There are a lot of good things here - I think it does a pretty good job of avoiding giving ED instructions which is a real concern when writing about EDs. It also breaks from the norm by meeting the main character when she is entering an inpatient program rather than when she is developing an ED. Overall very good subject matter and a helpful read for a lot of kids. Wasn't blown away by the writing, however.

This is an absorbing and important read about the internal struggles of disordered eating. It's as funny as it is poignant. Getting into the main character's head was enlightening and eye-opening. An important read for young people who are struggling with their relationships to food.

An important, compassionate, engrossing book that delves deep inside the mind and heart of Riley, a twelve-year-old girl who is undergoing treatment for an eating disorder. Riley is funny, resilient, wounded, and so very real. I felt like she could have been one of my students- I worried for her throughout the book. Good Enough made cry at times. This book depicts how difficult recovery is while also offering so much hope and inspiration; that strikes me as a very challenging balance to pull off, but Jen Petro-Roy does it masterfully. This is a must-have for upper elementary and middle school classrooms and library collection.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy.

First, I don't like the cover which is a bummer because I really enjoyed the book.This book is about Riley who has just entered a program to help her with her anorexia. The book is told through journal entries which documents her struggles - the ups and downs, the thoughts, the hurt. It was very well done. About half way through I started wondering what kind of research the author had done because the voice is very authentic. Turns out she herself went through the struggle and has also come out with a nonfiction companion book about it. I am impressed.

Another smashing hit from Jen Petro-Roy. Good Enough has gotten a lot of great press recently and I was very excited to get my hands on it through NetGalley. Riley's story is an important one to be told and and important one to be shared. Thanks to Jen for writing this story and sharing her story. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

Petro-Roy takes the reader on journey through the life of 12-year-old Riley as she navigates school, family, and life while battling an eating disorder. Drawn from her own personal experiences, Petro-Roy touches on some questions that many have of themselves: why can't I just be happy like everyone else? While the focus is on her eating disorder, many young readers will be able to relate to Riley and, maybe, find some comfort in being exactly who they are.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

I read an e-ARC courtesy of Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Told in diary form, readers will get insight into the mind of 12 year old Riley who is anorexic. Her story begins on the her first day at an inpatient treatment center. Riley was artist, an athlete, friend, and daughter until an eating disorder alienated her from everything she knew and loved. Throughout the book Riley experiences peaks and valleys on her journey towards recovery. As I a mom and teacher I found Riley's parents to be aggravating characters. I wanted them to believe in Riley as much as I did, but their characterization enhanced the impact Riley's eating disorder has had on her family.

This book is necessary and relatable for middle grade readers. It was a difficult topic to read and may not be for every student. One important message for all is the power of words others say can impact another's perception of their body image.

A beautiful, realistic and optimistic look at one of the issues plaguing many tweens, teens (and older): eating disorders. We follow Riley’s journey in an in-patient facility. Jen Petro-Roy writes from her own experience and makes it clear that recovery is not a straight path. We can’t help but root for Riley, and it is encouraging to watch her evolve over the course of the book. This book will help any struggling tween see that there is hope for recovery.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Good Enough was a first hand account of Riley's inpatient treatment as she began her recovery from anorexia. It's been over 25 years since my inpatient treatment for disordered eating, but Petro-Roy's depiction of Riley's battle with ED (eating disorder) immediately brought me back to my own struggle.

I applaud the author's decision to write this story in journal format, because it was the perfect way to clearly capture and communicate Riley's emotions. She skillfully depicted the sadness, loneliness, anxiety, desperation, and shame that results from this disease. She explored the secretive nature of it, and how it forces the one suffering from the disorder to withdraw from their life. Riley often lamented giving up things, activities, and people who made her happy in order to protect her secret. This part was so honest and really hit home with me.

I loved the way Petro-Roy laid out Riley's recovery as well. I don't think people realize how difficult it is to wage a war with an eating disorder. Someone suffering from anorexia or bulimia NEED food to survive. They need to make peace with this enemy, and it's a very, very difficult thing to do. Riley's struggle was authentic, and because of that, her recovery was not all rainbows and unicorns. It was difficult and it was hard work, and this was addressed really well in the book.

