Image: Candlewick Press
Happy Tuesday! Teen Tuesday features Fat Angie Homecoming by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo. Regular readers of The Daily Booktalk might recall that I featured this trilogy concluder in a "Waiting on Wednesday" post. Over my twenty-plus years as a school librarian and many more as reader, there is just a handful of characters that continue to reside in my heart long after I finish their story. Angie is one of them.
Angie has the misfortune of living with an awful emotionally abusive mother who never fails to fat-shame Angie or to remind her of her inadequacies. Her older sister always protected and supported her, but she is gone now-first by enlisting in the military, next by being deployed overseas and then by dying a war hero. In Fat Angie Homecoming, Angie is back at high school after the road trip she took in Fat Angie Rebel Girl Revolution. She's anxious about heading back to school and also planning to ask Jamboree to Homecoming. She has written out what she wants to say on index cards. All this is derailed by two things-the return of KC Romance and the revelation that a video of her singing in Columbus has gone viral.
Yes, you do need to read the books in order to appreciate Angie's growth and courage. Honestly, the book can stand alone, but why would you want to miss the first two? e.E. Charlton-Trujillo has assembled a memorable cast of characters around Angie, one where I felt like I was comfortably-not comfortably at a reunion. Angie faces some serious issues of grief, identity and bullying and many of the scenes are difficult to read, so the audience for the stories is best for readers grade eight and up. Mature teen readers looking for an intense, emotional read should meet Angie. This concluding volume was the perfect-not perfect ending to Angie's story.
It was such an honor to visit with Angie again. I loved, loved, loved this conclusion to Angie's story and didn't want it to end, so I read the story slowly, savoring Angie's sweet awkwardness, her hopeful optimism and her journey to acceptance that she is an awesome person worthy of love. Highly recommended!
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