Thank you to the publisher and MacMillan audio for the review copy. This is an amazingly well crafted examination of mental health in a vulnerable teen. As someone with academic background in eating disorders and body image, I really thought this book captured a lot of feelings and experiences powerfully, with compassion, and without stigma; the examination of these themes and diet culture from a male perspective is incredibly valuable as it the layering of these themes along with alcohol use (these struggles often overlap for many). A heartbreaking story of grief, vulnerability, hope, dreams, and a comic book as well, I truly valued reading this and listening to some of the parts on audiobook, I thought the voice acting was excellent.
Please consider the author note at the start of the book as a way to examine if this book is right for you; I value the note and the inclusion of resources as well.

What I love about this book:
The representation of mixed kids; to use terms from the book, of fat and super fat kids; of a bromance as being the dominant "love story"; of foster children; of grief; and eating disorders... This book covers a lot of ground, but for the most part, it doesn't feel overdone.
Brett. His first-person narration has a very strong voice. I didn't like it at first, but I grew to love it.
Brett and Mallory.
Brett and Reed.
Brett and Evelyn.
Brett and his therapists and counselors.
The humor.
The comic stuff--Brett is a nerd, and it's likeable.
That Galarza says it's about love, and it really is. Not at first, but that's what it becomes--this really beautiful love story--love for friends and for family (in all its various forms) and for self.

What I don't like about this book:
The language. I don't curse, and I don't like tons of cursing in books. It weakens the book for me. I get that Brett is the narrator, and he has his own voice, but it's still overdone in my opinion. It's like every other word is a curse word or some other type of "foul" language (to sound like an old Millennial), and I just didn't like it. This changed a bit as the story moved forward.
Some stereotypes.

Overall, I love a lot more than I dislike. The latter part of this book is what made me want to give it 4 stars and not 3. I really love the way the story builds and progresses and how the characters and their relationships grow. Galarza seems so passionate about representation and about fighting against diet culture, and I really appreciate his passion. I recommend this book if you love YA literature with guys as first-person narrators, if you are going through or have gone through an eating disorder of any kind, and if you like stories about friendship without any strong romance.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book to review.

Brett's life has been spinning out of control ever since his adoptive mother was diagnosed with cancer. He started sneaking alcohol and eating. His one solace is writing his comic book, where the constellations are named after foods and the main character is a mirror of his life experiences. When, in a fit of frustration, he throws his journal in the trash at school, all of his insecurities become public knowledge when someone posts it on social media. When Brett finally hits bottom, he realizes that he needs to start being honest with his friends, and more importantly, with himself. An amazingly thoughtful look at grief, loss, and eating disorders.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the title and then the cover, but the writing is what made me stay, it was not an easy book to read, what with Brett suffering from an eating disorder and the graphic descriptions of his throwing up, but it was worth it, because it elicited so many emotions, as many as he had, I could feel his grief and pain and despair, loneliness and then acceptance and hope for a better future, which it is implied it won’t be easy but he won’t be alone.

Ugh. My heart. I related to this so much, and Brett has my heart forever. Seeing his struggle and how he delt with it through his comics and his journal broke me. This is such an important story for those who struggle with EDs or anxiety, and I can't recommend it enough.

I really enjoyed reading this, it had everything that I was looking for from the description. The characters were what I was expecting and enjoyed going on the journey with the characters. Josh Galarza was able to weave a interesting story and glad I read this.

alright. this book was real good. i super enjoyed it. the characters are chef's kiss. the plot is mr. darcy level fantastic. the writing is tortured poets department wonderful. all the things and more for this book. read it!!!

Brett, the main character, struggles with disordered eating and drinking as a way of coping with his mom's terminal illness. There is something raw about this book and it definitely made me think about things, like societal pressures on boys, and how they too might struggle with eating and body image. There were some parts where the character seemed to handle challenging discussions and situations like an informed adult instead of a struggling teen, which seemed a bit awkward at times. Overall, I kind of liked it, but am not sure I would recommend it.

Actual rating 3.5 stars

The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky. Funny title, right? The story isn’t that funny, though.

Brett is a sixteen-year-old who is drowning. His adoptive mom has cancer, and therefore, he lives with his best friend, Reed. He eats to push away the pain in his stomach and drinks to feel numb.

The first chapter grabbed me at my throat. Drunken Brett orders an Uber to drive through all the fast food restaurants in town and then eats everything he ordered. Alone. I’m an emo eater myself, so I can fully understand his feelings to eat his problems and pain away.

I really loved that this story is about a boy and eating disorders. We need far more of them. Most YA books about eating disorders are about girls, and it’s so refreshing to see it from a boy’s perspective. Brett is in pain because of Evelyn but also has hardly any self-love. And in the end, that’s what this story is eventually about.

TGCRDITS made my stomach clench more than once, and I wanted to hug Brett so badly, but something kept me from rating this story a full four stars. I think that something is the storyline. I wanted to know a bit more about how Brett started to eat more and more, and I definitely wanted him to realize more slowly that he had an eating disorder. It was like one and one is two instead of searching for an answer longer or making a detour.

But other than my comments above, this is a solid debut, and I’m really curious what Josh Galarza will write next.

This story is about a boy living in Arizona who binge eats and uses alcohol to cope with his adoptive mother's deteriorating health condition. Eventually his eating disorder spirals out of control, affecting his relationship with his best friend. He must come to terms with the fact that he is not okay, and does so with the help of unlikely schoolmates.

This book deals with heavy themes in an entertaining and relatable way for young readers. It addresses the different treatments for eating disorders and why some treatments can actually make things worse for a person. I would recommend this book to any teens struggling with eating disorders, loss, or depression.

Wow this one is an intense read. From the beginning I felt for Brett and how much he was hurting. As we see him go further down this hill, it's hard to watch, but I was rooting for him to find his way back up and out of it.
Mallory is a great supportive character. And there were other great characters too that really dive deep into the eating disorders.
I thought the comics he talks about writing were interesting, especially with their food related constellations. It makes since with the food disorder stuff going on. But it was interesting to see the names he comes up with.
This book isn't for the faint of heart and I would definitely recommend it more for older teens.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.