Who doesn’t love a bit of trashy reality TV? Bea Schumacher, plus-sized fashion influencer extraordinaire, loves it. She is also a bit miffed that the whole cast on the reality dating show ‘Main Squeeze’, where 25 contestants compete against each other to win the love of the Main Squeeze (usually from the opposite sex), all look like they’ve come straight from a modelling agency. Since Bea has not exactly been lucky in her own love live, which does contribute at least in part to her weight, she lets herself be roped into being the next main attraction: The next Main Squeeze.
Soon, she has 25 men competing against each other to stay in her good graces and who knows, maybe end up proposing to her in the last episode, as is the custom. Will Bea finally find her happy ever after?
This book is an homage to looking different than the people on TV. It is a book that not only celebrates self love, but a book that is very conscious of what exactly society thinks of fat people, and especially women. In recent months and years, there has been an influx of plus-sized representation in the publishing industry, which as a plus-sized girl myself, I really appreciate. However, I don’t think I have ever been as enthralled or felt so seen than when reading this book. Bea doesn’t hate herself necessarily, but it is hard for her to not see the facts: that she is considered undateable because of the way she looks. She is body positive, fashion forward, and has a lot of trolls and people throwing insults and negativity at her and while she does have some of that internalised, she does not for a second believe that she deserves less than absolute happiness.
That’s what makes this book so perfectly relatable for everyone because everyone has “their baggage” and Bea is open and positive about hers. She doesn’t even give the haters the satisfaction of replying and she is one of the fiercest, most amazing heroines I have read in a long time.
But there is more to One To Watch than just a fantastic main character or side characters, because let me tell you, the majority of men in this are capital F for fantastic. Bea’s best friend? Showstoppingly amazing. Her stylist on the show? I want her as my friend, please. This novel is full of loveable and great characters, which makes the fact that Bea is eliminating one man per week very hard to watch – or read. Since these characters are beautifully written and this book is so romantic at all times, I had to honestly put the book aside right before the eliminations because I wasn’t sure I could cope with the outcome.
So besides being witty, funny, and romantic, the suspense in this book is everything. I was torn between reading this book in one sitting and not being able to look at the page, just hoping that there would be one more advertisement break before I had to read about who had to go home.
One To Watch is primarily written traditionally, however, it is interspersed with blog posts, text conversations, and articles. This means that the reader isn’t only by Bea’s side all through her run of Main Squeeze, but also gets to be part of the audience, the fan groups betting on who leaves next, reading a conversation between podcast hosts, and having information about the viewer ratings and public opinion on Bea.
If you haven’t ordered or read this book yet, I implore you to. I had the very best time from the first to the last page. One To Watch is one of those rare books that you know you will re-read and love until the end of time while only being a third through it. Therefore, my rating of 10/10 was already fixed after a hundred pages and I was so happy when I closed the book and couldn’t stop smiling for days.
One To Watch is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up One To Watch? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Real love…as seen on TV
Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers–and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?
Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition–under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She’s in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That’s it.
But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She’s in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men–and herself–for a chance to live happily ever after.
