I quite enjoyed reading this book, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I had read it from cover to cover in one sitting. This story is the classic coming of age story with a small twist. I loved reading the changes that Bea goes through as the book progressed. The whole story is fun, addicting, and keeps you hooked from page one. I totally wanted Bea to get with whom she ends up so that is always a plus. (See Mom, the characters do listen to me when I tell them things ;)

The development of Bea over the course of the book was by far the most interesting part but there are so many other things that make this book great. I love how Bea learns to handle school and work and learns to love her body for what it is and not what she wants it to be. Great read for any women having self-esteem issues, not that we will all become plus size models but...you know what I mean. The only thing that I had problems with in this book was a I could not get a good read on what Bea looked like in my head...at all, so I sort of had to fill in someone, but it definitely wasn't a deal breaker for me. ( )

This book is about a girl named Bee Wilson. She’s in college with whom Bee thinks is the most amazing boyfriend on earth. After a few months in college, Brian, Bee’s boyfriend, breaks up with her. Bee is upset and meets an interesting friend, Consuela also known as Chela, an ex-girlfriend of Brian. One day, Bee goes to meet up with Chela for lunch when a lady comes up to Bee and asks her if Bee wants to be a model. Of course, Bee thinks it’s some joke so Bee is a little bit suspicious of the lady, Leslie. Because Chela forces Bee, Bee goes to the auditions and the next thing Bee knows, she’s one of the world’s most famous plus size models. Bee is so happy until Savannah Hughes, another plus sized model who Bee is closely resembled to, decides she is going to ruins Bee’s life. Bee does the best she can to avoid Savannah while trying to stay friends with Chela and get Brian back. In the end, Bee learns to ignore Savannah, invites Chela to hang out more often and learns that she doesn’t need Brian anymore. Instead, Bee dates the number one rapper, DJ Drop and Roll, who Bee used to tutor math to.

I really loved this book because it showed that anything can happen if you happen to be in the right place at the right time. I’m glad that Bee found out modeling is what she wants to do for the rest of her life, because in college, she sort of had no clue what she wanted to do. I was a little mad that for a majority of the book, Bee let herself be bullied and didn’t try to stop it. I wanted her to be stronger than that, but she wasn’t. I was a little mad at Bee when she didn’t include Chela in a lot of activities she did. Chela was the one that got her to go to the audition. I was happy when she decided to become good friends with Chela again. I think Bee is lucky that she became a model, I’m pretty sure a lot of girls would love to a model. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes girly kind of books. ( )

Can we just say--book that satisfied my teen angst plus reality-tv-in-a-book desire? Yep, I really enjoyed this quick read. In fact, I kind of smiled at the end, even though it had a characteristic cheesy and predictable ending. Yes, Beatrice is a "thick" girl--*cough, cough* not really. Honestly, Beatrice is a girl who had a messy break up and eats like a normal girl. However, we all know that "plus size" models probably have a different standard than other plus-size gals, right?

Anyway, I digress. Beatrice is a nice enough character who is riddled with weaknesses that come out clearly in her story. She makes stupid mistakes with men, and has insecurities that far outweigh her plus-size physique. In short, she has issues that can be annoying, but it's not as if she doesn't have a forgivable air to her that allows us to suspend judgement and just enjoy the book.

I enjoyed Beatrice's Top Model-esque story and found it to be a fun, quick read. There are some pretty fun, catty moments in the book (yes, they're fun), and also that hint of seriousness to keep us cheering on Beatrice's future. This was a surprisingly enjoyable read that I could 100% see myself indulgently liking as a teen--as I do now. It all feels familiar, but is still a fun little book. ( )

As expected from almost page one you can guess how the story is going to play out but despite that this was an enjoyable book to read. It was light and funny so the perfect book if you need a pick me up.

The Characters

Initially I found Bee to be some what irritating. When she was mooning over her ex-boyfriend Brian I really wanted to shake her and I had to remind myself that this was a 17 year old girl who was just dumped by her first boyfriend. After awhile I could start to relate to her. Despite being a successful super model she still had her doubts about her body image and her self worth. She and some of her fellow super star plus size models have a discussion about if they would give up the $20,000 a day pay check if they could only be a size 2 for the rest of their lives. The answer is not as clear cut as you might first imagine. Some may not understand the dilemma but I could understand where Bee and her friends were all coming from.

Bee's best friend Chela was a crack up. She is pretty much the perfect best friend. She supports Bee when she needs to, accepts her for who she is and forgives her any of her flaws.

The Romance

Bee's potential romantic interest was fascinating and I wish we could have seen more of the build up in their relationship. We know they have a history together and what we do see you can obviously tell he has a thing for Bee but I would have liked to see more interaction between the two of them to really make the romance seem like a given.

Bee's ex is your typical jerk ex-boyfriend who wants a second chance once Bee reaches stardom. How does Bee handle it when he comes crawling back to her? You will have to pick up the book to find out

The Story Line

Like I mentioned above the story line is pretty predictable as Bee is the Cinderella who after gaining 25 pounds still manages to become a super model, makes mega bucks per day modeling, still manages to make the Dean's List at school and has the perfect best friend. Chambers still made the story fun to read and despite the main irritation of Bee making up her own Latin phrases to describe the situations she gets herself into I found it hard to put down. ( )

When we first see our protagonist Bree, she thinks she has the "perfect boyfriend", Brian. On the night she decides to give up her V card for him, he dumps her. In her state of depression from the breakup, Bee gains 25 pounds. She also meets Chela, another one of Brian's exes. Chela becomes a good friend to Bree and helps her out of her slump. When Bee is spotted by a modeling agent who thinks Bee would be a fantastic plus size model, it's Chela that encourages her to go for it. From that point, we follow Bee on her journey of becoming a superstar.

PLUS was a fun and entertaining read. It had a light and breezy feel, but had enough depth to keep me invested in the character's outcome. The voice of Bee was wonderful and had me right from the beginning. But Bee herself annoyed me at times. Mostly because the way she was with Brian. It was painfully obvious what a loser he was when he broke up with her. But Bee didn't see this. She kept clinging on to the hope of getting back together with him. She tried to change herself to impress him. I just wanted to scream, "Girl, please!" at her. I also didn't like the kind of friend she was to Chela. It seemed Chela was putting so much effort into their friendship, and Bee just shoved her aside until she was needed.

However, I did enjoy reading about a plus size character! As a girl on the bootylicious side, it was nice to take a break from the skinny figure that seems to be on every main character out there. But the best part of this story was taking a look inside the life of a plus size model. All of Bee's photo shoots and appearances kept the story moving along at a steady pace. And of course, watching Bee battle it out with all the plus size haters threw a little suspense in the mix.

The message in this story is loud and clear. You have to love yourself! Changing yourself for somebody else never works. If you want to change, you have to do it for yourself. Chambers has a unique and fun writing style. The humor in this story was real, not forced. I really enjoyed that factor. Even with the few irritations I had, PLUS was a memorable read that I recommend. It's one to put on your summer reading list! ( )