The great Cool Ranch Dorito In The Sky
Josh Galarza
Brett is trying to be strong and hold everything in while he feels the pieces falling apart. His adoptive mother has lung cancer. Brett is anxious, stressed out. Life is out of control for Brett, and he is starting to lose it. Brett has been thinking negatively about himself. He thinks he’s a burden to his best friend and that he doesn’t deserve to be loved. He feels like he has a huge hole in his chest.
Brett keeps a journal, more of a comic book, where he names the constellations after food. Someone discovers his journal and posts it all online. The whole school sees it. Brett realizes he needs help. He can no longer cope with the problems he is facing, including his eating disorder. Brett needs help, he must be honest with people, and he must ask for help. His best friend Mallory is there for him. It is with their support Brett who finds the courage to face what lies ahead.
The main character is Brett. He is a loving and caring boy facing problems that most adults do not know how to face. The pain and embarrassment of having your deepest and darkest secrets exposed online was overwhelming. Being a young adult at anytime is difficult but to be young adult facing the illness of a loving mother is almost impossible—without help. Brett attempts to handle everything on his own. However, he had a support group waiting for him.
This book has an important message. While I know this book was fictional I felt caught up in Brett’s pain.
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

just started this book yesterday and I couldn’t put it down. It’s not a what I was expecting, but it did wreck me. Brett has been dealt some really hard cards in life and he takes to coping with it by making his own comics to escape reality and… with food. After noticing he’s put on a few pounds, Brett realizes he may have a problem. But he decides to have his cake and eat it too and starts throwing up all that he eats. This, of course, makes things worse. Just when he’s hit rock bottom, his private thoughts from his journal are leaked online too… by someone he thought was a friend. Brett finally admits that he may need help and that he’s not coping with his trauma well. As a society, we don’t talk about grief eating, stomach aprons and male eating disorders. This book brings all these real issues to light in a vulnerable and heart wrenching way. Highly recommend this novel be read in all high schools. Its message is real and raw.

What I loved most: the comics as a way to cope with life, Reid as a really great best friend, Mrs. Finch’s sage advice, the positive and normalized use of therapy, Mallory - I love everything about her character, even the wax on, wax off cheesiness

Amazing journey of a young person’s journey with their eating disorder. Brett’s development brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful story. Fast paced and engaging.

Content warnings for sure for descriptive scenes of binge eating/purging/disordered eating.
Grief and parental loss.
Self-harm and suicidal ideation.

I LOVED this. There were times when it was a little TOO "teenage boy," but that's also weirdly a strength of this novel? This book also touched on a lot of "teenage boy" problems that aren't often discussed publicly, let alone in fiction. I appreciated the realness of Brett and his struggles; my one complaint is that Brett seemed a little immature for his age, but that also got addressed within the story, so it worked out for me.

The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky was AMAZING! Every high school library should own a copy. I love how it deals with tough (taboo) topics and weaves in a good dose of humor.

What a beautiful, sad, funny book. I loved this book and anyone going through a hard time in their life (and who hasn’t, especially teens) would be doing themselves a favor reading it. The cast of characters are fully realized and I found myself tearing up multiple times in this warm and sensitive book. I would recommend to any older teen.

Name of Book: The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky
Author: Josh Galarza
Genre: Teen/YA
Publisher: Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners
Pub Date: July 23, 2024
My Rating: 3.6 rounded up
Pages: 336

I know I am not the target audience for this story but as a Guidance Counselor I like to read books that might interest or in this case be helpful to students
Before I knew what this was about I was drawn to this story as I loved the title and cover.🥰

In this story Brett is the protagonist and is trying to deal with loss.
His mother died when he was young. He was fortunate to have an adopted mother whom he loves and now has lung cancer.

This is a lot for anyone to deal with and Brett is trying to cope. As one might suspect it is not easy and at first he is dealing with it in a negative way - sneaking alcohol and over eating.
He does enjoy writing and has created a comic book, where he names the constellations after food.

I hope those who know of someone or is someone dealing with an eating disorder from grief or from negative body image might relate to this story and review the resources offered by author Josh Galarza in the back of his book as well as in the audiobook.

Josh Galarza writes fiction and creative nonfiction and is a multidisciplinary visual artist specializing in printmaking and book arts. He splits his time between Reno, NV, and Richmond, VA, where he teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University while completing an MFA in creative writing. He is the three-time reigning world champion of extreme trampoline air-drumming, a sport he invented himself.

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 23, 2024.

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.

5 stars

This is a fantastic YA contemporary novel, focusing on a male protagonist who experiences a lot of painful loss. He attempts to cope with these losses, uncertainties, and changes through disordered eating, and his journey is both painful and poignant.

Brett, the m.c., loses his birth mother in a tragic situation when he is very young, and he is fortunately adopted by another woman to whom he is inextricably bound. When she is diagnosed with lung cancer, it's just too much for Brett to take (and readers will understand this sentiment because it seems grossly unfair even in a fictional scenario). While Brett has a caring community in his life, notably but not exclusively his best friend and a father figure, he is really struggling. This manifests in disordered eating and many, MANY tears.

I've taught children's, middle grade, and YA literature at the college level for 20 years, and there is such a dearth of YA texts focusing on both the central motif of this book and on male protagonists. These basics alone make this a standout novel. But there's more to the success of this book. Brett's development, his introspective nature, and his ability to (over time) learn to communicate with others and face his challenges reveal a vulnerability not often seen in male characters, particularly for this audience.

Any prospective reader should carefully review the content warnings the author responsibly provides at the start of the book. There is a lot of discussion of disordered eating, and this includes details about different ways that manifests, specific foods, and conversations about this topic. Readers will also encounter mentions of self-harm.

Those who can manage this content and who appreciate YA should not miss this book. Galarza is filling a niche that has been in desperate need of solid contributions. I'm looking forward to recommending this to students with clear content warnings up front.