The concept of this book was intriguing to me and the title was compelling. However I found that the art style and storytelling were hard for me to follow and I ultimately ended up dnfing it. The snack recipes were a cute addition to the book though!

DNF @ 37%

I was intrigued by the premise, and I especially enjoyed the snack recipes — those were absolute gold. However, the art style didn’t work for me personally. I found the text difficult to read, and the bright red lettering was visually overwhelming at times, which made it hard to stay engaged with the story. That said, I appreciate the opportunity to read this and hope it finds its audience.

I wasn’t the target audience for The Joy of Snacking, and that became clear pretty quickly. I thought it would be a lighthearted, quirky food memoir, but the tone leaned more chaotic-confessional than charming. There’s a lot of swearing, which I didn’t appreciate, and overall I just didn’t get it.

Some readers might relate to the raw honesty and offbeat humor, but for me, it felt scattered and kind of exhausting. I’m all for snacks and self-acceptance, but this one missed the mark for me.

I loved Campell's Murder Book so I was excited to see she had a new book available on NetGalley. While this graphic novel is very different than the first one it was still amazing and I may have liked it even more.

I wasn't expecting the introspective quality of this one but it really worked. I highly recommend this one and cannot wait to read more from her.

Rounded up from 3.5.

A sometimes cringe-inducing (in a good way) look into the author's relationship with food and how that can affect so many other relationships. The art style isn't quite my favourite but to each their own and I did enjoy the book overall.

Content warnings, both in the book and review, for eating disorders of varying degrees and severity.

God, this was funny!

It was so much more relatable than I thought too, which in hindsight makes sense; both millennial (having grow up in a time when the goal was too basically look emaciated), and whilst its never directly stated its clear the author has arfid and food anxiety (ontop of other eating disorders).

There's also a mix of family issues and a variety of, unhealthy, relationships. And whilst you may think this would lead to a dreary read, the issues are dealt with which such warmth and wit and levity. It's clear the author is speaking to their own truth, and this comes across in its sincerity.

This is essentially a graphic novel memoir with a heavy focus on food. (And my god if I don't love a good memoir. I wasnt aware that the author was a well lauded comic artist until afterward. But the art is fun and definitely mirrors the tone of the graphic novel. A really enjoyable read.

Publishing date: 07.10.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

TLDR: A highly emotional read about snacking, picky eaters, and family. Trigger warning for insecurities around weight and eating. 4 stars

Graphic novel biographies are creeping into my heart this year, and we have another winner for the genre. I heavily relate to most parts of this book (except a very big point of it) and I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Starting off with the most important: the artstyle. I enjoyed it. It felt personal and down to earth in a very comforting way. Characters were fluid, the food looked yummy. It did everything it needed to.

Second: the story made me feel things. In my family we have a history of food issues (weight, eating, you name it) and this hit close to home for me. It came a little suddenly, and I got a little spooked, but it was dealt with in a sensible way. The more I read about it, the better I process it. So another book on my healing journey. Otherwise the story deals with relationship issues, picky eating, and family/friends dynamics. Lots of stuff to love. The only thing I couldn't relate to here was the picky eating as I am a "eat whatever is on the plate" type of person.

My only peeve with the book was the sudden ending. It is hinted at earlier, but it felt a little sudden, a little under explained and explored maybe ... But if this is a recent shift in the author's life then I understand not adding more.

Overall, this is a very sweet book that will make you feel a certain way. I found it to be helpful for my healing journey, but it might be triggering for others. Just be aware of the triggers before reading.

Giving this a good 'ole 4 stars.

I love the contrast of the colour and the black and white. I also loved the little recipe cards in each chapter.

Between 3 and 4 stars.

This is a graphic memoir about the author/illustrator’s complicated relationship with food, and how that’s affected her relationships with family, friends, partners, and random people throughout her life, as well as how that’s affected her mental health and self-esteem.

Tbh I didn’t read the description/subtitle carefully, and so I was kind of expecting a different story from the title Joy of Snacking. I didn’t expect this all to focus on one person and her journey with snacking, from an extremely picky child to a slightly less picky adult who prefers snacks over meals. Trigger warnings for disordered eating, body dysmorphia, and suicidal ideation; it does get to be a heavy read at times, but it does also balance with humor, like its scattering of recipes for foods important to the author, like salami with cream cheese or milk and oreos or doritos.

But because I was expecting a different story, that affected my enjoyment of this. Though I could sympathize with the main character’s struggles, I never quite came to understand their extreme struggles with trying new foods or their very stereotypically American diet. Probably my own experiences and culture are very different so I could never quite relate, but I’m not sure this memoir explained the introspective parts enough for me. Plus I was just never completely interested in the character’s journey or life, I’m sorry to say. I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, though I do enjoy the occasional comic, and while the art style here is fun, I’m not sure it works in this extended story format. Characters start looking similar and become hard to tell apart, especially when it shifts between color and black-and-white, and the handwritten text gets a little cramped and hard to read in places.

I imagine there is an audience that will relate to this memoir and the journey depicted, but I don’t think I’m part of it. It was interesting to see the perspective of snacking rather than eating meals, though.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McNeel Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an eARC!

unfortunately, while the story line itself was interesting, i didn't really enjoy the way it was told. something about the writing style just didn't work for me. it was also funny at times but sadly it still wasn't my favourite read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Joy of Snacking is more than just a quirky exploration of chips and cookies, it’s a thoughtful reflection on the small, often overlooked rituals that shape our lives. I found it deeply relatable, not just for its humor and nostalgia, but for the way it unpacks the emotional weight we attach to food, comfort, and memory. It made me laugh, reflect, and even feel a little seen. A satisfying read in every sense.

I, just as hilarious Hilary, I'm also a big fan of snacking.
I prefere small bites of everything instead of meals throughout the day, one big meal is enough for me, I thrive and live for snacks too, just like our main character.

This is also a concept I've been thinking about and investigating lately; the concept of 3 meals a day.
I recently saw a video about it's colonialist roots which made me go into a rabbit hole. I love challenging white people's colonialist standards hence my detest for the 3-meal plan, if it works for you, good for you.

This book challenged modern eating, behaving, looking and thinking ways and I'm all here for it.

For those who love reading Hilary Campbell’s cartoons and comics, be prepared to go through all the pain that is around in modern society, for those who don’t eat the way everyone else does. In this graphic memoir about food, and love, and family, Hilary goes through how she was a picky eater as a child, and continues to be so as an adult.


The problem is, the man she is seeing is a foodie. He just doesn’t get that she has issues around food, and just seems to think if she would just try the food, she would like it. Why won’t you try it?


Meanwhile she goes through all the comfort food she loves to eat, and that while the two of them share many loves, liking the same food is not one of them. She keeps saying that part isn’t important, but as she goes through telling all the food that she learned to love, and things she refused to eat, you see that it is a big deal.


The story goes back into her childhood, and early adulthood, and then back to the present. She compares and contrasts how she felt then with how she feels now.


Some bits are hard to read, such as when she goes into having such anxiety around food, that she starts to be bulimic. But then she will mix all this with the humor of recipes, such as how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, or how to make fruit snacks. (You buy them.)
If you can make it through the sad bits, you will enjoy the funny bits. A little give and take.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out on the 7th of October 2025.

Interesting and enjoyable. I did think there would be more about snacks and less memoir, but I did love the story.

I liked this graphic novel but I did not finish it. I wasn't fully invested and I think my own food problems made it hard to read about these ones as they're fairly similar. I think there are definitely people out there who would really like it though! I liked the non-perfect illustrations that are somehow still perfect though!