Cover Description
In this heartfelt and incisive new novel, Danielle Steel celebrates the virtues of unconventional beauty while exploring deeply resonant issues of weight, self-image, sisterhood, and family.
A chubby little girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and ordinary looks, Victoria Dawson has always felt out of place in her family, especially in body-conscious L.A. Her father, Jim, is tall and slender, and her mother, Christina, is a fine-boned, dark-haired beauty. Both are self-centered, outspoken, and disappointed by their daughter’s looks. When Victoria is six, she sees a photograph of Queen Victoria, and her father has always said she looks just like her. After the birth of Victoria’s perfect younger sister, Gracie, her father liked to refer to his firstborn as “our tester cake.” With Gracie, everyone agreed that Jim and Christina got it right.
While her parents and sister can eat anything and not gain an ounce, Victoria must watch everything she eats, as well as endure her father’s belittling comments about her body and see her academic achievements go unacknowledged. Ice cream and over sized helpings of all the wrong foods give her comfort, but only briefly. The one thing she knows is that she has to get away from home, and after college in Chicago, she moves to New York City.
Landing her dream job as a high school teacher, Victoria loves working with her students and wages war on her weight at the gym. Despite tension with her parents, Victoria remains close to her sister. And though they couldn’t be more different in looks, they love each other unconditionally. But regardless of her accomplishments, Victoria’s parents know just what to say to bring her down. She will always be her father’s “big girl,” and her mother’s constant disapproval is equally unkind.
When Grace announces her engagement to a man who is an exact replica of their narcissistic father, Victoria worries about her sister’s future happiness, and with no man of her own, she feels like a failure once again. As the wedding draws near, a chance encounter, an act of stunning betrayal, and a family confrontation lead to a turning point.
Behind Victoria is a lifetime of hurt and neglect she has tried to forget, and even ice cream can no longer dull the pain. Ahead is a challenge and a risk: to accept herself as she is, celebrate it, and claim the victories she has fought so hard for and deserves. Big girl or not, she is terrific and discovers that herself.
Hannah BeDell's Review:
My husband bought me the book for a "just because" present which I love! I just finished reading it today in my comfy window seating while my husband did chores and errands and helped care for children and I had a break from reading while going out to a restaurant. After I read it I took a bath because I was rather disappointed. I though surely this woman who sounds smart would stand up for herself and face those remarks of unworthy notice easily. I thought they had no grounds since those characters were not fully believable. Even though I know of parents with children who were big boned and tried to "fix" them. But those parents did not just ridiculed in an UN-believable fashion.
Big girl is not about her size in this book, it sounded more about money or freedom. The "big girl" seems to think she is so poor but if you can afford everything she has in this story you are far from poor. It had a good story line to learn more on how you may be a "big girl" going off on your own and doing things your own way, after and if you had parents with enough money for college in the first place. That seemed like a big flaw there, with a major dependant issue upon who was denying you the love you needed in the first place. Finding the right people was a big part of the book too. Although it did emphasize on size a lot but that said being 20 lbs. or 25 lbs. over your weight is normal. While with American society now a days if you focus on work or anything before your own health. I'm guilty of that at times. I thought this book was insightful for freedom and weight-watchers was mentioned a lot. I wonder if they paid money for that? But my big sister uses them and has lost and kept off way more than 20 or 25 lbs.
Book Points for parts I learned, grew and loved....
Now I am joining a gym, not for anyone but myself like her.
Getting a treadmill at home, again.
I loved and have started the assignment ideas:
Write a short story after a Summer vacation ~ About what you would have wanted your Summer vacation to be like
What you want to be when you grow up ~ I like this because you are always learning even after school (living life is consistent with learning)
Write lyrics for your own song and play it on instrument for extra fun too
It was a good turn pager because it changes up every once in a while and gave me some good ideas for new learning. It ended with a saying of how it's good to be happy where you are now. Look ahead and do not stand by, LIVE!
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