What's that noise, you ask?
It's me, screaming from the rooftops how much I absolutely LOVED this graphic novel! Might be one of my new favorites - the artwork? Perfect. The storyline? Magnificient. Our main character? Hello, my new love. Everyone needs Mindy's story in their lives and that's that.

Eat, and Love Yourself is one of the most important graphic novels I've read in awhile. It delves deep into body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and what it means to give yourself the space to grow. This book deserves a space in every graphic novel collection

As a woman who has struggled with body image and eating issues in the past, I really felt this graphic novel was something that needed to be written. I also think a graphic novel is a really approachable way to talk about body images and eating disorders, it feels like something a wide range of people could pick up and have it feel a little more relate-able. (Although, there may be parts that are triggering for some - it can come across a little blunt, which I liked).

The art, colouring, etc is gorgeous, right up my alley - I loved it. I think the story itself felt a little rushed and missed a little bit of development for me; but, I did like the message and thought it was a good read!

Thank you #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
What a fun and inspiring read about the journey to "eat and love yourself'. I"m not usually a fan of graphic novels but this one was the exception. I related so much to Mindy. I used to try every single weight loss fad out there. I love how this promotes body positivity! We need more like this.

Wow. This hit really close to home in some ways. I related to Mindy’s, the main characters, struggles with her body image and body positivity a lot. While I never had the eating disorders that she struggles with, I have had a very bad relationship with food for many years. I don’t want to go into too much detail about that, as it’s very personal and a review is not the place for that. I just wanted to say that I have struggled with my body image a lot throughout the years (it is something I still struggle with) and it was so important to me to see a character like Mindy.

Speaking of Mindy, I adored her as a character. I was interested in her story and I enjoyed learning more about her as the story progressed. Mindy doesn’t only struggle with her body image, but she also feels unsure about her future and what she wants to do. That is another thing that I found very relatable about her. The other characters in this story were alright, but they didn’t stand out to me as much as Mindy.

There isn’t a strong plot in Eat, and Love Yourself. Rather this graphic novel is more of a character study. It centres around self-acceptance and self-discovery, through the revisiting of past memories. This isn’t something that bothered me, but I still wanted to mention it as it could be something other people wouldn’t enjoy. The only thing that bothered me about this graphic novel is the lack of insight to what happened with Shae, Mindy’s best friend. They had a conflict and they resolved it, yet we didn’t see anything past that. I would have loved to see what their relationship was like after what happened.

The art style and colouring of Eat, and Love Yourself was beautiful. It fit the story wonderfully and it was amazing to look at. Art is subjective though, so I would recommend checking out the preview on amazon to see if it’s your cup of tea (that goes for all graphic novels, not just this one). Overall, I really loved Eat, and Love Yourself. I’m so happy that this graphic novel exists and that I got the chance to read it! I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Actual rating 3.5/5⭐

A brilliant and honest Graphic Novel focusing on eating disorders, body dysmorphia and trying to find self acceptance and love.

The main character is 27 year old Mindy, who is feeling lost with life and herself. She's very unhappy, and is not sure what to do, and generally not loving her body or herself at all. She is very self conscious, and is battling with her demons daily.

After going to her local shop to get some snacks, she discovers a chocolate bar with almost "magical" elements. She gets transported back in time to past events and relives and witnesses moments in her life where friends and family have put her down, and made her feel bad in some way, about her weight or her body. She see's herself alone, struggling and in much need of some support and love. She pushes people away, believing they couldn't possibly like her.

Mindy has had a tough childhood, with from a young age, being told negative and nasty comments about her self. People around her think they mean well, but it is just damaging her self esteem. I could relate so much to this, with comments from family and friends about my own weight and body, it really stays with you and can damage your mental wellbeing.

This Graphic Novel is about exploring self acceptance, finding self worth, self love and trying to love your body and yourself. The Book is a journey, and ends with a message of hope.

The Art Work is so beautiful, along with the unique and emotional storyline. It was dealt with in an honest way, showing real life struggles, that many people face with eating disorders.

Eat, and Love Yourself could be quite triggering for some, I will list trigger warnings at the end. It is very honest, and shows the emotional and physical impacts of eating disorders including the binge eating and purging cycle.

Full Review to Come.

*Trigger Warnings* Bulimia, Body dysmorphia, Depression, Fat-shaming and eating disorders.

*Thank you to Netgalley, BOOM! Studios, and Sweeney for the earc in exchange of an honest review.*

TW: Eating Disorders, Bulimia, Body Dismorphia

This story follows Mindy a 27 year old woman struggling with an eating disorder. I'm so happy that this exists, but it feels like a missed opportunity to me.

I'll start with the positivies. The illustration is beautiful. I loved that how beautiful they made Mindy and her cat is one of my favorite drawings. It's just so cute! I am so happy that they are telling this story. A story that so many people can relate to. Representation and having a conversation about eating disorders is important. Especially in today's diet culture that constantly values thinness and "health". I am so thankful that they brought attention to the fact that eating disorder can happen in larger bodies, which is often overlooked.

