One to Watch

April 13, 2020
In Stayman-London’s charming debut, 30-year-old Bea Schumacher is a plus-size blogger whose star is on the rise. After a late-night drunken blog post about the lack of body diversity on Main Squeeze, a dating show where 25 contestants compete for the hand of a bachelor or bachelorette, goes viral, Bea is tapped to be the next star of the show. Though reluctant about putting herself out there, Bea eventually signs on, enticed by the opportunity to expand her platform and potentially play the princess in a love story. Once on the show, Bea finds herself subject to the rejection and mockery she feared, but she also meets good, smart, and kind men who seem to genuinely love her and whom she could love back—if she lets herself. Peppered with chatlogs, text messages, social media reactions, and splashy People articles, Stayman-London’s debut is chatty and fun, brilliantly capturing the highs, lows, and drama of reality TV. Occasionally, Bea’s critique of Main Squeeze’s lack of diversity reads more like the author is signaling wokeness rather than genuine concern about underrepresentation, and the villains make easy targets. Still, this smart, delightful page-turner is a great way for dating show fans to pass the time while waiting for the next season. Agent: Julia Masnik, Watkins Loomis Agency.

April 15, 2020
Bea Schumacher is a plus-sized fashion blogger whose screed against the reality dating show The Main Squeeze goes viral, giving the new executive producer an idea: if Bea is so mad about a lack of size diversity on the show, why doesn't she sign on as the next Main Squeeze? Bea's not sure she's ready to face the exponential increase of online trolls obsessed with her "health," but she also needs to get over her feelings for her friend Ray, who is engaged. Soon she's outfitted in fabulous, size 20 designer fashion, and meeting her 25 suitors, not all of whom are there for the right reasons. A lifetime of body shaming has left her skeptical of the men's motives, but soon she is falling for sweet Sam, charming Luc, and grumpy professor Asher. As the world watches her romantic adventures, Stayman-London presents viewer reactions in Twitter recaps, podcast transcripts, and group texts, which nicely balance the behind-the-scenes minutiae of filming. Though Bachelor fans will enjoy finding Easter eggs in this debut novel, even the most reality TV-averse reader will root for the complex, relatable, stylish Bea.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2020

DEBUT Successful but unlucky in love, plus-size fashion blogger Bea Schmuacher posts a rant about how despite a majority of American women being size 14 or larger, they aren't represented on Main Squeeze, a popular romance reality TV show. Predictably, she is asked to appear on the next season and choose from 25 suitors. Despite presenting herself as body-positive, she has misgivings about putting herself out there on national TV but agrees in order to advance her career, not her love life. In the next several weeks, Bea is ridiculed and pursued while cursing herself for falling for some of the men, which wasn't the plan. This debut is mostly effervescent but shines a harsh light on how some people's cruelty can affect those who don't conform to societal norms. Unfortunately, it's laden with unnecessary brand-name-dropping and interruptions such as magazine articles, podcast transcripts, texts, etc., which pad the story and slow things down. VERDICT A long and entertaining if overstuffed novel about reality TV, romance, fat-shaming, and self-esteem that will appeal to rom-com fans and likely strike a chord with plus-size readers.--Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY

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