To Be Honest

Product Information

To be honest...we loved the latest novel by Maggie Ann Martin! ... With her [Savannah], Martin has created a beautifully rendered portrait of a high school senior. She feels real and interesting, and like someone who you’d definitely want to drive around blasting Eminem with, if only because that’s her favorite past time!" — Hypable No matter how many times Ashley tried to broach the subject of her leaving this summer, I would always turn my head and plug my ears. I couldn’t bear it then and suggested that we push off any sad or mushy conversations to the very last minute. I was a professional procrastinator in all things. Especially feelings.

Her father was the worst character for me, He was simply mean and selfish, I know he has his own reasons but that didn’t convince me. I cannot tell you how incredibly refreshing this is! I love that the book, itself, is not obsessed with its plus-size main character. Maggie Ann Martin actually allows us to look past Savvy's weight into other aspects of her life, and it's a shame that books like this are so few and far between." — NPR I reached out to pull her into a very comforting (and comfortable) hug. We had the perfect builds for a great hug. That’s a waste of money. We had plenty of working twin sheets already,” Ashley said. Always the practical one, she was. Ashley’s brain was constantly in conservation mode while mom’s brain was always in excess mode. Especially in the past two years, after Mom and Dad’s divorce, Ashley has had to be the voice of reason in our home. His music videos are very cool. “Summer’s the Worst” is a touching song! His singing at a Bar Mitzvah ( when he was younger), was hysterical. NONE OF THOSE 13 year old boys were listening to Michael sing his love song. Sooo funny!Hey,” Ashley said, pulling away from our hug. “I’m Ashley. This is my little sister, Savannah, and my mom.”

That being said, Savvy really does love her mom & since it’s just the two of them home now, she tries her hardest to not cause friction or let her mom’s comments get to her. We follow their relationship & the very real fights that take place leading to days of silence. Maggie Ann Martin also did a A+ job of showing us Savvy’s mom & her battle with body image. I felt terrible for her mom because you know she’s a good mom but life’s curve ball really threw her off & her self esteem really took a hit. I wanted so badly to see her mom get the help she so desperately needed & be a positive role model for Savvy. The writing itself was a little on the simpler side for my personal reading tastes but that didn’t take away from how much I appreciated the fat representation in this book. It made me so incredibly happy to be able to follow a fat character who was not only body positive and not constantly putting herself down but had a story of her own and one that didn’t solely revolve around her weight. A refreshing YA contemporary novel that wrestles with self-love, anxiety, and family. ... I would imagine people who loved Leah on the Offbeat, The Upside of Unrequited, or Turtles All the Way Down will also love this novel." — Better Books and Other Things Mom brought up a single finger, her telltale sign that you were about to get into an argument, but then she put it down. Almost like she remembered that we were here to drop off her oldest daughter for her freshman year of college and now wouldn’t be the most convenient time for a fight.

Customer reviews

If you are a normal person, this book might be very uncomfortable, because it basically accuses you of lying constantly. And, well, it is not entirely wrong. If you actually pay attention to all the ways we evade and avoid, we do an awful lot of lying. It is much more socially acceptable to lie than to be truthful. So perhaps it is grating to read something that calls you out, even if you think you're doing it the better way. I honestly could not tell you. All I can say is that if you are an oversharing honest weirdo who cries whenever you feel strong emotion, then you will like this book. What wasn’t there? Close bonding of sisters? Body-shaming? Best friends? Anxiety? Romance? Complex relationship with parents? Everything was there. I found his dad's parenting extremely amusing and actually agreed with most of what Michael had said and done as I would have done the same if in those circumstances. Most of the time, people who seem to fight for justice are actually just fighting for the truth.

I love that the book, itself, is not obsessed with its plus-size main character. ... It's a shame that books like this are so few and far between." — NPR Michael’s friends, many whom were musicians, didn’t exactly experience his criticism as love. Perplexing, a little rude and deviant, were more like it. How do you think [character] felt when they were lied to? How do you feel when someone lies to you? This was why I very rarely hung out with new people—their unknown reactions made me more nervous than it was worth most of the time.

Wordle Helper

I will alway support a book that promotes body positivity, and this one also happened to feature a main character I totally fell in love with. To Be Honest is another sharp, witty novel from Maggie Ann Martin, about a spunky heroine who is dealing with very real issues—body image, parental pressure, loneliness, first love, and finding your way—with heart and humor. I freaking adore this book! To Be Honest is the most honest young adult contemporary novel I have read in a while ... this book is worth every penny." -- It's A Book Life I really enjoyed Savannah herself as a protagonist. I saw a lot of myself in her, both as a fat woman and just as a person. Her anxiety, her fears about the future, her love of school and her family… I just related to so much of her experience. Though she is plus-sized, she doesn’t hate her body or want to change it, and that isn’t her entire character.