Fat Bubble: I'll Be The One - Lyla Lee
We're back in the Bubble today, and I'm bringing you a little ray of sunshine! I'm sharing a Young Adult fiction book I read on my hols last year - a fun, wholesome read!
I've spoken before, when I did a profile of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, about how powerful I find it to read Young Adult fiction, even as an adult. For me, it's an opportunity to give the younger parts of ourselves the gift of solidarity and the gift of being seen - the understanding and the representation they deserved but didn't get. This book was very cute, and very engaging - I really couldn't put it down!
In the book, Skye has one focus and one dream - K-pop stardom! But Skye is fat, and she's been told all her life that should come with limitations. They're limitations that feel so familiar to anyone with a teen experience of being in a bigger body - change what you wear, how you act, what you eat, how visible you are. But Skye doesn't want to be limited, and Skye wants to be seen, and this cute book watches her chase all her dreams.
“I’m fat. People think it means I should hate myself, and when I don’t, it makes them uncomfortable. But this is just another part of who I am, and I’m happy with who I am.”
The cover is cute, but feels misleading - Skye is named as being a US16/UK20, which doesn't feel represented in the photo. It's also worth noting that the author, Lyla Lee, is not fat. However, I was really impressed by the representation throughout the book - fat is used as a neutral descriptor, and Skye always recognises herself and her body as being worthy of respect and opportunity. I really respected that the author had sought out some explictly fat positive learning and education as research for her book (rather than the safer, more mainstream, body positive options she could have taken!). In the book acknowledgments, she references the She's All Fat podcast which is a great source of learning!
The book felt bold, unapologetic, and valuable. It didn't shy away from acknowledging the fatphobia running through the K-pop industry, and through Korean culture. There's also great exploration of Skye's queer identity, and I loved that Skye was really allowed to be 'unfinished' and still working out who she is and how she meets the world. Skye was easy to care about, fun to hang out with, and you root for her and her friends the whole way through. And the romance storyline had great chemistry!
So I'm imagining the power and the value of a young ESEA reader picking up this book and recognising the cultural context and experience that is represented here, and just how special that might feel. To see change being recognised, to see representation coming through. I think this is a book that would stay with a young reader, as a really formative read. I’d love a sequel! I’d love a Netflix series!
If you have a young person in your life, perhaps they'd love to read this. Equally, pick up a copy for yourself and immerse yourself in a book that blends fluffy contemporary fiction and impactful content in a really skilled way. Especially in advance of Lunar New Year this weekend, this book might be a lovely way to feel like you're taking a little bit of body affirming solidarity with you if you're travelling to see family, and worrying that you might experience body scrutiny and negative food focus. Body respect is what Skye deserves, and what you deserve too.