Bluebelle knows she is not skinny and obsessed with losing weight like most teenage girls, but others are on her behalf. Bluebelle has a healthy attitude towards her life, although she does focus on food a lot. This makes the food diary funny in the way she addresses various items of food.
The family relationships are probably quite normal, if not conventional, but they do support one another which is great to see. There is sufficient sibling rivalry to be normal, which converts to protection once her sister injures herself. Bluebelle's best friend is also a great character.
This is a good book to show that teenage girls can be 'normal' and not the thoroughly unsuitable role models some YA books depict.

I knew I’d be into this story as going on the synopsis, I’ve seen some of the story in real life, and Laura Dockrill with these thoughts creates a story that feels raw and honest, but also confident and funny in it’s moments with an ending that’s touching but also one I can imagine happening, that’s real talent.

I was worried that BB’s happiness in her body would change, but thankfully this book is very much one about positivity and being happy with who you are and the writing is pretty good. BB’s descriptions of food are in particular really are mouthwatering (The crumpets at the beginning!) and do kind of make you hungry reading this book which I guess says the writing does get to you!

As a character Bluebell is sassy and a little egotistic, however she is probably one of my new favourite characters and I wish I was a dash like her myself and how the book is written is great too. I really enjoy diary form books and Dockrill uses it incredibly well in this book making for a fun read.

Big Bones is the story of Bluebelle (amazing name), who is very happy, and very confident in with who she is and how she looks. The problem is BB is morbidly obese, and that seems to be all the rest of the world sees.. A visit to the nurse sees BB tasked with writing a food diary, which soon becomes a journal of BB's life, loves and traumas, from shopping for clothes, her plans for her future, her family and their various dramas, friendship, romance, and, the thing I think most people will remember from the book - an incident involving a locked door, a dog bowl and a dodgy tummy.

It's an enjoyable book, Dockrill always does an amazing job of writing unrepentantly vivid, vibrant characters -
Bluebelle is a poster child for the body-positive movement, - but there were aspects of the book that turned me off, too. The use of 'almond-shaped green eyes' and 'buttery skin' as descriptors for a character of Filipino heritage jarred, as did a needlessly graphic scene involving invoked vomiting, and the general attitude of a professional nurse (a particular moment being when the nurse in question says to her sixteen year old patient "Well, you can look pretty in the grave then." after BB says she thinks she is pretty. I also felt the book was too long, with the first half largely concerning all the foods Bluebelle liked best, before finally swinging into a plot at the midpoint.

The ending is satisfying, with Bluebelle channelling her love for her body into wanting to make it strong, as opposed to the media-approved nonsense we're bombarded with, but by that point it felt rushed, and inevitable. I could have stood to see more time spent on developing BB's relationships on page, as the dynamic between her and her sister was the best part of the story. More of that with the other supporting characters would have been lovely.

A body-positive story about a girl who won't let her weight get in her way despite the pressures the rest of the world through at her. The message is important. However sometimes, the thoughts this 16 year old has seem far too grown-up. Still it was a great read with some incredibly poetic descriptions of food and how food makes her feel.

This book is really fun and it's so satisfying to see a confident, sassy girl with a plus size body. I related so much to her and I really enjoyed that. It was a bit boring sometimes and didn't seem to have a big plot but that may be as I've read so many heavy fantasy books lately.

I ADORED this book. In an age where so many foods are labelled as bad, dirty, unhealthy and nasty, this book is a hearty celebration of delicious meals. It is a warming jacket potato, filling up your belly and your heart. I want to read it all over again, right this second.

This is a real feel good book I loved it and could not put it down.

BB likes food and she has to keep a food diary after her mum makes her go and see a nurse.

This is not a diet book and it had parts that had me laughing out loud .

You feel like you are part of BB’s life and it was a real enjoyable read

It also made me hungry because the descriptions of the food are brilliant.

It makes you think about your relationship with food. BB has a toxic relationship with food and having been in that same place, I feel like I know what she is going through.

A brilliant book that has nice romance in it as well, and what I liked was for a change the romance was not the main part of the story.

A brilliant book that will make you feel for BB and laugh with her a brilliant book that will make you hungry.

I really enjoyed Laura Dockrill’s other Hot Key title, LORALI, and so was keen to read her newest YA novel – which is BIG BONES! It’s very different to LORALI but also still manages to capture so much of what made that book enjoyable.

This book is FUNNY. Warning: do NOT read on public transport. I got to a certain scene which involved ducks, a dog bowl, and an upset stomach, and made a horribly loud snorting noise on my commuter train. If you like the kind of humour of books like THE CONFESSIONS OF GEORGIA NICOLSON series, this will definitely be for you.

Bluebelle is body positive and a food lover – the descriptions of food in this book were so good I was getting hungry while I read it (definitely don’t read this book on an empty stomach, either). I enjoyed that it wasn’t a “diet” book – there’s nowhere where Bluebelle starves herself (there’s a point where she can’t make herself eat because she feels depressed, but that’s about it), but decides to “better” herself through exercising. She eats well throughout the whole book!

Another highlight: the romance in this is adorable! It’s not at the forefront of the book – Bluebelle has a lot of stuff to deal with in this novel – but it’s present, and well-developed, and entirely cute. The relationships with her sister, parents, coworkers and best friend are also all really well-drawn, with realistic dialogue and deep characterisation. And lots of descriptions of food. Tasty food. Mmm.

Damn, I made myself hungry again.

Dockrill is hilarious. This novel is by far the most wonderful addition to YA I've seen for a long time. Food positive and body positive, this is ideal for any teenager with a love of food. Each chapter is dedicated to a type of food, from avocados to shepherds pie and describes the beauty of food. 5/5.

'Big Bones' is a book about a teenage Bluebelle who loves food and even though she knows she weighs too much she loves her body and accepts her way too big size. The book is written as a food diary where each chapter has BB's favourite dish as a title. Bluebelle as a character is one of us: she is looking for love, she wants to be herself and she wants people to accept her the way she is. The book is quite funny but it definitely isn't hilarious - or it's just me. I really couldn't focus especially where all the food was described. I'm on a gluten free diet and I must admit that it was hard to read about all that delicious food. Warning - do not read it if you're on a diet!