Focus: Size 12 is Not Fat

It's rare that a person finds a book that is so easy to relate to that it's as if the novel were, in fact, about the reader him- or herself. It's even rarer to find a book like this that is part of a series. However, I have been lucky enough to find my soulmate, in book form: Meg Cabot's Size 12 is Not Fat. It's the first in a series, too! I actually love this book so much, I already reviewed it after the first time I read it in my blog "Flo's Focus"; see the post here.


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Summary:
Heather Wells, the novel's protagonist, is an ex-pop star who now works at a residence hall at the (fictional) New York College. She lives with the older brother of her ex-boyfriend, and attempts desperately (and not always so successfully) to conceal her deep crush on him. As the title suggests, Heather has put on a few pounds after leaving the music industry, and there are many references throughout the novel to her new eating habits (most of which sound absolutely delicious to me!). Heather seems to be settling into her new life fine until there is a student death in her residence hall. At first, Heather is alone in believing that the victim was murdered, and therefore must embark on her own journey of sleuthing to discover the culprit.

Review:
I immediately connected to this book the second I read the title. Being a proud size 12 myself, I related instantly with the sentiment that there is nothing wrong with being what is, in America at least, a completely average size. We women are told constantly that skinny is better, and are bombarded with images of women who wear a size two or smaller, and are told that to wear anything larger is a disgrace. This blunt acceptance of a healthy body type was refreshing and, for me, instantly relatable.

The book only gets better as you move past the front cover. Heather Wells is a compelling protagonist, both funny and down-to-earth, and comes across as someone I would love to hang out with. As evidenced by The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot is no stranger to creating characters that every reader aches to meet; Heather is just another example. She's smart, brave, loves to eat, and openly (at least to us readers!) in love with her ex-boyfriend's older brother, which adds spice to the plot.

Then there's the fact that these books are murder mysteries! I know that I will sound like a bit of a geek for saying this, but I LOVE murder mysteries! To take this character that we all already want to know and make her a sleuthing hero is just so wonderful. The setting of a college dorm works perfectly with the premise of the novel, because there are few characters and it is possible to read and try to guess which one committed the crime, Agatha Christie-style. Add all this to the fact that Cabot writes extremely well, and you have the perfect book: great main character(s), interesting setting, compelling murder-mystery plot, a dash of romance, and excellent writing. Perfection!

The only thing that could possibly make this any better would be if there was more than one of these books...and guess what? There are! Size 12 is Not Fat is only the first in a series of Heather Wells mysteries, the second being named Size 14 is Not Fat Either. I will most definitely be reading the rest, and posting about them here. This series is not to be missed by any lovers of mystery, romance, and/or hilarity!