The Dial Press – Talk Nerdy Book Blog

Book Review: One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

March 31, 2021

B

The Gist: A bachelorette-style romance that delves into the pervasive fatphobia in the US while serving a dramatic yet sweet romance that falters a bit with its distant narrative and rushed ending.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: July 7, 2020

Synopsis

Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers–and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition–under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She’s in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That’s it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She’s in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale.

Ending

HEA

Representation

• Fat Heroine
• Lesbian supporting character
• Fat supporting characters
• Asian-American Jewish supporting character
• Black supporting character
• Gender expansive side character
• Asexual and romantic supporting character

Possible Triggers

• Emotional abuse, including fatphobic hate speech
• Threat of r@pe (comments on social media posts)
• Death threats (comments on social media posts)

Safety Rating: Safe with Exception

• Does have cheating
– Heroine sleeps with her best friend and long-time unrequited crush while he’s engaged
– While there was no discussion about monogamy, the Heroine assumed each of the men she was dating on the show was monogamous. One of the men, however, had been sleeping with people throughout the show.
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama (she is dating 25 men at once (to start), so jealous does arise.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Kindle

Rating: 4-stars

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Heartbreaking and Moving: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

By Sarah

In 5-stars, Book Review

November 18, 2020

H

The Gist: A beautifully written book that takes its time to explore how someone can learn to trust and love again after a tremendous loss; flashing back and forth between the hours before the crash and Edward’s current reality, the author explores what it means to be true to yourself and the connections that help you overcome such heartache.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: January 6, 2020

Synopsis

One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them is a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured vet returning from Afghanistan, a septuagenarian business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. And then, tragically, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.

Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place for himself in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a piece of him has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery–one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do find yourself? How do you discover your purpose? What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?

Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again.

Ending

HFN

Representation

• Black Gay supporting character
• Latina supporting character and side character
• Asian side character

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Frequent Harry Potter references; J.K. Rowling is transphobic
• MC dealing with the death of his whole family and being the sole survivor of a plane crash (when he’s a child)
• Discusses miscarriages
• Supporting character has cancer

Mature Themes

• PTSD
• Grief of losing family
– Also, the grief of not being able to have kids
• Non-descriptive sex
• References to abortion
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 5-stars

Trigger Warning: This book has frequent HP references. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details for other triggers.

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Vulnerable and Cathartic: Untamed by Glennon Doyle

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

November 14, 2020

V

The Gist: An unabashedly honest memoir, comprised of short essays, Glennon draws on her experiences with consciously uncoupling from her husband, parenting her children in a blended-family, marrying her wife, Abby and reconciling her God with religion as an institution, to unpack the varying ways our current societies cage us. The pacing takes a while to find its rhythm; however, the immersive and thought-provoking prose makes the memoir an exceptional and cathartic read.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: March 10, 2020

Synopsis

There is a voice of longing inside every woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good mothers, daughters, partners, employees, citizens, and friends. We believe all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives, relationships, and world, and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this?

Four years ago, Glennon Doyle, author, activist and humanitarian, wife and mother of three—was speaking at a conference when a woman entered the room. Glennon looked at her and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There She Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. Soon she realized that they came to her from within.

Glennon was finally hearing her own voice—the voice that had been silenced by decades of cultural conditioning, numbing addictions, and institutional allegiances. She vowed to never again abandon herself. She decided to build a life of her own—one based on her individual desire, intuition, and imagination. She would reclaim her true, untamed self.

Ending

HEA

Representation

• F/F main couple
• Author identities as queer

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Bulimia (started at 10 years old)
• Discussion of people (including children) dying of cancer
• Discussion of drug and alcohol addiction

Mature Themes

• Discussion of anxiety and depression
• Discussion of infidelity
• Discussion of abortion
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.25-stars

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