Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Working at her favorite boutique and falling in love, a girl enjoys a lush Los Angeles summer—until things become complicated.Pink-haired Abby Ives, age 17, has landed an internship at Lemonberry, a small store that includes plus-sizes in its snazzy, creative clothing designs. Abby runs her own plus-size fashion blog and is serious about a career in the industry, but her personal life is in less good shape: She's never kissed a girl and worries she never will. Along comes Jordi Perez, photographer and unexpected co-intern at Lemonberry, who falls hard for Abby's adorably awkward, chatty, gorgeous self. Their blissfully heady romance is a balm to Abby's insecurities about being fat. Her mom, a food blogger who substitutes mashed cauliflower for hamburger buns and nutritional yeast for cheese, believes she needs to lose weight if she wants to lead a happy life and be pretty—but Abby has already achieved both. Yet issues of privacy and consent (photographic, not sexual) threaten this love story. Title notwithstanding, a subplot involving a food app and a hamburger quest offers little to chew on, but fans of colorful fashion and romance will be well-satisfied. Abby is white; Jordi is Mexican-American.Funny, full of heart, and refreshingly free of a weight-loss arc. (Fiction. 14-17)

ALA Booklist

Spalding is back with another bubbly and fun-loving protagonist, similar to the leading ladies in her Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) (2015) and The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) (2016). Abby finds herself having a summer full of surprises when she starts dating Jordi Perez, her fellow intern at the summer job of her dreams, and helping her new friend Jax rate a bunch of burger joints in L.A. for his father's soon-to-launch app. A plus-size fashion blogger, Abby proclaims to everyone that she is comfortable with her body, but doesn't like to look at pictures of herself or post them online. As Jordi turns the camera on her, Abby slowly begins the journey to complete self-love that will lay the foundation for a deeper romantic love. Abby will connect with readers who appreciate the realistic and natural love story between the two girls, and with anyone who's ever struggled to feel comfortable in his or her own skin.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Working at her favorite boutique and falling in love, a girl enjoys a lush Los Angeles summer—until things become complicated.Pink-haired Abby Ives, age 17, has landed an internship at Lemonberry, a small store that includes plus-sizes in its snazzy, creative clothing designs. Abby runs her own plus-size fashion blog and is serious about a career in the industry, but her personal life is in less good shape: She's never kissed a girl and worries she never will. Along comes Jordi Perez, photographer and unexpected co-intern at Lemonberry, who falls hard for Abby's adorably awkward, chatty, gorgeous self. Their blissfully heady romance is a balm to Abby's insecurities about being fat. Her mom, a food blogger who substitutes mashed cauliflower for hamburger buns and nutritional yeast for cheese, believes she needs to lose weight if she wants to lead a happy life and be pretty—but Abby has already achieved both. Yet issues of privacy and consent (photographic, not sexual) threaten this love story. Title notwithstanding, a subplot involving a food app and a hamburger quest offers little to chew on, but fans of colorful fashion and romance will be well-satisfied. Abby is white; Jordi is Mexican-American.Funny, full of heart, and refreshingly free of a weight-loss arc. (Fiction. 14-17)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Seventeen-year-old Abby Ives is doing her best to stay positive. Her best friend and her college-age sister are both in romantic relationships that take up their attention. Her mother, a local L.A. celebrity, runs Eat Healthy with Norah! and disapproves of Abby-s -plus size dress size- as well as her homosexuality. Abby focuses on her new internship at Lemonberry, an inventive clothing boutique, and her plus-size fashion blog (-I was designing how other people saw me, and that felt powerful-). Drama ensues when never-been-kissed Abby falls for her fellow intern, photographer Jordi Perez, with whom she-s competing for a job. Less interesting is the subplot-researching the best cheeseburger in town for an app with Jax, her best friend-s boyfriend-s best friend-but Abby-s rambling voice is honest, charming, and absorbing. In a story about staying true to one-s passions, Spalding (The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions)) presents an interesting look at first love, social media, and private and public personas. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)