MAY 22, 2020Culture
48
Illustration by BRITT SPENCERbestselling author jennifer weiner has proven herself to be the
queen of the beach read, and her new book Big Summer (Atria Books), is
destined to continue the trend. “My previous book was Mrs. Everything, which
was a historical novel that took place over 70 years and had this very intri-
cate timeline. When I finished that book, I said, ‘I want to do something fun.’”
Big Summer tells the story of a young social-media influencer forced to attend
the wedding of a high school friend over a long summer weekend. As she has
made a point of doing throughout her career, Weiner uniquely tells the story of
plus-sized women through a broader lens. She says typically, “they would lose
a hundred pounds and then suddenly all this good stuff would come to them.
I wanted to present a different narrative, the good and bad.” Weiner hopes to
model this for her own daughters. “I want them to see all kinds of characters
living interesting, fulfilling lives and getting happy endings. I want them to
believe that that’s possible for everyone and that everyone deserves a shot at that.”Jennifer Weiner
A common theme in many of your
books is body positivity and its
nuances. Do you think there’s a
lack of those stories being told?
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powerful female protagonists?
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EHFRPHDSRVH"—H. Alan Scott“Where’s the
line between
who you really
are and what
you’re showing
people online?”PARTING SHOT