Size 12 Is Not Fat: A Heather Wells Mystery

Written by Meg Cabot

Narrated by Sandy Rustin

Heather Wells Rocks!

Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two -- and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen -- not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives -- even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective!

But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Nov 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062664082

Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers All-American Girl and The Princess Diaries books, two of which have been made into major motion pictures by Disney. She is also the author of The Mediator series, the Airhead series, and many books for adults. She currently divides her time between Key West and New York City with her husband and multiple rescue cats. Find out more at MegCabot.com. 

Reviews for Size 12 Is Not Fat

[Amy Lynn Hunt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Meg Cabot writes characters I just like. Well, and mean girls I don't :0) So i have wanted to read this one for a while. The audio book ended up being a great choice, as the reader was very good. She added nuance that I think really made every character more real. Sorry for the non- tech-y review, but hopefully that's useful.
I usually stay away from books about murder, real life is just too filled with that. I would love for the protagonist to solve other kinds of crimes too, and maybe that can happen in the future? Also, eat before you listen or you'll find yourself wanting a candy bar. Or a very big sandwich ;0) Or those goldfish crackers....

[Jay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Though she may doubt herself, Heather is fun and brave!

[SmallReadingRat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this series. There's something about it that feels like home and reminds me things will get better :)

[herenya_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I recently learned that this series is not just chick lit, it’s murder mystery chick lit about a former pop singer now working as an assistant director for a college dorm. (Talk about misleading covers!) When a student is found dead, Heather is convinced that it wasn’t an accident but murder. At times Heather reminded me of Mia from The Princess Diaries, which I found fascinating and frustrating: they both live in New York; they’re somewhat famous; they feel judged for their appearance (albeit for different reasons); they’re generally optimistic and warm hearted; and there are similarities in how they think and express themselves. Similarities in tone, if not content. I can’t actually remember if Mia was ever blasé about being late, but it’s the sort of opinion which would be understandable, and maybe even endearing, coming from a teenager but is irritating from a woman of nearly thirty with a full-time job.Anyway, Heather is kind and humorous, I liked the setting, and the mystery had enough twists to satisfy me. I read the next book.

[sandrabrower · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a good summer read. I will continue reading the rest if the serious.

[emma_manolis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Meg does it again! She has this uncanny ability to make you want to be best friends with every main character she creates. This was a fantastic read full of mystery, suspense and a whole lot of humor. I loved, loved, loved the narration of the main character Heather Wells and really wish I could take her out to lunch sometime! I'm not usually the type of reader who enjoys mystery novels, because I always seem to figure them out. I figured out this one, but it was just such a fun read that I really didn't care.

This is a must read! Perfect for the beach or any other lazy day you have coming up!

[cubsfan3410 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book in the Heather Wells series! A very fun and entertaining read! The whole series is good.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Heather is a little goofy but very likable and surprisingly astute for a girl who doesn't seem particularly sharp. But the whole appearances are deceiving is all over this story.

[spurts-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable read. Part cozy mystery; part romantic comedy. The blurb here at goodreads site is accurate. The story itself is really carried by some memorable, likable characters. Some very funny moments. Will be pursuing the series to see what happens with them (not a big mystery fan myself).

[tygress-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I love Meg Cabot's books and I love mysteries, so what could be better than a mystery written by Meg Cabot? It wasn't awful, but let's just say I hope the next in the series is an improvement.

[olegalca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I signed up for the librarything.com secret santa, I added about 50 books to my wishlist. It's typical that the person who got my name ignored it completely.

This was one of the books I received and all I could think of when I received it was "The Princess" - movies with Julie Andrews and I was prepared to hate the book. To my surprise, I enjoyed it. It wasn't quite 5 stars but it was better that 4 stars just because it took me away for a few hours and gave me a heroine that lives in the real world (now, but not in her past). I highly recommend it for those of us who need a chick-fic read every now and then.

[gracez-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Most chick lit authors are not at all to my liking, but I do love most books by Meg Cabot. This one has the advantage of being a mystery, as well as having less of a romantic plotline/love story than the others. It's more mystery than chick lit. On the other hand, it is less witty/clever than the others. This series is definitely not towards the top of her oeuvre (Ha, yes I did just refer to Cabot's work as her "oeuvre"). I'm rereading the series, though, because she wrote a fourth book, and it's been a very long time since I read these. And, you know, a good stretch of escapist reading is a great thing, every now and again.

