Release Day Review! Something of Substance Tia Souders

Something of Substance by Tia Souders
Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary)
Releasing: March 28, 2018
Publisher: Self

Seventeen-year-old Grace Michaels is determined to be thin, even if she dies trying.

Part of the in-crowd at Providence High, she is steps away from being asked out by the most desired guy at school, winning a prom queen nomination, and her parents’ approval. If she can just get skinny enough, be pretty enough, and popular enough.

But Grace is thin on the outside and fat on the inside. No amount of weight-loss ever seems enough. Convinced the melting pounds will solve her problems, every pound lost brings her closer to her goals. But flesh and bone can only hide the weight of her secret for so long.

Fans of the emotional and thought-provoking contemporary YA fiction, such as Before I Fall, Tell Me Three Things, and All The Bright Places will fall in love with Souder’s heart-wrenching novel, SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE.

Something of Substance by Tia Saunders is a powerful story. I don't think there's a single girl out there who can't relate to Grace in some way. I know I did. While I don't have the same issues she has, food is an ongoing problem for me. I completely understood the taunting voice in her head. It was very real. It's very real for a lot of people, and I think this book will help others see that and not feel so alone. This sheds light on many issues, not just self image. I think it's a must read for teens and adults alike, because although we get older, I don't think our insecurities and doubts ever truly go away. We just become better at hiding them sometimes. 

The ARC of Something of Substance Tia Souders was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

For a moment, I want to say to him all the things I’ve never spoken out loud. All the things I think about myself that I’ve never had the guts to voice before. I want to ask him if he ever feels like he’ll never be good enough. Like no matter what he does, how much weight he loses, or how much time he spends on trying to change who he is, he’ll never be the person people want him to be. Even if he does everything he can to be something—someone—in the end, it won’t even matter.
My acceptance will always be teetering on the edge because there will always be someone thinner, prettier, and better than me standing by to take my place.
The girl in the window blinks, staring back at me, and I want to take it one step further. Tell him I’m afraid. Of what people think of me. Of what I think of myself when I look in the mirror. Tell him I want to scream because no matter how popular I become, deep down, I’ll always be fat, unlovable Grace. The girl with the big legs and bad skin.

Tia Souders is the author of bestselling women’s fiction novel, Waiting On Hope and the upcoming award-winning young adult novel Better Than This (formerly titled Freedom Road). When she isn’t writing, she’s likely renovating their century home. She’s a wine-loving, coffeeholic, with a sweet tooth and resides on a farm in rural Ohio with her husband and children.

To learn more about Tia Souders and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Facebook Street Team, Instagram, and Twitter.