To Be Honest
by Maggie Ann Martin
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: August 21, 2018
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pre-order Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Wordery

Synopsis:
The author of The Big F is back with another snappy, utterly relatable contemporary novel about loving yourself and forging your own path, perfect for fans of Julie Murphy and Rainbow Rowell.

Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her sister goes off to college. But if she can just get through senior year, she’ll be able to escape to college, too. What she doesn’t count on is that her mother’s obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy’s mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats.Hi again awesome fellow bookworms! Today’s special guest for the author spotlight, a segment I’m calling Behind The Pages, is Maggie Ann Martin!

In this interview, she will talk about her latest novel, To Be Honest, which will be released this month. Maggie will also share how Savannah’s story hit too close to home for her. So, if you haven’t pre-order her book yet, check the details after this interview for a chance to get amazing bookish swags or win cool prizes!

Hi Maggie! Welcome here at Tale Out Loud and congratulations on your latest novel, To Be Honest!

Thank you so much for having me!

How different it is to have your second book than when you had your debut, The Big F?

It’s a whole new experience, which has been so great. With my debut, I agonized while I counted down the days for the book to come out where now with TO BE HONEST I feel like the time has just flown by!

Talk us through the joys and difficulties of creating Savannah’s story. What made you write this book?

I always knew that I wanted to write a story about a plus-sized character, and the moment that Savannah walked onto my page, I knew that she deserved a full story. While it’s been amazing, incredible, and actually quite cathartic writing about her journey, it’s had its tough moments. A lot of her emotions and what she has gone through in the novel hit very close to home for me.

What are the three things you love most about Savannah?

She calls it like it is. She’s never going to beat around the bush. I sometimes (usually) wish that I could be more like that.
She is fearlessly herself.
She values friendship. Her love that she has for her best friend, Grace, her sister, Ashley, and George is so pure and real and I always respect that in characters.

In To Be Honest, Kim (Savannah’s mom) was so caught up in social media after she joined a weight-loss reality show. How do you think it affects the way we see ourselves especially those who struggle with body image?

I honestly think it’s ridiculous and toxic how much emphasis television puts on fat people and characters losing weight. This is not the only storyline for fat people, and that narrative can only change when we recognize this pattern and stop it. In the book, social media is just another avenue that supported this toxic idea for Kim. But, you’ll see throughout the novel that Kim is very lonely in real life. Sure, she has support from people online who watched her on the show, but her real life friends are not present.

For anyone who had even had that word used against them that wanted to reclaim it. For me, who needed to hear that when I was a teenager who only saw fat characters being the butt of the joke in movies and TV.

Do you agree that this pressure of being perfect or sexy can start at a very young age?

One thousand percent. As a society we are conditioned to want to change our bodies and teach young children that you should strive for slender. That being slender is sexy. That in order to earn attention from men (ie. be sexy) we need to be skinny. That mindset is changing, but it’s going to take a long time to be completely erased from our collective conscious.

If you could change the way contemporary female bodies are represented in the media like magazines, television, movies, and advertising, how would you do it?

I think the push to continue showing real bodies that aren’t retouched in ads is a huge step in the right direction. I think there is still a ways to go in how fat people are represented in television and movies, but there are some shows making the right strides (Dietland, My Mad Fat Diary, etc.)

Later in the story, Kim and Savannah had a confrontation about being fat. How powerful do you think parental involvement is in influencing body ideals and standards, especially for girls?

There is definitely a disconnect between kids who are growing up in a culture that is finally starting to tell them to embrace their bodies versus their parents who grew up in a culture that told them to change. I think this is a real tension in the modern parent-child dynamic that should be explored even more. Kids emulate their parents, so if they’ve grown up seeing their parents fuss about their weight their whole lives, they will inherently fuss about their weight, too. Breaking away from the ideas that your parents have about their your body image is hard, but it can be done. I wanted to show kids that.

Write the story you’re afraid to write! There is someone out there that is dying to read it and see themselves reflected in your words. I know it can be scary, but you can do it!

One of my most favorite parts in the story is when Savannah said, “News flash: fat isn’t a bad word, Mom.” When you wrote that line during that time, who did you specifically write it for?

For anyone who had even had that word used against them that wanted to reclaim it. For me, who needed to hear that when I was a teenager who only saw fat characters being the butt of the joke in movies and TV. For everyone who is fed up with having to explain their fatness to other people because they are “concerned for their health.” For so, so many people.

In what way do you think readers, especially young adults, connect to this story and Savannah’s character?

I’ve heard that the relationship between Savvy and her mom has hit close to home for readers. The insecurities that Savvy feels on her journey to self-acceptance have also really resonated with readers. I wanted her to be a real person who wasn’t always completely confident in themselves. Because no one ever is all the time.

To Be Honest is just one of many books that promote body positivity. Are there any other titles you would like to recommend that give the same message?

Yes! Here are my favorites that I’ve read.
1. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
2. Puddin’ by Julie Murphy
3. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
4. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
5. The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding

What one piece of advice do you wish to leave for those who have the same story to write but were not able to find their own voices?

Write the story you’re afraid to write! There is someone out there that is dying to read it and see themselves reflected in your words. I know it can be scary, but you can do it!

About The Author:
Maggie Ann Martin hails from Des Moines, Iowa but moonlights as a New Yorker. She has a shiny new BA in English and Journalism from the University of Iowa, the most welcoming literary community in the world. When she is not writing, you can find her binge watching TV shows or passionately fangirling over fictional characters on the Internet. The Big F is her debut novel.

Follow Maggie Ann Martin:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Pre-order and you’ll get:

📖 A signed and personalized book plate
📖 A signed bookmark
📖 A “Newsflash: Fat isn’t a bad word” sticker

Grand prize winner will get:
📖 To Be Honest pre-order swag
📖 A “You’re gold, baby, solid gold” tumblr
📖 A “Your Future is Bright” notebook
📖 Floral pencil case
📖 Pencil with an encouraging message

**This giveaway is open Internationally. Anyone can enter before TO BE HONEST’s release date on August 21, 2018.
Details here