Review: Size 12 is Not Fat

Summary: Heather Wells Rocks!

Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two -- and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft. 

The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen -- not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives -- even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective! 

But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . . -- William Morrow Paperbacks

It's that time again -- another review for Book Club Girl's Meg Cabot Read-Along. It's already the third book in the read-along, and this time it's Meg Cabot's SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT. I honestly don't know how I've missed out on this series especially since I try to review at least one mystery a week, but somehow it's escaped me. And that's a shame because this first book in the series was very fun!

SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT tells the story of Heather Wells, an ex-teen pop star (think Britney way back in the day) whose life took a drastic turn for the worse when she lost her boyfriend, a record contract, and all of her money. She is now working as an assistant residence hall (aka dorm) director at a New York college, and she's also a size 12 (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

When a freshman girl is found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in Heather's dorm, the police and college administration chalk it up to reckless elevator surfing; however, Heather just doesn't buy that -- nice girls don't surf elevators! No one believes Heather, so she begins her own mini-investigation into the death and is somewhat vindicated when another nice girl dies in a similar manner. So what does Heather do? She ramps up her investigation and finds that she is the murderer's next target. With the help of her sexy private investigator/landlord (who also happens to be the brother of her ex!), Heather risks her life (and reputation) to solve the crimes.

I enjoyed SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT and found that it generated quite a few laughs. Meg Cabot is, without a doubt, a very funny author. I couldn't help but love Heather and I also appreciated that there was a fun little murder or two (you know what I mean!) The story was definitely entertaining, and while I'd like to say I was kept guessing, I kind of figured things out partway through the story. That's not to say I totally understood the motive, but I had my suspicions and I wasn't too far off.

Having said that, the mystery wasn't my favorite part of the story so I didn't mind that it was kind of predictable. Rather, I loved the characters -- especially Heather. She was just a hoot! I loved how see embraced her size 12 body (it is the size of the average American woman) and didn't give up after all of the loss she experienced. I can easily see the appeal of a mystery series with Heather as the amateur sleuth, and I look forward to more of Heather and her antics in the future!

SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT is a cute read that's perfect for the summer. Fans of chick lit and cozy mysteries will appreciate this book.

I read this book as part of Book Club Girl's Meg Cabot Read-Along! You can still participate! The next book is SIZE 12 AND READY TO ROCK.