Trigger Warning: Bulimia, Body Dysmorphia

Eat, and Love Yourself is a contemporary fantasy that follows 27 years old Mindy, a college dropout and barista, who learns to overcome her bulimia. The ultimate plot device? A mysterious chocolate bar that forces her to confront childhood memories when eaten.

As someone who's had a slew of eating problems before, I empathized deeply with Mindy. Her daily life, illustrated through repetitive panels, consists of a work-binge-purge-sleep routine, which was harrowing to read because I felt utterly trapped in it. I thought Sweeney Boo did a terrific job at painting the trappings of bulimia as well as the body-positive messaging behind the story.

But, while this one boasted beautiful artwork (especially the colours which effortlessly switch between vibrant, complementary schemes and moody, monochromatic ones) and a powerful message to women who struggle with body image and emotional trauma, I somehow felt that the story missed its final punch.

I can't quite put my hands on it, but I suppose I was just left with the feeling of wanting more out of the story. We follow Mindy through all her memories, all the decisions that came after and, at the final crucial point where she truly confronts her past self and decides to fight for herself, the novel ends.

Regardless, Eat, and Love Yourself is a healing novel about what it means to confront the past and to fight for the present day you. A little cheesy at times but hard-hitting all the same.

(If I ever come across this at the bookstore, I'd definitely pick it up for its artwork!)

This graphic novel was sort of a mixed bag for me.

Mindy has spent her entire life dealing with disordered eating, and now, in her mid-twenties, she discovers a chocolate bar that, when she eats it, takes her back in time to pivotal moments in her life. Be reliving these memories, Mindy begins to recognize her disorder for what it is and move towards self-love.

My main issue with this was the ending -- I needed one more chapter. It ends abruptly with Mindy deciding she's going to change, but for me, that was a difficult ending to deal with. We see in Mindy's flashbacks that she's tried to change before: she's gone to therapy, she's oscillated between binging and restricting herself. For a story about recovery and learning to love oneself, we don't actually get either of those things. Recognizing an issue and saying "things will be different" is relatively easy compared to actually changing the disordered behavior.

I'm glad that Mindy calls out both her best friend and her parents by the end of the book for their constant commentary on her body. Seeing her disordered eating encouraged because "it's fine if she misses a meal, she doesn't need it" and the perpetual "you'll never find love" was hard, and I'm really glad they were both challenged by the narrative.

All in all, I'd say this graphic novel does a reasonably good job of accomplishing its goals. The art was gorgeous and the colors were so vivid and beautiful (I love the jewel tones).

Content/trigger warnings in this book for: eating disorders, bulimia, body dysmorphia

This graphic novel was really beautiful, thankfully I've never experienced things like eating disorders, bulimia or body dysmorphia, but like most people, when I was younger I was concerned about the way I looked and had internalised a lot of messages from media and even well meaning family and friends about what is deemed attractive and worthy, and what isn't. Those things still crop up for me now and again, but I think with the help of things like this book that try and combat those insidious messages, I can fight against that kind of thinking and see it for what it is.

This is all to say that this isn't an own voices review, I'm coming at this from an outsider's perspective and though I felt like this book dealt with the issues well, I can't really know for sure.

The main character in this book, Mindy, is trying to live her life and get on with her job while also dealing with body dysmorphia that she's been battling since she was a child. Her struggle seemed very realistic and understandable, and I really liked her as a character. I liked the sort of magical realism aspect to the story, and looking at how things that seem small that happen when you're a child can really impact you for a long time.

The art is really beautiful. It reminds me of art by Loish, one of my favourite artists, and the colours are really beautiful too.

I think this book would be useful for teens to read, though for some I think it could potentially be triggering. However, I don't think any of the content is gratuitous. Some people just might want to go in with caution and see how they feel about it. Basically, we need more books like this to fight back against the tide of rubbish meant to make us feel bad about ourselves.

A fairly quick read with a lot of heart to it. It hit home in many aspects, im not goning to lie, and there were parts that were a little confronting to me cause i'd been in simmilar situations and mindsets. The graphics and colouring are great and help make it a very enjoyable read. I could see this being a very uplifting and motivting book for many people and i wish it was around when i was younger. Sweney Boo is a talented author and brings the character of Mindy to life and makes her very realistic character wise. I will say though that ome aspects of this book could be triggering for people with an eating disorder or eating problems and id recommend taking that into account before starting this book if you think that it could potentially be an issue for you. Overall, it is a solid read and well put together book. I'm happy where it ended and happy with the character development throughout.

A moving modern day fantasy about a girl who has problematic views towards food and her own body.

Mindy is in her late twenties, works in a coffeeshop and basically hates her body. She can't stop herself eating when she's depressed (which is a lot, these days) and then bringing it back up.

It doesn't help that her best friend isn't being supportive, and it also doesn't help that she acccidentally repels the boy she's interested in because of her lack of confidence.

Then she picks up an artisan bar of chocolate, supposedly made by a small, indie producer, and finds that every piece she eats sends her back in time, to revisit instances when her body image was brought into question. This helps her confront her past, and see a possible way forward.

Look, I'm a middle-aged man, and I've had weight problems and self-confidence issues all my life. I know how important it is to teach (young and older!) people about body dysmorphia, and how it warps your sense of self and can obliterate your self image. And, even more important, what you can do against it. The book can sometimes be a bit too didactic, I feel, it lacks subtlety - but then I think: perhaps that is the best way to approach this problem.

The art is quite cartoony, it's cute and does a great job of telling the story.

It's an important subject, and this book handles it beautifully.

3.5 stars

The artwork is marvelous, but the story *just* misses the mark.