[gospodyina · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cute. Harmless.

[kykim-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not a book I would have picked for myself but I was surprised with it. A very happy surprise as I enjoyed this book and the characters. It is a fun & cozy mystery. Heather Wells, 28,was a was a celebrated rock star. She grew up, put on a little weight, and wanted to write her own songs, so the record label dropped her. She started work as an assistant residence hall director for New York College. Where young girls are being found at the bottom of the elevator shaft after supposedly elevator surfing. Heather doesn't believe that is what happened and begins to investigate. Heather has a HOT landlord, Cooper, who is also the older brother of her ex. Look forward to reading more in the same series.

[tealightful · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book seeing as how I just threw it in my basket and didn't bother to read the back.

Three months later, I finally wanted some light, easy reading to palette cleanse after a doozy of a read and chose this. It was simple, easy and very, very mildly humorous.

Main character, Heather, is a has-been former mall-touring pop-star whose mega-famous singer fiancee cheated on her with the latest babe on his father's record label. He gave her the boot and she moved in with his devastatingly handsome Private Investigator brother, Cooper. She takes up a job at a local college as an assistant to the dorm director, or something obscure like that. Then one day, a girl is found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft and it is quickly attributed to a popular movement called "elevator surfing".

Only girls don't elevator surf." So Heather launches and unsubstantiated investigation of her own and nearly gets killed herself. A few more girls die, a few connections are made and Heather turns out to be right..

I got really tired of the whole "Size 12 is not fat" portion of the book because it didn't really seem to have too much to do with the book but I could see why some girls may really soak it up. Her constantly repeated line of, "Size 12 is not fat, it's the size of the average American" was really aggravating. While I do not think size 12 is necessarily fat (as I am that size-ish), what is "average" does not dictate was is or is not "fat". Your BMI does.

Anyways, overall, this book was easy to read and required no brain power which was exactly what I needed. I still enjoyed the book to certain extents and found some parts to be fairly funny.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Heather is a former teen pop star, but things went bad and she had to find a real job. She is now 28 and working at a dorm – oops, residence hall - at New York College. When a girl turns up dead at the bottom of the elevator shaft in the dorm, the police rule it an accident from elevator surfing. Heather thinks otherwise and sets out to find out what really happened to that girl.I really liked this. It's a chick-lit/cozy mystery mix. I felt like I could identify with Heather (not the former teen pop star part!), and I really liked her. If I didn't have other books I'd already planned to read right now, I'd love to just dive into Size 14 is Not Fat, Either. Found the author's note at the end very interesting – to see how much was taken from her own life. It's written in a simple writing style, but it's chick lit. It was a fast, really fun read for me!

[jillkb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was good beach reading -- light and fun. And I love the title as someone who is definitely not model thin! It's the first in a series of detective novels about a former teen pop star who's fallen on hard time and is now working as assistant director of a residence hall and solving mysteries. I did get annoyed occasionally with Heather's frequent panting over her crush/lust object and repeated corrections that she works in a "dorm (I mean, residence hall)" over and over.

[nomadicrose · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I nice quick read with an ending you could see from the start but still satisfying enough.

[rayneofdarkness · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

 I enjoyed this book - it was a quick easy read without too much into the plot or background. I read it while I was waiting for my doctor appointment and breezed right through. The story line was a little predictable but cute and funny. A good summer read or getting stuck in the doctor's office read!

[krumbs_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As it turns out, I had no idea what this book was about before I started it. And behold--it's a mystery! I'm not certain about what audience this was aiming for; the content seems to fall in the adult spectrum but the writing level was certainly aimed at the YA market. I think this may be because her other books have been for the lower-level market and she hasn't quite gotten the hang of writing for adults? Whatever the reason, it was a breeze to read through. The ending, while predictable, was still pretty well done. I moved on to the sequel pretty quickly.