Another thing I personally connected with and, thought was done really well, was the way Riley's family and friends reacted to her illness. I remember my own sister coming to visit me in the hospital, and asking me, "Why can't you just eat and be happy?" This must be a common response, because Riley met with the same line of questioning. There were a lot of other reactions from her friends and family, which aligned with my own experiences, and I really appreciated that some time was dedicated to this in the story.

Finally, it was very rewarding to watch Riley progress. The war against ED is fought on the battlefield of the mind, and this can be a very difficult place to win any skirmishes. That push and pull of conflicting emotions and clashing wants and needs were omnipresent in Riley's story. I was so proud of Riley as she fought back against the negative and tried to embrace the positive. I was also proud of the way she opened up and began to assert her wants and needs to her family and friends. All were such important parts of her recovery.

When I started this book, I immediately thought it brilliantly captured the emotions and experiences of someone suffering from an eating disorder. When I finished the book, I thought it would be a fantastic book for the friends and family of someone with this illness, because it would give them great insight and maybe help them understand what it's like to have an eating disorder.

Overall: A wonderfully written and emotional look into the mind of a young anoretic as she works towards recovery.

I received a E-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review. This is an honest portrayal of a somewhat taboo topic that may make some nervous, since this book is geared for 5th-8th graders.

Riley is a 12 year old girl with anorexia and we meet her just moments after being admitted to an inpatient center. This novel breaches important topics. Ones that we must talk about and not ignore even though it’s scary to consider young girls with distorted realities about their body images and eating habits. After reading the author’s note (which mentioned her own battle with an eating disorder) and seeing she has a companion workbook for those facing the same struggles, I realized what made this book so good—it was based on the realities of what she experienced, felt, and thought during her treatment. How powerful for young girls to have the opportunity to read a book that can allow them to feel they aren’t alone.

I imagine the final copy is even better than the uncorrected digital copy I received. With this being in a diary/journal format, I’ll be very interested to see the published version.

A 12-year-old girl with an eating disorder shares her rehabilitation experience and inner struggle with readers. We learn a lot about how not only our own mind, but friends, family, and everyone around us can affect our inner dialogue. I appreciated the age of this main character, as most books that center around anorexia nervosa typically revolve around high school or older kids. There were times I felt the chapter breaks should have been done a bit differently, but this was an ARC, so maybe the final copy will be different.

Jen Petro-Roy’s sophomore middle grade novel, set to release on February 19, follows twelve-year-old Riley, who is enrolled at an in-patient eating disorder recovery center where she begins her journey toward eating disorder recovery.

Personally, this was a hard book for me to read. I was already crying as I read the first page. However, I think this book is necessary. Middle grade novels are increasingly addressing important topics, but this is the first one I’ve read about eating disorders.

I am glad Jen Petro-Roy had the courage to write this novel based on her own experiences with an eating disorder, as stated in the Author Note. Overall, I am giving this novel 4 stars. I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher.

Have you ever felt like you weren't good enough? Not pretty enough? Not skinny enough? Clothes not nice enough? These are some of the issues that twelve-year-old Riley are going through. She used to have a "normal" life with her friends, her family, and her art. One day all of that changed when a mean girl in her school made fun of her weight. Riley vowed then and there that she would lose all the weight that she could and become a fierce competitor in track and field. Because of her extreme desire, Riley developed an eating disorder called anorexia. She began to alienate her friends, her family, and even food to achieve her goal. Her parents began to fear for her health so they admitted her to a hospital to receive treatment for this disorder. She is so not happy at first, but as she begins to delve deeper into herself thought the help of the therapist, Riley learns that she has so much more to overcome that just eating food. Does Riley have the strength to fight the chaos that is living inside her? Can her new friends at the hospital help her or are the battles they are fighting going to bring her down? Will Riley's relationships with her family and friends ever be the same again? Read this incredible story of one girl's journey to finding herself and possibly her freedom!