**Trigger warning for eating disorders.**

It would be kind to say that Mindy’s stuck in a rut. At twenty-seven, she’s deferred college to the point that she now feels too old for it. She works long hours as a barrista and barely socializes. Her best/only friend Shaé is both sweet and loyal; unfortunately, she also has a long track record of saying exactly the wrong thing when it comes to Mindy’s weight, which has been a sore point her entire life.

Mindy’s struggled with disordered eating since she was a kid, including binge eating following by purging. She has painfully low self-esteem and body dysmorphia, which holds her back in life: from making friends, dating, trying to achieve her goals, and making the most of her one wild and precious life.

Until, one late night/early morning, Mindy happens upon a weird, hippy dippy, New Agey candy bar at her local bodega, and picks it up on a whim. “Eat and Love Yourself,” it entreats her. With each bite, Mindy is transported, ghost-like, to a memory from her childhood. In each scene, her “food issues” command a large presence.

In flashbacks, she witnesses her well-meaning but oblivious parents arguing over her eating habits; a young Mindy keeping a food journal; a teenage Mindy blowing off a cute guy at school, because he couldn’t possibly like her; and much worse.

Thankfully, adult Mindy is much kinder to her young self; with the help of “Eat and Love Yourself” (man, why couldn’t you be dark chocolate instead of milk!?), Mindy takes a tentative step on the path to self-acceptance and healing.

I wanted to love EAT, AND LOVE YOURSELF – I cannot tell you how much! – but I just feel like there’s a piece missing. The story ends abruptly, at a point that literally had me protesting, “Wait, that was it!?” I can’t even say that the ending is hopeful, since it feels incomplete: *has* Mindy made peace with her body? I’m not 100% sold.

Plus there’s this really odd multiple-Mindys sequence in the very first pages that I *thought* would be explained (or at least referenced!) at end, but no such luck. I guess we’re just to take it as a (day)dream sequence? Personally, I find my original interpretation – Mindy starts some radical body acceptance movement, becoming an overnight sensation, and so everyone starts copying her unique style – much more satisfying.

That said, that artwork is gorgeous – as in comma, drop dead. Mindy is freaking adorable, with her bopping teal ponytail and geekalicious oversized owl glasses. I just wanted to give her a smushy hug and then borrow her combat boots indefinitely.

There’s a lot in the story that did hit home with me, especially all the underhanded comments from mom and dad that gradually eroded Mindy’s self-esteem.

EAT, AND LOVE YOURSELF is a welcome contribution to the literature on eating disorders, self-esteem, and the beauty industrial complex, but it could have been so much more. I mean, magical chocolate bars! What a great idea!

This book is beautiful to look at and the story is powerful and moving. One thing that I struggled with was the size of the font on my ereader - a lot of the font is really small and I found myself having to zoom in often. I don't think this would be as much of a problem in physical form,

'Eat, and love yourself' a graphic novel about body positivity and kindness. Filled with messages about self-love, friendship, love and family bands.

I really liked how the author contained lots of messages in this story. She talked about self-love in a very different way. The artist showed the downsides of eating and even hinted towards eating disorders like Bulimia. She told the story in a very kind and respectful way, but still showing off the hard truth.
The images contain different drawing techniques. The bright and joyful colors, make the story less harsh. It gives it a nice and relaxing feel. With the different techniques, the artist was able to tell different stories through the same images. It sounds very complicated, but it explains itself while reading. I thought that was very unique creative and original from her.
Even when I liked the message, creative storyline, and amazing artwork; I still wasn't fully convinced. There was not enough depth in the story and the main character was very flat. She went through a change, but a way to drastic and not in a realistic way. I felt like a longer story would have shown off more. Mostly because the author didn't convince me about the strength of her message. I missed emotion and most of all the emotions which would make me feel sorry for the main character.

Overall, I really liked this comic. The drawing style is very sweet. It's just the story that lags a bit.

A potent and beautifully illustrated story about the struggle of living with an eating disorder and the way that seemingly small experiences and comments from loved ones can build up and play a part in shaping someone's relationship with food and their body. I loved the journey and the hopeful tone of the ending.

<I> I am incredibly grateful to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this graphic novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is currently set to be published in April 2020 </I>

4.5 stars

<U> Eat, and Love Yourself /u> is a story about Mindy, a young woman living with body dysmorphia (and as a result struggling with a number of self-esteem issues/eating disorders), who comes across a magic chocolate bar that enables her to relive experiences from her youth.

Oh my lordy, this is a book that all women need to read. Aside from the fact that the art is absolutely phenomenal and vibrant with colour, the storyline really packs an emotional punch. It is so raw and real that I could feel my heart being squeezed, crushed, and reassembled as I read. This is a story that the young adult in all of us can relate to.

I loved the art in this book. The character had a lot of deep rooted emotions tied to her eating disorder and it felt real in that regard. I think it's a solid graphic novel that many will enjoy.

I absolutely adored this book! To see a struggle of eating disorders and depression does. That this is what our world deals with. Just reading this makes your eyes open a little more of the problem. The characters were perfect and the illustration was beautiful!

This comic digs dipper into body image issues and journey to break the cycle of the eating disorder. We follow mindy who has body image issues and eating disorders. I loved the message of this book. About the self love starts with yourself.
Thank you netgalley for the E-Arc in exchange of the honest review.

Books like this are always a tough balance. How do you give the right messages while keeping the story from being preachy? How do you balance realism with triggering content? How do you tell kids and teens that they’re not alone in these struggles? “Eat, and Love Yourself” manages all of these things. A girl dealing with tears of ingrained eating-related issues finds a chocolate bar that shows her moments in her life where the road ahead got a little steeper. Along with beautiful art and easy-flowing dialogue, this book is a must read!