But, I feel like it was they could have taken it further. It feels unresolved to me. I wish they would have explored her recovery more instead of ending it right as she is coming to a point of wanting to get help. The decision to seek help is an act of self love, but I felt like the overall idea of " love yourself" wasn't present. It focused more on the self realization of struggling and wanting to make a change which is an act of love but I felt they could have taken it further, portraying the pain of body acceptance and ups and downs of recovery. I want more for Mindy, I want to go on this journey with Mindy as she truly does explore self acceptance and love.

**I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately this book was archived before I had a chance to read it. I would really like to read this comic one day.

A different and refreshing take on ED culture!!! I enjoyed the strong female friendships as well as how parental pressures were addressed as well.

This graphic novel about a young woman struggling with body image issues is intimate, honest and moving. Plus the art is cool. . Will be purchasing this one for our collection!

I came from your Instagram and absolutely loved this book! It really makes you feel what the main character is feeling and isn't like anything I've read before.

This was a great graphic novel and very unique! I enjoy graphic novels that are more about real life situations and problems rather than fantasy.

Mindy has low self-esteem and a problem with stress eating. Stuck in a destructive binge/purge cycle, she happens upon some magic chocolate that transports her into the past to relive the sources and triggers to her lack of confidence, bulimia, and her unhealthy relationship with her body. As she deals with her traumas, Mindy slowly unlearns her destructive behaviors.

I love the art and the color palette in this book. Very soothing and stylized to make it unique. Mindy is a good character and watching her deal with her friends and family as she finally makes her feelings known and comes to terms with them is a sweet story. I like that her parents weren't super abusive; it more like those microaggressions that pile up and hit harder because they're coming from people you love. Her father was critical and her mom was overindulging but they weren't beating her or anything (thank goodness). It shows how such abuses don't have to be over the top evil to have a lasting impact on a person's life. I thought the use of the chocolate was cute! Not a bad read. 4.7 out of 5.

This graphic novel was a very good experience.
We know a protagonist who does not accept her body very well and throughout the book we see her and her self-acceptance progress.
Thanks to a chocolate that teleports her to some moments of her past, we follow her self-discovery and the fact that she wants to help her past self and cannot do anything to help.
I loved the story and the illustrations, yet something was missing for me to give the five stars.

Body dysmorphia is such a real problem for so many people, so I wanted to love this book. I appreciated that the main character was in her 20s, as so many stories on body dysmorphia seem to forget that it's not a problem that just goes away once a person is no longer a teen. Unfortunately, like many other reviews, it just felt a little shallow. It's not the worst book I've ever read, but it just didn't feel completely genuine and I'm afraid it would be more of a trigger than a help for people.

Mindy is a young woman too lost in a sea of body dysmorphia and self-loathing to see her own good qualities. A seemingly magical chocolate bar gives her insights into her past and the events in her life that shaped her view of herself and how she interacts with others. Mindy's interactions with her parents, friends, and potential love interests felt familiar enough to be rooted in real life, and served as a good reminder of how insidious small comments about one's body can be to someone who already has a poor opinion of their physical form.

The art style was interesting and fun, giving what could have been a truly dark story a bright backdrop that added to the hopeful tone of Mindy's story.

I would recommend this title to anyone looking for an easy read that packs an emotional punch and ends on a hopeful note.

It was an interesting look into eating disorders but in the end it felt shallow. The main character revisits scenes from her past that were relevant to how her perception of her body changed through the years, showing parts of ver childhood and teenage years. Although It was a careful psychological portrayal it lacked a convincing ending.

I really loved the illustrations in this graphic novel! I thought they had so much character and did a great job setting the mood of this story. As for the plot, I understand that there is a really important conversation happening about eating disorders, self image and self love, but to me I didn't feel like it really landed. I don't think the points landed with as much impact and context as there could have been.

Overall, it wasn't unenjoyable and I definitely like what the author has to say but I don't know if it was the right book for me.

'Eat, and Love Yourself' by Sweeney Boo is a story about eating disorders, body acceptance, and a young woman on that journey.

Mindy goes out for food one night and finds an odd candy bar called 'Eat, and Love Yourself.' As she nibbles on it, she takes a journey back in time. She sees how her image of herself was formed. The secret binging and purging. How her parents said things that made her feel worse about herself. She sees how her view of herself has kept her from finding happiness.

I've read a few graphic novels like this. I like to hope they can help someone. I can't believe someone in this situation would need a candy bar to revisit their painful past. The art is rather nice, even Mindy's massively over-sized eyeglasses.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from BOOM! Studios and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

As a big fan of BOOM! comics and graphic novels, this one was one of my favourites because body issues and self-image are something I have personally dealt with for most of my life, as many readers surely have. The main protagonist Mindy is stuck in a cycle of emotional eating and is generally unhappy. Throughout the novel, she discovers how other people have influenced her current state and realises it is not her fault. I think it wrapped up a bit too quickly, as there were some storylines I wish we could've spent more time on, but I loved Mindy as a character and the story overall.