Fat Girls Dance

Meredith (The Truth of About Eve and Other Excuses for Neurotic Behavior in Your 20s), who died earlier this year, delivers a vivacious story inspired by the online body-positive movement she founded, Fat Girls Dance. Liv is a fat woman living in Upper Manhattan who loves to dance. To destigmatize the word fat, she comes up with a plan to film heavy women performing complex choreography. Her introverted friend Reese, who has internalized her shame about her body, dislikes the idea, but she’s roped into helping Liv nonetheless. They’re joined by talented and hardworking Faith, and the squad grows as their dance routines improve. Liv jumps on an opportunity for the group to compete in a prestigious dance competition in Los Angeles, and Faith pushes the dancers hard, out of fear people will laugh if they fail. Meanwhile, Liv, riding high on the group’s success, hooks up with her former roommate Caleb, who typically dated more slender women when they lived together. Reese makes a new crew of friends in Brooklyn, much to Liv’s chagrin, though they both admit the dance movement has given them the confidence to step out of their comfort zones. Meredith’s book is fast-paced and fun, inviting readers to root for the women as they navigate their love lives while preparing for the competition. It’s a triumphant story of friendship. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Nov.)