The TCF Book Club is currently reading Big Girl Blitz by Danielle Allen and we are meeting this Saturday, May 30th to discuss it in full. RSVP TODAY! Below is Taylor’s mid-read review. Spoilers ahead!
Hi, I’m Taylor, your resident Chief Story Stylist and your guide through the TCF Book Club!
We’ve only just got started. We are half through our second read and feeling all the feels! “BIG GIRL BLITZ” by Danielle Allen is romantic, sentimental, and reflective. As the third installment of the CURVE SERIES, the story is seamlessly grounding itself into our bookshelf.
Through our main character Jazmyn Payne, we are exploring relationships both romantic and familial. We’re diving deep into the hard work it takes for a relationship to flourish and flow. Whether it’s a relationship you’ve had for your whole life or one that is brand spanking new, there is always work that can be done!
Jazmyn is a high school teacher with dreams of writing her own book and possibly becoming a full-time writer! She loves writing but her career as an educator occupies the majority of her schedule, so her Author title has been put on the back burner. Football is her first love though; she’s the Maryland Monarchs number fan and knows the game like the back of her hand. Her favorite person is absolutely Aunt Addy.
Body Image & the Effects of Fatphobia
Our girl, Jazmyn Paynes’ story is not only about where she is now in life, but where she came from. Where she grew up is exactly where we find her, back in her hometown that she escaped, to take care of her aunt who has fallen ill. Jazmyn grew up plus sized and was bullied endlessly as a teenager in her hometown.
The discomfort is apparent however Jazmynn agrees to lay low for a week every summer to visit her aunt. This time around is different though because she has a lot more time to herself, she runs into multiple people from childhood who don’t hesitate to call her names and be disturbingly disrespectful in public.
Confidence in her body isn’t Jazmyn’s issue! She loves her body however her hometown is the ultimate reminder of the time in her life where she was ostracized for existing as a plus sized person.
Finding your confidence as a plus size woman can be extremely challenging! Whether you grew up plus sized or you are navigating a newly larger body as a grown woman. Finding your footing in society in a bigger body is not easy. Every day we run into obstacles that try to take us off the course of self-acceptance and self-love. It can be our family, our peers, and mainstream media shoving fatphobia in our face daily. Revisiting the places that made your journey tougher would do a number on even the most confident of us.
Experiencing Fatphobia at an early age doesn’t just mean people call you “fat” and move along! Non-stop bullying over someone’s body leads to isolation, low self-esteem, and emboldens others to carry out the same harmful behaviors.
So many of us have similar stories, I know I have books worth myself! Our main character faced all of this as well. Jazmyn’s bravery and resilience are admirable. When she comes face to face with the very people who ruined high school for her, their behavior is no different. Fortunately, she’s not alone because she meets Lamar Anderson, just a few hours earlier. He makes it clear from their very first meeting that he has no problem protecting her.
The Possibilities of Love After Losing Love
Jazmyn has been divorced for three years and really has no interest in dating. Her singleness has become her comfort zone. We’ve all been there, when being alone is so peaceful you refuse to let someone’s, son disrupt your solitude! Her friends and her aunt have a different outlook on her situation though, they want her to get back into the dating world, to have a chance at finding love.
Insert Lamar. Our girl meets him her first night back in town at a sports bar. IMMEDIATE CHEMISTRY! They both love football and end the night with a “second date” planned.
The time they share together, the conversations they have, and their personalities all flow so well but Jazmine is having a hard time believing that things can get any more serious! It’s clear to us as the readers that Lamar is very intentional, somehow Jazmyn keeps doubting the depth of their relationship. We’re pretty sure her marriage, which didn’t end so well, has a lot to do with it. At every turn she seems so reluctant to just let go and let herself fall in love thus far. She wouldn’t even tell her best friends about him for months.
Lamar is easily becoming my favorite “Book Boyfriend” of the CURVE SERIES! We’re only halfway through their story so ill say, for now, just in case. He is only 26 years old, at least 3 years younger than our FMC. He is fully immersed in his sports career, big on advocacy for others in his field, wink wink, and playing absolutely no games when it comes to pursuing Jazzy.
The Book Club has hope that our girl will let love in. The further we get into the book the more open she seems to be to the idea of Lamar being hers, with the help of her Aunt Addy of course.
Life & All of Its Twist & Turns
Aunt Addy is like Jazmyn’s second mother. When Jazmyn needed help, a confidence boost, refuge, or inspiration, Aunt Addy was always and still is her soft place to land. A bold and charismatic woman that has absolutely lived her life to the fullest, no matter what was thrown her way. Jasmyn has always aspired to be just like her!
Even though her health is declining she hasn’t stopped pushing Jazmyn to LIVE, and she refuses to take no for an answer!
All of our parents fall short in one way or another, so having another safe person in your life is the ultimate cheat code, how lucky is she! Aunt Addy refuses to let Jazmyn sabotage a good thing with Lamar, and as the readers …. boy are we grateful!
A lot of what Jazmyn is battling is guilt, enjoying her life while her aunt is unable to, we can only imagine the internal conflict that could cause. Finding space for peace and calm when you’re going through a rough time is important, no one can be on autopilot 24/7.
What We Want To See for Our Main Character
Jasmyn is so sweet and considerate. She offers her assistance to anyone in need and encouraging others comes naturally to her. As we get deeper in the story, we’d love to see Jasmyn let her loved ones into her world emotionally so they can support her. Jazzy is so closed off with her best friends, Aunt Addy. And Lamar.
A lot of us in the real-world deal with not being able to express when we need support, or feeling like emotional vulnerability will make us less desirable as partners or friends. That’s simply not true, and anyone that would make you feel that way does not belong in your life. Hopefully Jazmyn will exemplify for us the pros of letting down your guard and letting the people who love you show up fully.
Attend the Next TCF Book Club Meeting This Saturday, It’s Free!
Enough about my thoughts. I want to hear yours!
The TCF Book Club is meeting this Saturday and you are invited. Come join me (Taylor) and a community of plus size readers as we go all the way in on Big Girl Blitz: the love story, the fatphobia, the healing, Aunt Addy, and every real-life topic this book stirred up in us as plus size people.
No filter. No judgment. Just good conversation with people who get it.
Saturday, May 30th | 1:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM PST
TCF Lounge via Zoom | Free to attend! RSVP to get your Zoom link!
