My Body in Pieces is a memoir of Marie's journey to adulthood. This graphic novel shows her struggle with her body image, self hate and self esteem. It shows how much people's words can really tear you down when you already feel so low. It encases a beautiful friendship of a woman named Matilda, who helps Marie find the therapy she needs. The writing was well done and the book itself was a quick read.

3.5/5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and House of Anansi Press Inc. / Groundwood Books for allowing me to read and review this book!

The graphics really spoke to me and I found myself relating to more and more of them as the story went on. The emphasis on the artwork really left a lot of the images up to interpretation which, im my opinion, makes it even stronger. I appreciated the story that was being told about body image and think a lot of people can relate. The author hit on a lot of specific things that I've struggled with growing up, so the thoughts of the main character really resonated with me. However, I think it would have been cool if at the end of the book, the MC started to love herself more and the images slowly turned to color, as if seeing herself from a different perspective for the first time.

A fragmented graphic novel done entirely in pencil illustrations. Some of the illustrations hit the uncanny valley for me. I liked the up-close ones of faces, but the full-body shots of people moving were a little off. I did like the story of learning to accept your body as it is. However, the narrative was too jarring for me to fully connect, and I felt that some of the emotional resonance was lost in translation. Would like to read the original French to see if I connect with it more that way.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

The art is gorgeous and so full of emotion. The story is relatable for so many people, but would have benefited from being drawn out more. The art makes the reader/viewer connect to the pain of the protagonist but we see very little of the work she does to free herself of so many of the negative thoughts tearing her down.

3.5 stars. The art style of this book was absolutely beautiful. There were some beautiful lines and as a girl who has struggle with weight/appearance my whole life, I really resinated with them. One of my favorites was where she talked about how she was invisible and how she doesn't have time to keep up with experiences because she has to be keeping up the tasks she needs to do to keep weight off. But, I did feel like the writing was a little all over the place and didn't convey any sort of storyline, which I could see how that could've been intentional, but it makes it a little complicated to understand the narrative. I did really enjoy it though and I'd love to pick up a hard copy to see the beautiful art on a page.

Thank you for providing this to me early.

The charcoal art was stunning and is one of my favorite styles of illustrations.

It’s always hard to rate a memoir, but I feel I must be honest. The writing seemed a bit all over the place, I didn’t feel as though it flowed well, story wise. There was some beautiful lines, however I was looking for something a bit deeper. I just felt like I was lacking something, and this is coming from a girl who struggled with weigh, was bullied, and still struggles with self-love. I was hoping to feel that connection and just didn’t get there.

This graphic memoir was too short to really build a story. I just felt like it was lacking substance. Although I did enjoy the drawing style of the illustrations. The story just didn't hold my interest even for such a short memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley and Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Really beautifully drawn and quietly, thoughtfully told. This reminds me of a more adult version of Jane, the Fox and Me, which is a great thing. The story will be relatable to a lot of people, but it's the illustrations that make this book even more special.

This short graphic novel was definitely created with a lot of emotion and heart, but I felt it lacked the punch I needed to give it a higher rating. It could be because of the length that I never felt fully invested in the story. As someone who has dealt with the struggles present in this book, I found myself relating to many of the things Hébert wrote. However, I thought they were a little too surface level. I would have liked it if the graphic novel delves even further into the complicated mindsets of those of us who have had eating disorders/body dysmorphia. The art style also wasn’t my cup of tea. Overall, I don’t think this is a bad book, just didn’t do enough for me.

My Body in Pieces is an autobiographical graphic novel about the author's relationship with food and her body image. It is pretty intense from the start. In the first scene, Marie-Noelle Hebert is beating herself up for eating an entire bag of chips ("Fat! Fat! Fat!"), and later, a scene implies self harm (while the character says "I HATE ME I HATE ME I HATE ME"). In the short space (~100 pages) Hebert explores the factors that have shaped her self image. She was bullied at school and at home for her appearance, told she should lose weight, pluck her eyebrows, and wear different clothing. She was socially rewarded for losing weight--even if unhealthily doing so. From all around her, she was getting the message FAT=BAD. Hebert goes through therapy and talks about these issues with her friends and family, and ultimately, the book ends on a message of self-acceptance.

The illustrator perfectly captures the tone of the novel in the realistic, grey toned charcoal/pencil drawings. The book is worth checking out for the talent of the artist alone.

*I received an electronic ARC from Net Galley to review.*

This was such a unique and beautiful way of expressing an eating disorder and/or a distorted body image both looks and feels like. The images were so beautifully done that although the text wasn't distracting or bad by any means, I truly felt the message could have been conveyed through the artwork alone. I've honestly never read a graphic novel before, but I'm happy to report I thoroughly enjoyed my first one here. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this beautiful novel.

this short graphic memoir follows the artist's struggles with negative body image, disordered eating, and self hatred. it's only about 100 pages, and the story does feel a bit too brief, but it's candid and emotionally-charged. particularly interesting are hebert's examinations of her relationships and the origins of her body issues.

i love the charcoal art style. hebert's realistic and evocative facial expressions is especially impressive! so much emotion in the images.

