Eat, and Love Yourself is an awesome new story about Mindy, a curvy young woman who has an issue with self love. We follow along as Mindy eats a chocolate bar that allows her to go back and watch events from her past. She can't communicate with her past self, she can only watch. Each visit brings Mindy closer to the root of her issues with food and self love. All Mindy has to do is find her inner self that has been worthy of love all along.

I loved this story! It was such an easy read with a worthy message. Mindy is a bit of a downer, mainly cause by the way she views herself, however she is still easy to adore and makes a great main character.

The graphics are also wonderful. They are pleasing to look at and extremely well done. They add a lot to the storyline giving it life and depth.

Overall, I'm a big fan of this one! I'm looking forward to seeing what other masterpieces this author has in store.

<i>A huge thanks to NetGalley and BOOM for giving me a free ecopy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I have been staring at this screen for about a full minute now, trying to think of a way to review this book. I am feeling very emotional about it, in a good way, but it makes it hard to formulate. So let's start with the easy bit:

The art.

The art is absolutely stunning! It was gorgeous, it was smooth, it was easy to follow.. I just loved everything about it.

I did feel like sometimes the art made it look as if she was (a lot) skinnier (I mean she has a serious waistline- mine is just gone forever, haha!) but perhaps that is kind of the point, as those times were mostly when other people were seeing her. The more I think about it, the more I think it was done on purpose, so really well done there!

And then for the subject matter..

Personally, I don't suffer from an eating disorder, unless you count morbid obesity as one. I do however suffer from chronic depression and a non-existent self esteem. I either don't eat, or I eat all the things; there is no inbetween. I feel disgusted with my body when I think about it too much. So even if I don't have everything in common with Mindy, I related to her so much. The final page, for example, had me sobbing, and I hope to one day be able to think like that, too. As mentioned, it is a long process. It takes time. It's hard.

I loved that about this novel- it wasn't downplayed, and the unintentional toxic/hurtful comments were hitting very close to home. I was glad they were put in there, as they are often a huge piece of the bigger picture.

This graphic novel could be so important for educational purposes, and I sincerely hope that no one will use this novel as a way to 'prove' why overweight people are just lazy etc. This can do so much for so many people, and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.

Apologies for this weird review, but I just don't think I'll get it to be any more coherent than this.

I was given an advance reader copy of this from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Mindy struggles with an eating disorder and an skewed view of her own body, and is given a view into her past by "magic" chocolate! I loved the artwork, for this graphic novel! But the storyline was just ok for me. I wanted to like it, and I felt it's a story that needs to be told. But although it touched some deep topics, and some of the root of the problem (family who "means well" but frequently says hurtful comments), I felt like the resolution was very shallow! I mean we see in a flashback that she was given some professional help, but she seems to have been pushed into it and not willing to do it on her own. But suddenly she just decides she's going to change? And she has no health concerns after seemingly being bulimic for 10 years or more? I like what this is trying to do, just not sure it got there.

I did not particularly enjoy this book as much as I really wanted to. It started off okay but the story didn't seem to go anywhere. Characters drifted in and out without much development or reasoning. I appreciate a story about body dysmorphia and I think we need more of those because it is a thing many people deal with. However, the book didn't deliver on that. I did like the art style and found it visually appealing despite the fact character looks changed throughout the story.

This was an amazing graphic novel! I loved the art and the story so much!

This is a beautiful story about Mindy and her struggles with body dysmorphia. It does have a trigger warning for eating disorders so be aware of that going in. In this story she is eating a chocolate bar that causes her to go back in time each time she takes a bite. Each time she goes back in time, it takes her to a specific point where she can see important events that impacted the way she sees herself.

I really liked the whole concept of this graphic novel. The way that she is taken back to learn to love herself and to understand herself is really amazing. I really liked Mindy and totally related to her being in my twenties and all the things that go along with it. I do appreciate how Mindy grows throughout the story but I think if the book were just a little longer, the growth would be more satisfying. I didn't get quite the amount of growth that I would have liked. I didn't quite feel finished at the end because of this. But overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more from the author!

