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Big is Beautiful

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The seven worst words ever spoken came out of Brittany Gregory's mom's mouth at breakfast, "I signed you up for math tutoring." Sure, she probably needs it (probably nothing, she'll fail without it), but the thought of having to stay in that school longer than she had to every day makes her sick. It's not the school's fault... just the few jerks inside.

Brittany's tutor is none other than Matt Taylor, senior quarterback-- all around hottie. At first, she's shy around him because, hello, Matt Taylor! But as he shows more and more unexpected kindness toward her, Brittany softens around him.

Unfortunately for Brittany, Matt's former girlfriend, the beautifully wicked Kendra Moses, has tormented Britt since eighth grade about her weight. In an unusual moment of brains, Kendra realizes Brittany's initials spell B.I.G.-- a hilarious (to the cheerleader) irony since Brittany isn't the smallest girl at school.

With the Red Ball (Valentine's Dance) approaching, Brittany has to decide if her growing feelings for Matt are real, or if he's secretly been playing a part in Kendra's game all along.

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2013

27 people are currently reading
99 people want to read

About the author

Kelly Martin

40 books284 followers
Kelly Martin is an author and developmental editor who lives in a possibly haunted house in a small southern town. While she'd like to say paranormal things only happen to her at her home, it would be a lie, mainly because she searches them out in some of America's most haunted locations. Whether it is talking to the ghosts of Waverly Hills or the spirits of Thomas House Hotel, these events inevitably land in some of Kelly's books. Just wait until you read The Haunting of Micah Reed.

Take a peek at the Website: http://www.kellymartinbooks.com

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Email Kelly Martin at kelly @kellymartinbooks.com (no spaces).

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Lindsay.
2,236 reviews512 followers
October 13, 2013
This book was not what I was expecting. Prior to reading it, I figured it would be a YA romance with a full figured girl. And it was. But it was also more than that. This book was also about self-esteem, loving yourself (yes, they can be the same thing, but the phrase “you have to love yourself before anyone else can love you” was repeated MULTIPLE times), and bullying.

I’m not naïve enough to think that girls that are heaver don’t get bullied, but one of the things I love about books with full figured heroines is I love seeing a hot, alpha guy falling for the girl that’s not a size zero. And part of what I love about the full figured heroines in most romance novels, is while they admit they could stand to lose a few pounds but they’re happy with their life and how they look. That’s not to say that they don’t have the occasional moment of “Oh god, I’m huge compared to her” but still…they’re happy. And I love that. But this book was not that. This book, from start to finish, was Brittany hating herself for not being smaller. She was constantly bullied by the kids at school, and the kids weren’t even sneaky about it. They would call her names and say mean things right in front of teachers. And if a teacher called them on it and punished them, they retaliated on Brittany as if she was the one that got them in trouble. Honest to god…at one point, I was sure there was going to be a scene straight out of Carrie.



While there was some drama at the school dance, it’s not as bad as Carrie.

I have a couple of complaints about this book…
1) The “romance”. Don’t get me wrong, there was a little romance in it, but the scenes between Matt and Brittany weren’t enough for me. I wanted more time spent together. There were a few scenes between them, but most of the book was Brittany by herself, with her mom or with her friend. I wanted more development between Matt & Brittany. I wanted to feel the connection between them.
My biggest complaint about this book is the religious aspect. This is a person preference and there was nothing wrong with it, I just wish I had known going into that it was somewhat a religious book. I say this because I’m not a big fan of religious romance. And every time faith or prayer was mentioned, it pulled me right out of the story.

So, the book wasn’t bad but it wasn’t what I was expecting either. But it’s a decent/quick read.
Profile Image for Jessica ♡~ Book&Coffee Lover ~♡.
487 reviews18 followers
September 5, 2013
Great real life story!

