Review: Eat, and Love Yourself

Title: Eat, and Love Yourself
Author: Sweeney Boo, Lilian Klepakowsky
Genre: Graphic Novel, Contemporary
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A story about Mindy, a woman living with an eating disorder who has to learn how to love herself again.

In pursuit of the perfect body, Mindy buys the low-fat diet products and the glossy magazines which promise the secret to losing weight. One night, while perusing the aisles of the neighborhood convenience store for a midnight snack, she finds a new product. A chocolate bar called “Eat and Love Yourself”. On a whim, Mindy buys the curious candy, not knowing that with every piece of chocolate she eats, she will be brought back to a specific moment of her past — helping her to look at herself honestly, learn to love her body the way it is, and accepting love. Perhaps, she will even realize that her long lost high school best friend, Elliot, was more than just a friend…

Review:

Mindy has an eating disorder and depression. She struggles with going out with her friends and dealing with family. She discovers a new chocolate bar called “Eat and Love Yourself.” It is supposed to bring back childhood memories of eating chocolate. When Mindy tries it, she has flashbacks to pivotal moments in her life when she developed her negative body image and her eating disorder. Now, Mindy can see how her eating disorder has affected her throughout her life.

This graphic novel shows what it’s like to have an eating disorder. Even though Mindy may not have realized at the time, there were some moments in her childhood that influenced her eating disorder. There were comments by her parents and classmates about her weight that formed her body image.

Mindy was constantly given mixed signals, which also influenced her negative body image. Her parents wanted her to eat with them, but if she ate too much, they would tell her she would get fat. Her friends wanted her to get a boyfriend, but told her to watch what she ate when she started dating a boy. There are so many mixed signals that girls are given, which can contribute to a complicated image of yourself.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel.

Thank you BOOM! Box for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read Eat, and Love Yourself? What did you think of it?