*eARC provided in exchange for an honest review*

The story of Mindy is a case for so many people – it brings to light the relationship with food, eating disorders, expectations, confidence, self-discovery and self-acceptance. The writer creatively seeks to bring forth that understanding the problem and accepting oneself is where the healing starts positively.

The illustrations are vivid, bright and contemporary. It is interesting to see that the protagonist is drawn as a healthy woman with an unhealthy eating disorder; one may not even think of it as a major problem until they know the person closely and monitor their behaviour under different stressful circumstances.

In conclusion - I like the illustrations and the concept. However, the story felt a little incomplete to me. Though the problems were addressed in glances, I wish the book was longer!

Thank you NetGalley for lending me the digital copy!

I absolutely loved this book and it’s message. I read this in an hour. I related so much to Mindy and her view of resell and her body. I think that it is so important that this book is out there and that it is receive in the hype that it is. TW: depression, bulimia, body dysmorphia, and eating disorder. If you suffer from any of these things please proceed with caution. If not I think you should definitely give this book a try!

I was intrigued by this graphic novel from the get go. I stumbled across it on NetGalley and wanted to read it right away and while I absolutely loved the artwork, the story itself fell somewhat flat.

Body image and eating disorders and anything that falls in that realm is incredibly nuanced and complex and I think that one aspect of this story that missed the mark was the length. I feel as if this could have benefitted from more content, the synopsis (which I didn't read until after I had finished reading it) tells the story entirely. While normally I wouldn't mind, as it does a great job of summing up the story, it made me realize that I really felt like the story was too short. There wasn't enough explanation, inner thought, or conclusion. I ended my time reading only wanting more, but not in terms of a sequel, just more from what I was given. 

From the story that we were given I feel wishy washy in terms of my opinion. Again, I loved the artwork but because nothing related to the plot was fleshed out I was left with more questions than answers. I loved the arc of self acceptance and was overall pleased with the story in general but I constantly felt like I was reading the highlights or a sneak peek of this graphic novel rather than an almost finished product. I know that this book was about self love but I couldn't help but wonder where the interpersonal relationships were, why the characters interacted the way that they did, why certain conversations led to others. The flashback scenes only provided so much context. 

I think if the author was going for a broad, more universally understandable story about a woman's journey to self love she hit that mark. But this story held so much potential that just wasn't there. It has the important messages of looking back at oneself and finding contentment and self love in the midst of disordered eating and thoughts but it was all surface level. 

This is the type of book to spark conversations and again, I cannot praise the artwork more, and if you're looking for a graphic novel that ties in body positivity and relearning how to love yourself in the midst of personal struggles I would recommend it.

An anthem to self love. The art is just as beautiful as the story. I will recommend this to every single human being I know.

First of all, I LOVED the graphics; the colors and drawings were perfection! I would definitely pick up something else from this author. I found the storyline interesting, and the idea of time-travel chocolate bar was great! However, I felt like the story was not explored enough, it was a bit too surface level for me as I was expecting AND hoping for a more in depth dive of Mindy's battle. I loved that she stood up to her parents, but I wished the moment would have lasted longer and more conversations would/should have taken place to clear things up or at least to give Mindy her voice! It felt more like the beginning of her journey, I was starting to get emotionally invested, and I would have just loved to see more of what happens once she decides to take back control of her life.

5 stars for the drawings
2 stars for the story

After finishing this graphic novel I wasn’t sure how I felt. I had to go back and re-read the blurb to get a better sense of if the book really did what I thought it was set out to do. The description reads that the chocolate bar will take Mindy back to a specific moment in her past to help her look at herself, love herself, and accept love.

I think this graphic novel is important. It highlights what life with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia can be like. Seeing someone in their daily life can help with visibility and communication surrounding the topic, but the story also shows Mindy in her life refusing meals, eating alone at night, and purging. This could be triggering and it’s important that readers know about the behavior before choosing to read this graphic novel.

