I would have rated this book higher but the collection was uneven, with a few of the stories being excellent and many being not very good at all. Some of the not very good stories were that way because I didn't think they were fat-positive, as I thought this anthology was supposed to be, and some stories didn't seem to be about fat girls at all.

La Gorda & the City of Silver by Sabrina Vourvoulias was my absolute favorite story. It was powerful and uplifting and left me smiling, both because of who La Gorda was and because her loved ones saw her just as she saw herself.

Lift by Pete "Patch" Alberti was my other favorite. This one just felt good. It's one of those stories where it's okay to be who you are, whether you're super smart, or fat, or a girl, or like pink glitter. You can do what you want and be happy doing it.

Nemesis by Nicole Prestin was also good. I liked the way the superhero simply ignored all discussion about her weight and appearance--and spandex--once she'd had the initial conversation. She was not at all interested in anything but doing her job and that was great. ( )

Many science fiction stories are about tall, square-jawed adventurers boldly exploring the galaxy. The women in such stories are the female equivalent of tall and square-jawed. This anthology looks at a very under-served part of the population - fat women.

A woman in Guatemala dreams of becoming the first female luchador, until she discovers a greater calling that is much closer to home. A midwestern soccer mom, nicknamed Flux, refuses to wear the new spandex outfit given to her by her superhero colleagues. A team is being sent to a far-away planet that is in the middle of being terraformed. They will be working practically non-stop for months, so they need every bit of bodily fuel that they can get. That is why they were instructed to put on a lot of weight before they leave.

Most of Earth's population has emigrated to a new planet, Terra Nova, because Earth is dying. Among those who are left is a teacher at a special school for fat kids. Also fat, she makes the long trip to Terra Nova, but is detained and sent back to Earth. Mary Beth's friends have their own spaceship, for quick jaunts to Mars or the Moon. She is asked to get out of the spaceship, because she is too heavy. With help from a local junkyard, she attempts to build her own spaceship. It is not a short or cheap process. Does she succeed?

This is a pretty good group of stories from a marginalized point of view. Some of the stories were better than others, but this book is still worth reading. ( )

While it evened out to a middling-good rating in the end, the truth is that I really liked some of the stories and really disliked some of the others. I came to the anthology believing that it would be fat-positive, which in retrospect I guess I was never promised, and in some cases it definitely wasn't. I was taken aback by the fat-shaming and fat-hatred in some of the stories, and the unexamined stereotypes that formed the foundations of some of the plots. But then, a couple of the stories were really, really lovely. I certainly don't regret reading it, but be aware of what you're getting into. ( )

Plenty of variety in this anthology of stories about fat girls and (mostly) women. It does have its share of "fat = eating lots", "protag succeeds despite being fat", and "protag succeeds due to being fat". (I know there was a certain degree of fairy magic involved, but did Tangwystl the Unwanted have to literally bounce?)

But there was also a good range of "fat protag succeeds due to being awesomesauce", and in this category I particularly enjoyed Cartography, and the Death of Shoes, Nemesis, and - the best for last - Lift. ( )

I love the idea of this collection of stories, fat girls having adventures. I'm not going to claim that all stories were equally good nor equally skillful at handling the topic, but there were three or four really awesome short stories, a lot of good ones, and only one really bad one (and it was bad because the concept was so cool and the protagonist's body loathing was irritating and contrary to the theme of the collection). ( )