Showed a very good picture about how hard/cruel people can be towards someone who is a bit big boned. Also what consequences it can have on a person when others are calling them names etc.. + there is a very good tip inside the story... You don't have to worry about what others think or may say about the fact that you wanna be with a person who is a bit different than everyone else because every person had the right to love or be loved.
2 reviews1 follower
September 7, 2013
I started the book and couldn't put it down. It shows how cruel people are to someone who is a little different. But Brittany shows she can stand on her own. Every person in their life has felt the emotions that she has. I know I have. A great written book again Kelly. I can't wait for your next bool.
Profile Image for Sophia.
Author 5 books407 followers
February 18, 2014
I picked up this book because I saw what it was about and wanted to read about a heroine who struggles with her appearance, her self-esteem, handling bullying and experiencing her first romance. These are all common themes in the teen years, but not so common in YA fiction. I was prepared for the drama knowing what the themes were and that the story is told entirely from the young girl, Brittany's perspective. For the most part, I got what I expected and it pleased me. There was also something more in this one as well as something less which both pleasantly surprised me and also disappointed a bit. More on that later.

The story is told about Brittany, a sophomore in a small town high school. She is on the husky, big-boned side with a fuller figure which makes her normal, but due to mean-spirited constant bullying at school, she has a skewed imagine of herself and no self worth. At the beginning of this story, Brittany's mom informs her that due to her failing grades in geometry (I can totally relate to this girl at this point since math hated me too)she will be attending after school tutoring.

Brittany heads off to school only to get violently shoved out of the way and hurt by words and hitting a wall near the entrance. Everyone arriving either joins in making fun or ignores her except the most popular guy in school, senior and starting quarterback, Matt Taylor. He checks that she is alright. Her day gets worse when mean girl and Matt's ex-girlfriend Kendra Moses and her posse make fun of Brittney's new coat. Brittany loved the coat and her mom saved for four months to get it for her. Now she only feels self-conscious and fat when wearing it. Later she becomes the target of a kid's anger when he gets detention and in trouble with the principal when he calls her names. And to cap off her stellar day, she discovers that her tutor is Matt Taylor.

Matt is kind and gets upset when she puts herself down. He helps her with her geometry so that she actually understands it. He also starts her dreaming of the impossible- at least impossible to her. Brittany fixates on Matt and even experiences jealousy when she has no reason for it. She now is determined that she will drop a lot of weight quickly so she stands a chance with Matt and can end the hard insults. Her methods are unhealthy which involve both starving herself and throwing up when she binged in the night. Brittney knows about eating disorders, but is confident that she doesn't have that trouble.

Kendra continues to torture, Matt continues to be kind though sometimes absent-minded and Brittany dreams of being with him at the Valentine's dance because he asked her for one dance even if he is technically going with Kendra because they had tickets together before they broke up.

Kendra isn't done with Matt and goes on campaign behind his back to make this clear to Brittany. Her methods are underhanded and Brittany is left wondering if it is best to bow out while she still has some dignity in tact and hasn't lost Matt's respect before Kendra's lies.

Alright, well this one was typical in ways of most YAs in the sense that it is staged mostly against the high school backdrop. There are typical factions in this school and Brittany is at the bottom of the food chain. She is miserable and I felt so sorry for her because I know the way she was treated by the jerks and even just the oblivious kids who stayed out of it cut deeply. I was above my fighting weight all my life, but never bullied about it other than a few digs. I know how hard it is to even come close to ideal weight and I remember having friends who didn't struggle who had the notions that us 'husky' gals over-indulged and were lazy. So all that to say, I was not put off by the running monologue in her head that was such a downer. She does have a very warped sense and assumes that everyone is disgusted by her looks and is out to harass her which is why she both desperately wants to believe Matt's kindness is real and why she easily believes Kendra's lies about Matt and lets Kendra's threats get to her.

