We chat with Crystal Maldonado, author of the tender, wholesome YA debut Fat Chance, Charlie Vega that tackles Charlie’s relationship with her body, her family, first crushes and first loves. We ask Crystal all our burning questions around her writing process, dream casts and her favorite book beaus!
Crystal will be participating in a virtual event with The Odyssey Bookshop on February 2nd 2021 at 7PM EST. Joined by Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen, Crystal will be reading from and discussing her novel! To register for the free event, click here.
Hi, Crystal! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, all! Super excited to be chatting with you today. You’ve already given readers a pretty lovely description of the book and of me (thank you!), but a few other things: I am obsessed with Beyoncé all things sparkly, and the 90s/00s; I really love fashion;, and I have a lot of feelings.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that – good or bad – you can’t stop thinking about!
First book I remember reading: The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (That shiny, iridescent fish had me hooked. Terrible pun not intended, I swear.)
Book that made me want to become an author: Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish (It was the first time I realized words could be legitimately hilarious, though I don’t think I officially thought I’d like to be an author until much later.)
Book I can’t stop thinking about: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (So! Good!)
Now, tell us about Fat Chance, Charlie Vega! What can readers expect?
The five Fs, which I totally just made up: fat fashion, feelings, friendship, and first love! At its core, I think this book is really about love in general — the kind you have for your friends, the kind that gives you butterflies in your stomach, and the kind you give to yourself. There’s also a lot of fun, drama, dreaming about kissing, actual kissing, and awkwardness in between all of that!
Talk us through your writing process! This was your first novel – what was the hardest part of penning Charlie’s story? What was the most fun? Did anything not make it from the draft to the published version?
This book is based on some personal experiences, so the hardest part was probably reliving some of those moments. Like Charlie, I have struggled with loving myself and dealing with fatphobia my whole life. It took me years to realize I actually didn’t need to spend every waking moment thinking about losing weight, so I am hoping that readers can take those lessons I learned and apply them to their lives way sooner than I was able to. The most fun to write was definitely the romance! I’m a huge romcom fan, so I’m super into meaningful glances and pining. I loved all of that for Charlie and for Amelia.
One thing from the draft that didn’t make it into the published version was the original title, though I’m grateful for that. My working title for the book was Second(s), which was supposed to be a play on coming in second place and also eating second helpings of food. I feel like if you have to explain a title, it’s probably not the best, so I’m really glad we ended up with this new title, which feels so much cheekier and more fun!
What do you do when you’re not writing awesome stories? And what inspires you to write?
I have a full-time job as a social media manager, I’m married to an awesome husband (who Charlie’s love interest, Brian, is very much inspired by!), and I have an adorable and energetic toddler and a sweet dog to keep me going! When I’m not busy with all of that, I’m usually reading, shopping, or scrolling through social media. Pre-pandemic, I loved traveling and visiting museums, too!
When I need writing inspiration, I try to consume and enjoy other art. I love when I hear a new song or watch a TV show or read something phenomenal because it’s like it helps me think of things I want to pursue or create. I very much think giving your brain a little break is part of the writing process!
Charlie’s and Amelia’s friendship is such goals! There are so few genuine female friendships and those two were just the best! What inspired you to create this harmonious (albeit with some issues) friendship?
Ahh, thank you so much! Their friendship is so close to my heart. I really wanted to create a positive and supportive friendship that also felt real. It’s imperfect, but so are real-life friendships, and that’s what makes them so beautiful. I often feel like we uphold romantic relationships as the best kind you can have, but friendships are so meaningful and important. They are some of the first relationships you ever form. The support and love and validation you get from your friends is every bit as real and important as any other relationship, so I really wanted to show that through Charlie and Amelia!
Brian stole my heart with so many little things he did but also the monumental acts of kindnesses he displays throughout the book. It really cemented for me how we so rarely get to see genuine good guys be the love interests even though they deserve all the hype! What marks the perfect love interest – fictional, of course – for you? For which fictional characters does your heart beat faster?
To me, the dreamiest love interests are funny, great listeners, and kind. I really adore thoughtful characters who go out of their way to show people how special they are. So sweet! Two of my all-time fave love interests is Daniel Bae from THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR and Julian Diaz from CEMETERY BOYS. I also find Peter Kavinsky from TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE (the first book especially) pretty swoonworthy and I would’ve totally had a crush on him in high school.
I adored the discussions around body positivity in your novel, especially the way Charlie feels torn by the constant pressure online to be simultaneously totally satisfied with your body yet encouraged to lose weight until you look like ‘expected’ beauty ideals. Can you talk a bit about your writing process of this aspect of the story? What were the biggest challenges in writing such a self-love focused novel without dismissing the omnipresence of social media?
As someone who is fat, I feel a lot of the same pressures Charlie does — I should love myself but also know that my body is unappealing and unhealthy. If I feel that way, and I’m in my thirties with a pretty wonderful life, I can only imagine how those messages are amplified for teens now, especially with the prevalence of social media. That must be so overwhelming and, quite frankly, exhausting to navigate.
In Charlie’s case, I think social media ended up being a good thing in that it opens the doors for her to be able to see and appreciate bodies that look like hers. By default, most of the images we see in our social feeds still overwhelmingly reflect a very specific body type: a thin, hour-glass figure with perfect proportions. For me, I had to start actively seeking out accounts (and, in some cases, unfollowing others) in an effort to try to curate my feed a little so that I was regularly seeing fat bodies. I imagine that would’ve been incredibly powerful for me to do as a teen, so that’s what I envisioned for Charlie: a conscious decision to eschew some of images and messages she would normally be fed and instead opt to fill her feed with #fatshionistas. We can only do so much as individuals, but that small thing can feel like a pretty radical act of self-care. Once you start to see different body types, it helps to normalize the idea that there is no such thing as “normal.”
If Fat Chance, Charlie Vega were to get a movie/series treatment, who would you like to see on the screen? Any dream actors and actresses for Charlie, Amelia, Brian and maybe Cal?
If this book became a film (and oh my God, I would die), then I would actually love to see some new actresses and actors on screen in the roles! t would be incredible to see my book help bring some otherwise lesser known young actors to prominence. One thing I know for sure is that I definitely want to pull a Jenny Han and show up in the background of at least one scene as a teacher.
With Fat Chance, Charlie Vega releasing soon, are you already working on other projects? If so, can you share a little tidbit with us?
I am! I’m currently working on a book about a different fat Puerto Rican girl who is obsessed with photography and Instagram — but she has trouble getting any followers. She takes her obsession to the next level when she decides to steal someone else’s photos and pretend to be them, which goes about as well as you can imagine. Super excited for everyone to read this one! It’s tentatively scheduled to come out in fall 2022. Fingers crossed I can share more soon!
Last but not least, do you have any bookish recommendations for our readers?
I’m starting to dig in to HAPPILY EVER AFTERS by Elise Bryant and it’s giving me so much life! It features love, writing, and family, so if you are a fan of Charlie, this one is a gem.
