Big Girl: A Novel

Danielle Steel

Feb 2010 · Sold by Delacorte Press

About this ebook

In this heartfelt, incisive novel, Danielle Steel celebrates the virtues of unconventional beauty while exploring deeply resonant issues of weight, self-image, sisterhood, and family. 
 
A chubby little girl with ordinary looks, Victoria Dawson has always felt out of place in her family, especially in body-conscious L.A. While her parents and sister can eat anything and not gain an ounce, Victoria must watch everything she eats, as well as endure her father’s belittling comments about her body and see her academic achievements go unacknowledged. Ice cream and oversized helpings of all the wrong foods give her comfort, but only briefly. The one thing she knows is that she has to get away from home, and after college in Chicago, she moves to New York City. 

Landing her dream job as a high school teacher, Victoria loves working with her students and wages war on her weight at the gym. Despite tension with her parents, Victoria remains close to her younger sister, Grace. Though they couldn’t be more different in looks, they love each other unconditionally. So when Grace announces her engagement to a man who is an exact replica of their narcissistic father, Victoria worries about her sister’s future happiness, and with no man of her own, she feels like a failure once again. As the wedding draws near, a chance encounter, a deeply upsetting betrayal, and a family confrontation lead to a turning point. 

Behind Victoria is a lifetime of hurt and neglect she has tried to forget. Ahead is a challenge and a risk: to accept herself as she is, celebrate it, and claim the victories she has fought so hard for and deserves. Big girl or not, she is terrific and discovers that herself.

Ratings and reviews

Insightful, as always. In addition to empathizing with and rooting for the heroine, Danielle Steel's books usually move me to a greater affection for the heroine than this one did. Victoria is a great girl... I just wish the story from her point of view was less restrained and that there were additional bits and pieces that showed off her good points a little bit more.

I can't remember the last time I read a Danielle Steel novel. Maybe when I was 12. But I remember them being better than this. It was almost all exposition and I found myself skipping some parts because I wanted the characters to talk, not the narrator. All in all, it was just okay and the ending was a big let down.

As the oldest child my father too wanted a boy instead he got a daughter. It hasn't been easy dealing with my weight and certainly not easy being accepted by parents that cherish the two youngest. I have always had a rocky relationship with my parent. After reading this book I realized I'll never be good enough for them but as long as I'm happy with myself then what they say doesn't matter. I love Danielle steel she is the only writer I will read.

About the author

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 650 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Country, Prodigal Son, Pegasus, A Perfect Life, Power Play, Winners, First Sight, Until the End of Time, The Sins of the Mother, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s book Pretty Minnie in Paris.