[princess0starr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If I had to pick favorites, the Heather Wells trilogy is probably my favorite adult Meg Cabot series. It’s frothy and fun, and just damn enjoyable. Heather’s an engaging character in her own right; she has a lot of the good girl qualities of a chick-lit heroine, but you really see her faults and frustrations. She’s been burned in one fell swoop—by both her ex and her record company—but she’s genuinely trying to move on and become something more than a twee-pop singer. Of course, she’s still insecure about how people view her, but given her backstory, it feels genuine. A lot of her attitude is shaped by her pop star past, and I like that she still sees singing as something good.

As far as love interests go, I like Cooper, but whenever I read him, I know I’ve read his character before. (Meg Cabot is big on the dark, bossy, black-sheep types.) I like his character; again, he’s fun, a lot of his dialogue with Heather feels natural, and you can see that he really looks out for her. It’s just that I’ve read the character in other Cabot books, and it becomes a little boring after a while. On the other hand, I love Jordan—not as a love interest, but as blatant comic relief. For starters, it’s so obvious that he’s the guy who’s always got what he wanted, so Heather striking out on her own is intriguing. The whole “I still love you, baby!” act is just that, but it’s so over-the-top that everyone in the books know that it’s fake. He’s hilarious, I crack up every time he shows up.

Like Cooper, a lot of the supporting cast are characters I’ve seen in other Meg Cabot books—the know-it-all wannabe psychologist, the supportive best friend, the kooky work friend—but a lot of it almost feels like she’s parodying her own stereotypes. Sarah’s pretty much a grown-up Lilly Moscowitz, and Magda…well, Magda’s Magda. She’s funny, but I will say that she’s my least favorite character in the series. (Not that I don’t like her, she just doesn’t do much.)

As for the murder mystery plot, I generally like. I have some problems with the motives of the killer, but it does seem like a bit of a surprise. The lead up with Christopher Allington has been done before, but the way Heather approaches the case and her suspect is interesting. I would have liked not have seen the “cops are useless!” trope—like, why wouldn’t they check up on a strange mark on both victims? (I’m trying not to spoil the murderer and their weapons, sorry.)

I really like this book—it’s one of my favorite comfort reads. The writing and characterization are solid (for the most part), it’s funny, and the twists still surprise me a little even after the nth millionth time I’ve read it. This is what I expect from Meg Cabot—frothy, yet still very filling.

[periwinklejane_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this. I was hoping for a good, light read, but came away from this one frustrated. Cabot was way to cutesy with her narrator's voice, and the characters are basically paper dolls. There is much better chick lit out there.

[arielfl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up in order to join in the reading group that was held this past summer over at Book Club Girl. I got up to page 120 and did not feel like picking it up again thereby missing the discussion. I only finished it because I compulsively have to finish every book I start and I wanted it off my shelf by the New Year. There is nothing inherently wrong with this light and frothy chick lit mystery, it was just not driving me to finish it.This series features Heather Wells, a size 12 washed up pop star. Jessica Simpson would be an excellent choice to play Heather if this is ever turned into a screenplay. After Heather's stint on the mall tour is over because she refuses to sing other people's songs, she takes a job as a resident adviser in a N.Y. dorm. This is while she is living with the brother of her former fiance Jordan, a Justin Bieber type. Heather caught Jordan in bed with the latest pop flavor of the month Tania. Now Heather resides with Jordan's brother Cooper, a P.I. and dog Lucy as she attempts to find direction for her life. While working at the dorm two coeds end up dead due to an elevator surfing accident. Heather suspects foul play. In between lusting after fattening snacks and Cooper, she attempts to solve the case. This book was light on mystery, Agatha Christie it's not. Heather was a likable character however and that helped to make up for the lacking plot. Heather was cast in the same mode as some of my favorite Sophie Kinsella characters. You know the type, good with the one off snarky comments while still being someone you would want to be best friends with. I don't know if I would pick up another book in this series but as the Biebs would say "Never Say Never."

