The Big Reveal by Jen Larson (unmarked spoilers in review)

Addie is a talented dancer, a true-blue friend, fat, fierce, and driven. When she's accepted into the prestigious dance program of her dreams, she thinks nothing can bring her down—until she realizes she doesn't have enough money to go. Refusing to give up, Addie and her friends decide to put on a top-secret, invitation-only burlesque show to raise funds. But word soon gets out, and the slut- and body-shaming begin. Has Addie been resisting the patriarchy, or playing right into its hands?

Perfect for fans of Jennifer Mathieu and E. Lockhart, The Big Reveal asks hard-hitting feminist questions while reveling in some of life's greatest joys: chasing your passions, falling in love, and embracing yourself exactly as you are.

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I thought I'd really enjoy this. I'm generally a big fan of this genre, and the conversation is so important, I'm always glad to have another way to spread it. However, this book didn't work for me, for two reasons;

One, I found the timing weird, with the middle dragging out so much I largely skimmed it.

Two, all the bad guys were cartoons, especially the Dean, who only needed a twiddly moustache to make it perfect.

I loved the four friends. That was an amazing group and I adored how they took turns lifting each other up and they were ready to ride or die for each other. But the bad guys were ridiculous, and the boyfriend completely turned his worldview around after one fight...there wasn't even any calm discussion, just shouting and pouting. It's great that he did change his worldview, of course, but I would have liked them to talk about it a bit more.

Overall it's not terrible, but it's not great either, sadly.

 

The Big Reveal publishes on the 7th December, 2021 in the US, and on the 17th January 2022 in the UK, using the same cover as far as I can tell. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.