Thank you to NetGalley and Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of My Body in Pieces in exchange for an honest review.

My Body in Pieces is more of a collection of snapshots than a story. We follow Marie-Noelle through beautiful narration as she develops and attempts to cope with severe self image issues. The art work is hyper realistic and absolutely stunning. I think this was very well done, but parts of it felt a bit disjointed or out of place because of the presentation style.

My Body in Pieces is a visually stunning graphic memoir about the author’s struggle with disordered eating and body image. The author discusses her development of a negative body image as a child, her relationship with food and exercise, the way those things affected relationships with friends and family, and her process of getting help and recovery. The artwork is amazing and the story felt honest and emotionally charged.

This beautifully illustrated graphic novel is a super quick read. At only 100 pages, it tells the author's struggle with body issues due to being an overweight child, teen and adult. These issues are all too real and ones that countless people have to deal with at, often times, very early ages. The negative consequences that can come out of low self-esteem and body shaming can be incredibly damaging, but the author provides some "light at the end of the tunnel" and some lessons that she learned through her experiences.

The issue is complex, but the book offers something to think about for everyone-no matter the size.

While the conclusions/lessons of "My Body In Pieces* are not new, the way they are expressed are hauntingly beautiful.

In fact, the illustrations and the medium used to tell this story are what really brings the message home. I would highly recommend this book to anyone starting their self love journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this piece in my own self love journey.

3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4 because rating systems have yet to pick up on readers' demand for partial ratings, and I'd rather bump up a book's rating than lower it in these situations.

CW: disordered eating, fatphobia, thoughts of suicide and self harm
My Body in Pieces by Marie-Noelle Hebert is a graphic novel memoir about the author's recovery from struggles with her weight, body image, and disordered eating.

I think this book carries a very important message. There is still a proliferation of diet culture and many people are still affected by unrealistic beauty standards and pressures and developing mental illnesses and/or dangerous habits as a result of this exposure, even if we are seeing more "body positivity" or "self love" posts on social media and a push for more diverse, realistic, and less photoshopped marketing. Although I don't read many graphic novels, I love that art was the medium Hebert chose to tell her story through---it can be difficult to put such complex or painful feelings and experiences into words, or sometimes words alone aren't enough to capture it. And this is where art can maybe elaborate better. There are a few different art styles/presentations here, but I found that the scenes drawn very realistically, almost like a photograph, were the most compelling to me artistically-speaking.

I also liked how the author addressed how it affected not just her self esteem and self concept, but her relationships with other people and how important being honest and vulnerable with others, but also having a support system, is to recovery and healing.

I personally found the back-and-forth between her childhood and development of her obsession with weight, and her process of moving towards recovery as an adult felt disjointed and occasionally confusing navigating the sharp transitions, and it wasn't always clear why she chose to flashback or forward in that moment. However, I also am not usually a huge fan of nonlinear timelines, so this aspect could simply be a matter of personal taste vs authorial and artistic choice.

My Body in Pieces by Marie-Noëlle Hébert is a wonderfully written graphic novel! I loved reading this and seeing another perspective on mental illness regarding body image. This was such a relatable story and reminded me of Lighter than My Shadow by Katie Green. The art style in this graphic novel was not my favorite, but it did not distract from the story. Great read!

Title: My Body in Pieces

Author: Marie-Noëlle Hébert

Genre: graphic novel

PopSugar Reading Challenge Prompt: A book that discusses body positivity

Thank you NetGalley for this book!

This book is absolutely beautiful. Not only are Marie-Noëlle’s honesty and realizations important to convey, but her illustrations are absolutely phenomenal. They are in black and white, so I was able to read it on my e-ink Kindle, but I also read it again on my phone to see just how dynamic the illustrations would look. I definitely recommend reading on a full-color tablet. The shades of gray and small details are so dynamic.

From Goodreads: All Marie-Noëlle wants is to be thin and beautiful. She wishes that her thighs were slimmer, that her stomach lay flatter. Maybe then her parents wouldn’t make fun of her eating habits at family dinners, the girls at school wouldn’t call her ugly, and the boy she likes would ask her out. This all-too-relatable memoir follows Marie-Noëlle from childhood to her twenties, as she navigates what it means to be born into a body that doesn’t fall within society’s beauty standards.

When, as a young teen, Marie-Noëlle begins a fitness regime in an effort to change her body, her obsession with her weight and size only grows and she begins having suicidal thoughts. Fortunately for Marie-Noëlle, a friend points her in the direction of therapy, and slowly, she begins to realize that she doesn’t need the approval of others to feel whole.

Marie-Noëlle Hébert’s debut graphic memoir is visually stunning and drawn entirely in graphite pencil, depicting a deeply personal and emotional journey that encourages us to all be ourselves without apology.

There isn’t a lot of text to this graphic novel, but that’s okay. As Marie-Noëlle discusses her image of herself, the few words and detailed illustrations work together well. When I downloaded the book from NetGalley, I had no idea it was a graphic novel, but I loved everything about this book. I highly recommend this one.

I think this was the first memoir I have read. It was written incredibly well. The author did such a good job telling her story and letting other people know they aren’t alone.