My all-time favorite review of BIG FAT DISASTER: A REALISTIC BINGE WITH A MESSAGE OF HOPE

This Amazon reviewer made my day, week, month, and year, because HE GETS IT. Thank you, Christopher Nelson!

After reading the author’s bio and discovering she is a teacher, I expected the typical YA drama about overcoming social/ inner conflict characteristic of the teenage world, rising above peer pressure, understanding the values of friendship versus status, volunteering and community service, etc. BIG FAT DISASTER is far from any PBS After School Special. Prepare to become very uncomfortable.

The story is told from the perspective of fifteen-year-old, Colby Denton, as she starts a new life in the one-church, East Texas town of Piney Creek. Having spent my first 22 years in South Texas, I can testify to the authenticity of Piney Creek and its people. Ms. Fehlbaum nails it. Every character speaks with a voice unique enough to tell them apart without dialogue tags and so real they could easily be the snobby Maybelline princess next door or vato loco punk terrorizing kids on the school bus. She even gets the dog in the front yard recliner right.

Colby’s voice gives us a brilliant view of the pressures for a young lady coming of age, accurate and heartfelt for any teen, yet Colby is far from typical. The conflict she faces daily, through both self-infliction and 360 degrees of abuse, creates a plot that gains momentum with each chapter, spiraling to an unavoidable climax and perfect landing. But what I loved most about Colby was her awkward moments where she is still a child, yet having to deal with adult issues around grown-ups who act like children. The best part? This is exactly how some parents act, and the author pulls no stops at revealing just how low some will stoop to save public face.

There are multiple themes present, but I felt Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter parallel of “hypocrisy of the judgmental” was perhaps the strongest. I also appreciated the way it is crafted into the story: seamless and invisible, yet deliberate.

Finally, a good portion of this book deals with suicide. The counselor, Dr. Matthews, serves as both a guardian angel for Colby, but more importantly, a voice for every educator or mentor with teen/ YA suicide experience. His lessons of hope are not fiction, but based on true intervention counseling. Given the framework of the story, I felt the self-actualization techniques of control were so much clearer as opposed to the mandatory suicide prevention training I’ve dealt with in the past. It really hit home. This book should be mandatory reading for every teen prior to high school.

For outstanding voice, plot, humor, and most of all, heart. I strongly recommend BIG FAT DISASTER with five-stars.