Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity. I NEVER take these for granted. At this time though, I will not be able to provide feedback. Due to personal matters, I am currently out of the country until September. Please receive my apologies hoping this may not affect me in any future requests.

This was a quick, fun read. Bluebelle (aka BB) gets told that by her doctor's office that she is asthmatic because she is overweight. The nurse then (not so kindly) suggests that she keep a food diary and work out to try to get healthy. But BB feels that she is beautiful the way she is and no, she will not keep a stupid food diary and only agrees to use a gym so her mom will let her leave the doctor's office. BB wants to drop out of high school and get an apprenticeship in leiu of her final year of school (not something that happens in the US, so I guess this is a British thing?) because school is dumb and has better things to do with her life.

BB is hilarously real. She talks about her love of food lke people talk about their friends. I loved her relationship with her younger sister, Dove. There were some really hilarious parts in this book that had me laughing out loud. But also tackles real-life problems such as family issues and sibling arguments.

I should have loved this story.
I love food.
I would love to have a croissant as a boyfriend!
I am overweight and I know the struggles that come with it and the struggles that come with managing it
The concept of the food diary should have been great.
But I found this story completely pointless. For some reason I did not feel like Bluebelle really struggled so I didn't feel like she really triumphed at the end. None of the characters really stood out, even her sister who I felt was supposed to be a character I really liked which would make things more impactful, but I really couldn't find it in me to care about any of them.

I really want more books that have fat main characters who aren't ashamed of who they are, but this isn't the way to do it. I was kind of offended by the way BB talked. She was really judgy of the other people in her life, especially about their size. Instead of using things as teaching moments to show the assumptions people have about fat people, she was just rude and mean to them. Fat people not being believed at the doctor is very true, I know from first-hand experience, but I felt like the beginning of the book was just a big drama show instead of a teaching opportunity. BB was just not nice. Girls don't have to be nice to be strong or worthy of a story, but she wasn't giving out the attitude she wanted to receive.

Not to mention the fact that a previously able-bodied character has to use a wheelchair and it is treated like it's the end of the world.

The disability rep was abysmal and I didn't like the fat rep either.

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

This was cute and empowering. Bluebelle is forced to keep a food diary, as she is overweight and loves food too much. Such a small task ends up becoming an epiphany for her in her teenage life. I loved the confidence and self love messages throughout this novel. The only flaw I would say is that the plot doesn't really pick up until halfway through the novel.

Pros: The cover and title were eye catching and fun! I loved the plot. The idea that you are essentially going on an adventure with the MC through her food diary is a really great concept, and I loved that the story was told through that lens.

Cons: This is not necessarily what I would label body positive. The lines of thinking were very extreme, and I really feel like it could down people who have limited mobility. The message really killed it for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a complimentary arc of My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant by Laura Dockrill in exchange for my honest review.*

tw / a flashback of BB forcing herself to throw up (even using a hanger to complete it) and fatphobic comments. /

This book seems to be mostly meant to be fun, in the beginning it definitely does reference the fat politics when it comes to home doctor’s and the medical field treat fat people. They assume that they’re only sick because they’re fat and don’t look at anything else, or actually treat them like a client.
The character’s arc transitions at the end, after something tragic happens, she begins to lose her appetite and it eventually resolves, but as a thin person I don’t believe I have the right to comment on how that could effect/not effect some within the fat community, so I wanted to make any readers aware.

There is basically no plot (until like half way in) and very character driven, which is usually find but I couldn’t connect with almost any of the characters. However, I did love the sweet relationship between BB and Max and I also enjoyed Dove’s character.

Fat rep is SO IMPORTANT, but this particular book wasn’t for me, and I can’t say if the fat rep was done well or not. It didn’t really keep my attention and bounced back and forth so confusingly. There was a tone shift halfway through the course, and it didn’t work for me. There were some parts that were fun, and BB was overall proud to be who she is and her love of food and life.

