Fat Forward Books | The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the ...

The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles)

Amy Spalding

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Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people’s lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby’s been happy to focus on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm.

When she lands a great internship at her favorite boutique, she’s thrilled to take the first step toward her dream career. Then she falls for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Hard. And now she’s competing against the girl she’s kissing to win the coveted paid job at the end of the internship. But really, nothing this summer is going as planned.

She also unwittingly becomes friends with Jax, a lacrosse-playing bro-type who wants her help finding the best burger in Los Angeles, and she’s struggling to prove to her mother—the city’s celebrity health nut—that she’s perfectly content with who she is.

Just as Abby starts to feel like she’s no longer the sidekick in her own life, Jordi’s photography surprisingly puts her in the spotlight. Instead of feeling like she’s landed a starring role, Abby feels betrayed.

Can Abby find a way to reconcile her positive yet private sense of self with the image others have of her?

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Posts about this title from Fat Forward Books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • May 5 2025

In Conversation with Amy Spalding

In this Fat Forward Books exclusive interview, Samantha Puc talks with author Amy Spalding about her latest adult sapphic romance, On Her Terms.

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Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Apr 11 2025

[Thanks for checking out Fat Forward Books on Bindery! This post features links to my writing about fatness across the years, from representation of fatness in fiction to how conceive of a fully fat liberationist future. In addition to sharing my new work on social media, I'll also update this list with links each time I publish a new piece about fatness, especially in books!\ \ Fatness in Books \ \

We're Here, We're Fat and Queer ( Publishers Weekly, April 2025) [Digital Version]\ \
Review: PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAID is a fast-paced fairytale with a complex finale ( The Beat, May 2024)\ \
Read the full story ‘CADENCE’ from the SHARP WIT anthology ( The Beat, May 2024)\ \
10 Books to Read for Fat Liberation Month ( The Mary Sue, August 2023)\ \
‘Fat Off, Fat On’ Author Clarkisha Kent on Why Her Younger Self Would Be Scandalized ( The Mary Sue, May 2023)\ \
X-Tremists #3 Proves Blob ISN’T the Best Mutant – But He Could Be ( Shelfdust, April 2021)\ \
Book Thoughts: Your Body Is Not an Apology Workbook (Blog, March 2021)\ \
Faith Taking Flight Author Julie Murphy Says She Would Love to Write Comics ( CBR, July 2020)\ \
Review: Julie Murphy's Faith Taking Flight Establishes An Important Superhero Origin ( CBR, July 2020)\ \
Young Readers Need Positive Fat Representation in Literature (We Need Diverse Books, June 2020)\ \
Bitch Planet #3 and The Radical Fatness of Penny Rolle ( Shelfdust, January 2020)\ \
Superhero Faith Herbert Gives Me Hope for a Fat-Positive Future ( The Mary Sue, November 2018)\ \
We Need More Fat Heroes in Comics ( The Mary Sue, March 2018)\ \ \ Fatness in Non-Book Media \ \
Fat People Belong in Fantasy, Including TTRPGs ( Rascal News, May 2025)\ \
This Element of ‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ Means the World to Me As a Fat, Queer Gamer ( The Mary Sue, October 2024)\ \
Review: ‘Empire Waist’ is the movie I needed as a fat teenager ( The Mary Sue, September 2024)\ \
‘Your Fat Friend’ Follows Author Aubrey Gordon From Anonymous Icon to Award-Winner & Bestseller ( The Mary Sue, December 2023)\ \
Netflix’s ‘Survival of the Thickest’ Is a Stand-Out Debut Worthy of All the Praise ( The Mary Sue, July 2023)\ \
Netflix’s ‘Dance 100’ Competition Series Does Nothing To Combat Fatphobia in the Dance Industry ( The Mary Sue, March 2023)\ \
Hulu’s Shrill Season 3 Isn’t Perfect, but It Feels Like a Sendoff ( The Mary Sue, April 2021)\ \
Game Thoughts: Little Nightmares (Blog, April 2021)\ \
Shrill Is a Gift That Proves Why Fat People Should Tell Our Own Stories in Season 2 ( The Mary Sue, January 2020)\ \ \ More Writing About Fatness \ \
Response To Viral Advice Column Is a Reminder That Anti-Fat Bias Isn’t Limited To a Specific Gender or Sexuality ( The Mary Sue, January 2023)\ \
When Systemic Fatphobia Works "For" You (Blog, April 2021)\ \
Fat Liberation Is the Future ( Autostraddle, March 2020)\ \
Cosplaying While Fat Roundtable: Experiences With Community and Cosplay ( The Mary Sue, September 2018)\ \ \ If you'd like to read a broader selection of my writing about topics including 2sLGBTQIA+ and disability representation in pop culture, visit theverbalthing.com .](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/c5LNbKWVOKUhu3co9beX/)

📌 Writing on Fatness

This pinned post features links to my writing about fatness across the years and will be updated with new work as it's published.

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Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Aug 24 2023

Fat Liberation Month Books to Read Pt. 2

#FatLiberationMonth only happens once a year in August, but reading books by and about fat people can be part of your life year-round. Wherever you are in your own relationship to fat liberation, we’ve compiled a ton of book recommendations for you, your book clubs, and your reading groups.

YA & MG Fiction: 📚 Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera 📚 Starfish by Lisa Fipps 📚 Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado 📚 Love Is a Revolution by Renée Watson 📚 Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy 📚 The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar 📚 The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding 📚 If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann 📚 The Kindred by Alechia Dow

Comics & Graphic Novels: 📚 Bitch Planet co-created by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Valentine De Landro 📚 Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti 📚 ODY-C co-created by Matt Fraction & Christian Ward 📚 Faith written by Jody Houser 📚 Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky 📚 Moonstruck co-created by Grace Ellis & Shae Beagle 📚 Bloom by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau 📚 Patience & Esther by S.W. Searle

#FatReads #FatBookRecs #QueerAndFat #FatAndTrans

Cover photo by @allgoapp_

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