Now as to the plot itself. This does have romance in it and the romance has a fairytale quality about it, but romance is not the main plot theme. It touched on some hard stuff that teens deal with such as self-hate, bullying and eating disorders. It was good to see a book hit this stuff in a healthy appropriate way. A part of me really wanted karma to really stick it to the bullies and they did get a slight comeuppance, but they were so mean that I wanted more. Brittany's character growth and development are the forefront and not the romance though that is what is big on her mind next to the dieting. She is told that she has to love herself first before others can lover her and she is told that she is always down on herself. Matt is the one who confronts her for the most part.

That leads me to Matt. He is a bit of an enigma. He felt more like supportive friend than love interest even though Brittany is crushing on him. I liked that he could see past appearance. He dumped his girlfriend because though she was Barbie perfect, she was a jerk and he gained interest in Brittany because she was sweet. I confess that I was confused by his insistence on going to that dance with Kendra after they broke up. I don't know why it was an honor issue because in my book future date commitments are null the second you break up. The enigma part is probably on purpose because it heightened the suspense of what his motives were. While I liked the 'is he or isn't he' feeling, I also felt like he wasn't a very developed character mostly because for a romance hero he didn't get as much page time.

Their romance wasn't developed as much as I would like. To be fair, they didn't throw around the love word, but it was based on only a handful of tutoring sessions and brief meet-ups in the hall. I would have liked to see them get a few more scenes where they could talk and know each other though I suppose that came later since this ended on a happy for now. I liked that it was a HFN which was more realistic.

I should probably mention that religious thematic elements are mentioned. For example, when Brittany and Matt pray for a lady who had hip surgery. It didn't feel pushy and fit into the story alright. Naturally this means that the book is a sweet romance that would be appropriate for any level of teen to read.

So all in all, it was a good story with a light fairytale-ish romance and a strong message about other serious themes that teens encounter.
Profile Image for Amy K.
Author 20 books406 followers
March 8, 2014
I felt like Marty McFly getting in the Delorian and traveling back in time to watch myself in high school as I read this story. I've always had issues with weight and was constantly bullied in school because of it. It seems every overweight girl has their Kendra Moses' but not all of us get our Matt Taylor's. I had more than one Kendra as I grew up. There were even many of the same insults I remembered hearing in school, such as Kendra telling her that wearing make-up didn't help her face and the constant reminders of how much space you occupy. This book discusses the never ending problem of eating disorders, something too many are familiar with, most overweight girls have tried every eating disorder to lose that weight and feel like you fit in. I felt like I was living this book through Brittany, there were even moments that an event occurred and I had the exact thought in my head as the next line I read. The author nailed the feelings of low self esteem and body image. It doesn't matter how many people say you're beautiful, the insults stick longer because they've been bred into you for so long that you come to believe it. This is a simple story of a girl who wants desperately to fit in, or at least blend in. The characters were well written, the story had a beautiful sentiment to it, and this was a read I couldn't put down! It's now up in the top of my faves and I look forward to reading more by this author!
Profile Image for Angela.
Author 18 books52 followers
February 28, 2014
I purchased Big is Beautiful with the goal of taking a break from reading series. I was on a complete overload from the Grey Wolves series that I had just finished. I had no idea what I wanted to read. I was browsing through Facebook and came across Kelly Martin's page, she had just had a Facebook event for the book Big is Beautiful and I had missed it by three minutes. After reading the comments I decided that I was going to check out this book.

I was hooked! I absolutely loved Brittany and the dynamic that she has with her mom straight from the first page. Brittany is informed by her mom that she is to have a tutor for geometry starting that day after school. Brittany is not thrilled with this; she is being tormented at school by Kendra and her lackeys; along with just about everyone else. Her only real friend seems to be Jillian, a nice girl in the grade below her.

Kendra, is the popular girl; reading about her made me think of all those mean girls who have the cliques that everyone seems to want to be a part of even though the girls are the meanest in school. You sort of want to know what is going to come out of her mouth next even though you know that you will not like what she says and may even be a bit disgusted by it.

