Body Positive is a term I’ve been hearing a lot lately. That could be because I just wrote my first-ever #OwnVoices YA romance. It’s called CUPCAKE, and it features a teen girl named Ariel who is an amazing baker, movie addict, and a reluctant princess when she is nominated onto her high school’s Homecoming Court. She also just happens to be plus-size. That ‘just happens to be’ is actually very important to the book. When I was growing up, there weren’t a lot of stories—either in film or literature—that had characters who are plus-size, let alone ones that were happy in their own skin. Ariel (aka Cupcake) loves herself as she is. She loves her body. She’s a healthy teenager with a healthy relationship to food. That self-love, though it may waiver slightly, is the beginning and end of everything. When I sat down to write this list, I knew that there still wasn’t a lot of representation of plus-size characters—especially in YA. But I also realized that several of my favorite movies/books on this list may be body positive—but they typically feature main characters who struggle with their weight for most (if not all) of the story and are…

Like so many people, I have an ongoing struggle with my image of myself. It can be especially difficult during this time of  year, when diets and gyms ramp up their ads and we’re all being sold on the idea of “New Year, New You.” But even with all of this, years of weight fluctuations, a very difficult and high-risk pregnancy, an autoimmune disorder diagnosis, and thyroid complications, on most days, I am content with the body I have. I’ve been smaller and bigger than I am now, and will probably be both smaller and bigger in the future. Some days I think I’m super cute, other days… not so much.  What has changed over the years as I’ve come to this place of body acceptance is the way body positivity and confidence are portrayed in all forms of media – movies, TV, social media, podcasts, and of course, books. Plus-sized, average-sized, and ideally-sized people exist in reality, what the media projects on us, and in works of fiction. And we’re all deserving of love and happily-ever-afters.  I recently read three books that made me think about body acceptance in romance and fiction: Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Get a Life,…