This book is absolutely amazing! From page one you begin the journey with Riley and it doesn't stop at the last page. Riley's story grabs hold of you and doesn't let go. I found myself crying with her, laughing with her, and cheering for her. I have never dealt with this disorder in my life but I know there are so many people, including children, who are going through this right now, even in my own school. It is so great to have a book that they can read to know that they are not alone and that there is help out there. Jen Petro-Roy has now had two knock-out books and I expect many, many more from her. Do not miss this incredible story of family, friendship, and finding the strength in yourself to overcome even the darkest of days!

"'You need butter. You're too skinny.' A thrill went through me when Mom said that. A thrill still shoots through me every time when anyone says that. It's the same way I feel when I step on the scale and see a lower number. It's the thrill of success."

In Good Enough, Riley's story begins as she enters an inpatient treatment center to help her recover from anorexia. She's honest, flawed, and realistic, and she is the kind of character who you really want to see succeed. On her road to recovery, her conversations with her mother made me want to yell at my Kindle and tell her mom to quit talking about butter and syrup, but it made me think about how challenging watching a loved one recover from anorexia must be.

I plan on purchasing and booktalking Good Enough for my seventh graders, and I expect that this will be a book with heavy circulation.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A powerful story that creates empathy with and understanding of someone suffering with an eating disorder. I particularly appreciated the use of superheroes as inspiration to keep trying. The realism means there are occasionally loose ends left, but the end result is a story many readers can relate to in feeling average and never good enough. It's a shame the cover is so non-representative of the content and frankly off-putting.

Really great middle school view into eating disorders! The back and forth struggle Riley goes through of wanting to recover but not wanting to gain weight felt authentic. While the cover might take some.convincing to get students to read it, I think once they start reading it they'll be hooked.

Riley has been suffering with anorexia ever since an incident in gym class where other students found out her BMI from a teacher, and took to calling her "rancid Riled" and "roly-poly Riley". She started to limit her food and also started to run excessively, which she also hoped would make her faster for track. When her parents and doctor became concerned and she was not able to reverse the downward spiral of her weight, her parents put her in a residential care program. There, she meets other girls who are also dealing with eating disorders. The facility is very strict-- no exercise, a strict diet regimen, no electronics, and a lot of counseling sessions.One girl, Ali, is especially defiant, doing crunches in her bed when the staff can't hear. Riley is torn-- she wants to stay thin, but she wants to go home. The dynamics with her family are not good, but fairly standard-- her sister is "perfect", her mother is busy and controlling, and her father hasn't connected with her since she became a tween. We see a good cross section of behaviors and reactions from the other residents, and Riley slowly works through her problems, although the path is not a linear one. She does manage to go home at the end of the book, and has to learn to apply what she has learned in treatment to her daily life.
Strengths: This is an #ownvoices book, and Ms. Petro-Roy has clearly drawn on her personal experiences to add an extra level of detail and pathos to this story. Riley's thoughts about her weight and her reactions to her parents, the other residents, and her treatment are all thorough and realistic. Add this to the canon of eating disorder books that includes Anderson's Winter Girls, Carlson's Faded Denim, Dee's Everything I Know About You, Levenkron's The Best Little Girl in the World, Lytton's Jane in Bloom, Porter's A Dance of Sisters, and Price's Zoe Letting Go.
Weaknesses: While the details about struggling with an eating disorder are superb, the book would have moved along more quickly if there had been a more well-defined plot other than Riley's struggle with her disorder.
What I really think: I will purchase, and it will circulate because books about eating disorders are always popular. The cover is not attractive at all, though, and I'll have to recommend it in order to get students to pick it up.

An important, compassionate, engrossing book that delves deep inside the mind and heart of Riley, a twelve-year-old girl who is in treatment for an eating disorder. Riley is funny, resilient, wounded, and so very real. This book depicts how difficult recovery is while also offering so much hope and inspiration; that strikes me as a very challenging balance to pull off, but Jen Petro-Roy does it masterfully. This is a must-have for upper elementary and middle school classrooms and library collections.

This is a really moving read that gives you a character to root for and smashes a lot of myths about eating disorders and diet culture in general. I also loved the way Riley's journey is rooted in pop culture, taking inspiration from superheroes and Disney characters--I think that's so relatable and going to make this so resonant for a lot of tweens (and beyond!).