My issue with this graphic novel is that Mindy doesn’t really “get the message” to look at herself, love herself, and accept love until the very last page. Through the rest of the story she is learning what the chocolate bar does, trying to understand the “dreams," and is navigating her life with her eating disorder and body dysmorphia. Her friends and family aren’t exactly supportive.

I started this book hoping to see a story about self-love and how to actually “eat, and love yourself.” Instead, I followed a character offering a window into her life and saw how difficult eating disorders can be. I think this story does a lot for exploring what life is like and how friends, family, social situations, and personal thoughts affect daily life, but I didn’t get a whole lot about self-love, just the idea that self-love is important.

Eat, and Love Yourself is the body-positive graphic novel of my dreams! I found the art to be gorgeous and calming, while the themes in the story were incredibly intense. Sweeney Boo created an original story that addresses eating disorders and body image issues - both of which I struggle with. Eat, and Love Yourself made me feel less alone, and I highly suggest it to anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder or body image concerns. This book has the ability to save lives, and I wish that I had read it when I was an adolescent.

This destroyed me in the best possible way. It's such a beautiful depiction of the struggle with body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Some of the scenes hit really close to home, and even though it was a short story, it managed to make me so emotional so quickly without feeling overwhelming or triggering.

The illustrations are GORGEOUS. I could easily read a series of ten of these because I was so drawn into Mindy's story. It's so refreshing to see fat girl representation in graphic novels, and it made me feel seen and comfortable. Seriously, I cannot recommend this book more. Please pick this up if you have the chance!!!

This was a really good graphic novel about a girl dealing with issues of body image, confidence and an eating disorder. The artwork was incredible and brought the story to life. I loved the different texts through the text chats. Mindy was extremely relatable and I hope the best for her in the future. I’d love to read a sequel.

Eat, and Love Yourself is a short graphic novel about eating disorders, depression and learning to love yourself. I enjoyed the artwork very much though the flashbacks were a bit confusing at times. I was pretty surprised to find out it was set in my hometown and that the author lives there. Great graphic novel overall. Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook copy.

3.5 Stars

I loved the overall message and the artwork was amazing. Rarely do I see fictional work that covers eating disorders and/or body dysmorphia and when I do, it’s not done in a sensitive manner or correctly. So happy about that. At times it was a bit strange but I’m fine with that. I would’ve given it more stars though had it dived a bit deeper into body dysmorphia instead on just barely telling the reader what it was. There is a lot to it and it’s not the same experience for everyone. Overall though I would recommend because I loved the art and it has a good ending message

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this comic. The illustration was amazing. The plot was amazing. Mindy is just adorable and a very likable character. I’ve never reviewed a graphic novel before and I don’t want to spoil to much. But I height recommend this.

TW: For Fat Shaming, Bulimia, Binge Eating, Bullying, And Body Dysmorphia

This was done so well. The handling of the eating disorder was so realistic and my past struggles really connected with the main characters. I appreciate the look at well-meaning or thoughtless side comments on weight/bodies and how those can add up to a lot of harm. I feel like those parts are normally left out of eating disorder discussions, while large societal or bullying take the forefront. I also really appreciated seeing a bigger character struggle with an eating disorder as someone that has never been thin but suffered with this aspect of my mental health for years. On top of all the thoughtfully handled topics, this comic was beautiful. The color palette and illustrations were so soft and comforting to help me get through this rough read. Definitely get in the right headspace for this read if you have experience with having an eating disorder because the accuracy can be a bit triggering.

I loved the message of loving yourself and how microaggressions emotionally harmful macroaggression. I dig the look of the work and hope the artist understands that it beautifully captured and conveyed the message. I think all around I enjoyed my time getting to know the Character and seeing her growth.

This is a fantastic graphic novel showcasing a little talked about issue. The main character has an eating disorder and a touch of body dysmorphia, this story is about how she has to learn to love herself again.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for honest review.