there was something missing in it and I'm not talking about happy endings, anyway it could be different.
Muito leve e divertido! Me surpreendi. Dava nada pelo livro e pela trama, mas é um ótimo passa-tempo. Lógico que a infinidade de clichês e a má construção de personagens importantes, como o Nick e a Donna, deixaram o livro com uma estrelinha a menos. Mas, como uma leitura rápida e prazerosa, vale a pena!
This was another light read but a good one. I think it might have been loosely based on the TV show "The Biggest Looser". I can sympathize with what the narrator felt/feels like but in no way is this a book only geared toward "bigger" girls.
This was a really good story about losing weight & gaining self esteem. Kat was very likable & realistic. I dont know how realistic the plot about the reality show was but the story was entertaining & gave me a lot to think about.
I thought this book might be kind of dumb, but I was pleasant suprised by its like fun and airiness. The main charachter ended up being stronger than I had suspected and there are some good lessons to be learned.
This was such a quick and easy read that I feel like it was a tab bit juvenile for me. The plot was pretty good, but fairly predictable. I think I need something more intellectually stimulating. Should have saved it as a beach read!
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