Matt, is the quarterback of the football team and a senior. He is to be Brittany's tutor. He is the all around Southern gentleman, though he has a secret. He does not make fun of Brittany like the other students do, he never calls her BIG (Kendra realized one day that Brittany's initials were B.I.G. and ever since then everyone seemed to call her that). Could he be interested in her?

Brittany is faced with bullying everyday and she needs to find a way to deal with that. She wants what every other teenager wants. To go out on dates, hang out with friends, to go to the Red Ball. What will she do in order to fit in? Following Brittany on her journey was a heartbreaking. I literally cried for her.

This is a great book with a wonderful message. I have passed the book along to my 13 year old daughter; I hope that it gets picked up by her school's book club. I think it will really help these teens to understand what it is like to be on the receiving end of bullying.

This is an amazing read! I definitely recommend it.
Profile Image for Amanda R.
727 reviews
January 7, 2015
I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the message that it sends. No matter what size you are someone will and does love you. When you're a teenager though it doesn't feel like anyone loves you. Your parents do but they have to right? When you are overweight everything that goes on in high school seems like its amplified. No one is brave enough to date the fat chick. Even if she is pretty. Chunky girls can be friends but not girl friends, or at least thats what I've experienced.

Brittney is beautiful. She's just stuck in high school hell, with that one girl that thinks the world is there to entertain her and her target has become Brittney. So when the jock guy becomes her tutor and he actually flirts with her and says things that gets her heart racing she has a hard time believing it because who would like a girl that looks like her, especially the football star/tutor??

In the end this book was a great work of fiction. I say that because it doesn't happen in the real world, well I suppose it could but I've never seen it.. I mean people as adults still will look down on people that are overweight.
Profile Image for Erin Danzer.
Author 19 books44 followers
October 29, 2013
I really enjoyed this story a lot! I loved meeting Brittany and getting to know her. I felt like I could connect with her and her troubled times at school, especially her fear when she learned her mother had set her up for math tutoring! Lo and behold, the hottest guy in school, star quarterback, Matt Taylor, is Brittany's tutor.

I thought this book did a great job of touching on troubling subjects, such as bullying and body image, without weighing down the story. The way Brittany found herself through everything she went through was very inspiring.
Profile Image for Louisa.
593 reviews71 followers
February 27, 2017
Tissues required

This book had me in tears not just because it was beautiful written but in school I was Brittany being teased about my weight or what ever took their fancy.
While I'm still waiting for My Matt to appear. I was happy that Brittany found someone who loved both her inside and outside.
Bullying is wrong and has many different lasting effects. I'm glad to read books that tackle such subjects.
Profile Image for Kelsey.
1,599 reviews28 followers
October 13, 2013
very very realistic. Brittany seems to be a sweet girl and I'm glad it ended that way it did. bullying is a huge problem and this book does an amazing job of highlighting it's negative effects. the whole "love yourself before someone else can love you" was a bit overstated, and maybe emphasized too much, but the HEA seemed appropriate :-)
Profile Image for Joy.
51 reviews
March 7, 2014
I did like this book. It was a great little read after a long day. 3.5 As with a lot of novellas, I think it's too compact. Not enough time for everything to suddenly work out. Liked that it dealt with issues that get pushed aside and glossed over a lot in novels. Maybe not realistic, but who wants realism.
Profile Image for R.J..
Author 17 books35 followers
September 6, 2016
Sweet, original, and hilariously sarcastic, Kelly Martin's voice is raw, honest, and poignant while still somehow remaining light-hearted and romantic. Even though at times things were hard to read, I felt like this was an important "Cinderella Story" and loved the Christian element as well. Looking forward to reading more by the author.
Profile Image for Shellene.
124 reviews2 followers
February 11, 2014
Really good book on bullying and eating disorder. No matter what size you are you are beautiful just the way you are.
Profile Image for Kelly.
84 reviews
January 10, 2015
This was a nice change from typical YA. I had a few issues, but overall it was good. I do wish it was longer so it didn't seem as rushed as it was.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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