Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

Crystal Maldonado is a young adult author with a lot of feelings. Her debut novel, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, is a New England Book Award winner, a Cosmopolitan Best New Book, and a POPSUGAR Best New YA Novel. Her next novel, No Filter and Other Lies, explores teenage life in the social media age and the lies we tell to ourselves and others. By day, Crystal works in higher ed marketing, and by night, is a writer who loves Beyoncé, shopping, spending too much time on her phone, and being extra. Her work has also been published in Latina, BuzzFeed, and the Hartford Courant. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog. Find her everywhere @crystalwrote or CrystalWrote.com.

A New England Book Award Winner
An NPR Best Book of the Year
An Amazon Best Children's Book of the Year
A POPSUGAR Best New Young Adult Novel
A Cosmopolitan Best New Book
A Bustle Most Anticipated Debut
A Forbes Most Notable Young Adult Book
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee
A Latinxs in Publishing Best Books of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year
A Business Insider Best Young Adult Romance Book
 
"Charlie's struggles are authentic and raw while Maldonado's bright prose makes for a page-turner. . . . An overdue and welcome ingénue." Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
 
"Charlie's emotional arc hits all the right notes, resulting in a warm and insightful coming-of-age tale." Publishers Weekly

"Perfection. . . . A romance that warms your entire body like a cup of hot chocolate." The Nerd Daily

"Sweet and sincere, Charlie Vega's journey is a delight." School Library Journal
 
"With a memorable cast that brings fresh faces and voices to a typically homogenous genre, this title focuses on the positives of the often difficult and confusing high-school experience: genuine friendships and allies, powerful first crushes, and discovering oneself. . . . Charlie's optimistic outlook, despite the challenges that come with her identity, will attract a widespread audience of romance lovers and expand their idea of what a romantic lead can look like." Booklist
 
"We're so excited to get our hands on it." BuzzFeed
 
"Readers will appreciate Charlie from the get-go and rejoice when she herself begins to see the Charlie-celebrating light." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
 
"Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is an utterly heartwarming story of love of friends, of family, of romance and, most importantly, of oneself."