Overall I enjoyed this fun (and often funny) exploration of a young woman who (for once) is comfortable in her own skin. As someone who has always been overweight, I appreciated the efforts to accurately capture living a life where you're constantly assuming (sometimes correctly, sometimes not) that others are noting, judging, or remarking on your size. Similarly as someone who has recently begun to exercise but does so with concerns that such activities somehow negate my past plus-sized positivity, I appreciate that BB also struggles with this concern before arriving at the conclusion (that I have) that you can both be comfortable in a larger body while still maintaining it in a manner that will permit you to do the things you love (including eating). Often these stories either end with no change in approach to bodily self care or a complete rejection of previous weight and pleasures. Dockrill managed to steer a course through the middle while maintaining a pleasant and likeable protagonist.

Dockrill's My Boyfriend Is a Croissant is bound to evoke strong emotions in readers. Whether you love it or hate it, it's not a book that allows for a middle-ground opinion. On the one hand, there's a thread of body positivity and acceptance that is definitely needed in literature, especially YA. STOP READING NOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ A POTENTIAL SPOILER. IT'S A TINY ONE, BUT YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. It's important to the review to share this part. There's another thread of the story that could legitimately be viewed as ableist by readers as well. I do not believe it was the author's intent, but that does not negate the potential impact. So, there's both good and bad in the book. It's one I'd want for younger girls to read in conversation vs. independently.

Many thanks to NetGalley for sharing this book with me in exchange for an unbiased review.

My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant follows 16-year-old BB as she deals with the aftermath of a terrible asthma attack that very nearly killed her. She's told by her doctors that since she has been deemed medically overweight and prediabetic, the best thing she can do is eat healthier and exercise more in order to improve her health. BB agrees to make an effort, but when an unexpected family tragedy occurs, losing weight becomes the last thing on her mind...

I DNFed this at 10%.

Perhaps that was a mistake, for maybe it would've eventually gotten better, but all I know was that it was impossible for me to put up with the cruelty and neglect of certain groups of people found in this book.

Let me start this review by talking about BB, our protagonist, and the main source of my dislike of this novel.

I had no appreciation for BB whatsoever! She had no empathy for other people, and it seemed like she was constantly contradicting herself, which was quite odd. At one point in the book, when she was told by a nurse that she had an unhealthy relationship with food and that she was medically obese, BB totally denied it, even after previously mentioning (several times might I add) how she knew she was overweight and how she knew she had the tendency to eat unhealthily. Super confusing... In addition, whenever she narrated, it seemed like she would just randomly change the topic of conversation without any build-up! Weird!! And it gets worse...

BB was also very ignorant and cruel towards individuals who struggled with eating issues different than her own. She referred to people starving themselves of food as shallow and vain and accused them of only caring about being thin. This brands eating disorders as "just wanting to be skinny" which is extremely problematic because no, that is not always what eating disorders are.

Since I stopped reading this book pretty early on, I don't know whether BB developed as a character or not, but I don't really think that matters. BB already said some very offensive things towards certain communities of individuals, so I think that the damage has already been done and that no level of character growth could really make BB more likeable, at least in my perspective.

And even though BB was my main problem with this book, I still don't think I would have enjoyed it had she been replaced with a more likeable MC. The writing itself was not very mature, and it lacked a certain flow to it that resulted in the sentences sounding choppy and poorly composed.

And before I wrap this review up, I think I should just throw it out there that the author really misrepresented medical professionals in her writing. The nurse that BB interacts with throughout the book is very rude, mean, and awful towards her. She body-shames her and even goes to the extent of calling her "fat", which isn't empowering in the least, contrary to what the book's synopsis says. I've been to enough doctors in my lifetime to know that this is not the way they are trained to treat their patients. I don't know if the author did this just for the sake of drama in the book, but it really only made me, a reader, feel deeply uncomfortable.

Overall, I really didn't enjoy My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant. I found it to be quite harmful and neglectful of real-world struggles. I'm really disappointed that I didn't like it, for I was so excited to get my hands on a novel brimming with body positivity and empowerment. But, alas, this book just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I can't say I recommend it.

I think that the body positive message behind this book was refreshing, but it just missed the mark for me and I found the overall execution of the novel to be lacking.

I found it very hard to relate to BB, and if I'm being completely honest she annoyed me.

I also didn't feel that very much really happens in this book and that the plot was lacking until about 60% into the book, and by then I was already just ready for the story to be over.