[teckelvik · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I grabbed this from the library because I needed a quick read while waiting at the doctor's office. This was just what I thought it would be.Heather Wells, the protagonist, is a former teen pop star, based on Britney Spears (pre-meltdown). She lost everything, and is starting over. She takes a job as the assistant director of a residence hall (never say "dorm") at elite New York College, because the job comes with free tuition, once she passes her probationary period.She's making it, dodging people who keep asking "Do I know you?," co-workers who know all about her most painful moments thanks to the tabloid press, and her former fiance, another teen idol who just won't go away and let her get on with her life. Then, she gets a call that there is a dead body in her residence hall.The death is put down to stupid undergrad risk-taking, but that doesn't seem right to Heather. And when the same thing happens with the next dead freshman, she's more convinced than ever that someone is killing off her charges, and she's determined to put a stop to it.This was a quick read. Heather is an engaging character, with a distinctive voice, and she comes across as likeable and easy to identify with. The supporting cast is also well-written. I had some qualms about the murderer - trying not to spoiler, but the motivation relied heavily on hurtful and generally inaccurate stereotypes.This isn't great literature, and I won't be searching out the next volumes in the series immediately, but I won't run away from them either, and I will probably grab the next one the next time I'm going to spend the day in a waiting room.

[mickyfine · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Former teen pop sensation, Heather Wells, just wants to make it through her three-month probationary period as assistant director of Fischer Hall, one of the residence for New York College. And also have her extremely good-looking housemate/older brother of her ex-fiance, Cooper Cartwright, notice her in that way. But when a student's body is found at the bottom of the elevator shaft as the result of an apparent elevator surfing accident, Heather is unconvinced. Girls don't elevator surf. But Heather's quest to find out who's killing girls in Fischer Hall may mean she'll never see the end of her of probation or find out exactly what Cooper thinks of her.I always enjoy reading a Heather Wells mystery. As the first in the series, we meet her delightfully dysfunctional family, her truly scrumptious housemate, Cooper, and of course Heather herself with her delightful neuroses and internal monologues. Mix this eccentric cast of characters with a good mystery and the book is a recipe for some entertaining reading.

[greeneggsnham_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first novel in Meg Cabot's Heather Wells series. The story is typical Meg Cabot: light and entertaining, with plenty of pithy and facetious one-liners. Heather Wells, a former teen-pop sensation, tries to lead a normal life as the assistant director of a NYC dorm after her mother and manager steal all her money, her record company drops her from the label, and her famous fiance dumps her. She soon finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. And like many of Cabot's female characters, Heather's savior complex gets her in loads of trouble as she attempts to solve the murder. Add to this dreamy PI Cooper (Heather's love interest) and you have a great mix of romance and mystery. Definitely a fun read, if somewhat predictable.

[helenleech · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book reads like Cabot was trying to copy Janet Evanovitch's formula. But she doesn't have the sizzle. And Evanovitch manages to get you to believe the plot, no matter how implausible, while I kept rolling my eyes while I read this. Anyway, the story is that ex-teen-pop star Heather Wells, now older and fatter, gets a job as an administrator in a college dorm, and students start dying in droves, falling down the elevator shaft. It's up to Heather and her gorgeous landlord, a private eye, to work out why.

[flygurl_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Easy, pleasant read. Very light, although a murder mystery. There is a series. I'll probably read the next.

[pandareads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You've got yourself a washed up pop princess, Heather Wells, who isn't full of herself, gets a down to earth job in a residence hall, and becomes something of an amateur sleuth when the girls in her residence hall start dying by elevator surfing. Heather knows girls don't elevator surf, though, so they must have been murdered. But by who? Exactly the kind of mystery I like. It keeps to you guess, but isn't too complicated to follow along.The characters were lovable (except for the murderer, obviously), the setting was pretty awesome, and the plot thickened at just the right points. The climax of the book was my favorite part. Cabot didn't just find a way to end her mystery novel like so many other chick-lit authors do. There were twists and turns and spanned a few chapters, not a few pages. It made finishing the book fast and enjoyable.It's a few years old, but if you haven't gotten around to this book yet, I definitely suggest reading this one.

[mojacobs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very enjoyable romp. Heather Wells, ex-teens-rockstar, with a dad in jail and mother absconded to Argentina with Heather's money and manager, now has to make a living as an assistant- dorm manager in New York College. She makes a very nice protagonist. A Ripping Yarn for girls (and grandma's like me as well).