This book was just so-so for me. The concept was good–I love the body positivity message and that the theater kid is able to fit in with the jocks. However the execution in terms of plot and character dialog was lackluster in my opinion. So many instances didn’t feel authentic and the way the teacher/coach interacted with Eugene made me frustrated (coming from a high school teacher). I was expecting more from the theater angle, especially at the beginning to give the reader the idea that he is a theater kid, and since it is called Donut Prince, more should have been done with that other than him showing up in the store a couple of times. 3 stars rounded up.

The Donut Prince of New York is a fun and quirky YA fiction. Eugene is a likeable main character who is surrounded by some rather unlikeable people who have some redeeming qualities. Hand this to readers who enjoy light hearted rom coms.

This is a YA story that draws on several familiar tropes, but in a slightly unusual fashion. The result is a charming, quirky read.

Eugene is the fat boy, who's bright and also a theatre nerd - the son of a mother who is a Jewish doctor and a father who has left his family. He has some good friends, but none of them are part of the popular cliques at school.

So when he develops a crush on the new girl, Daisy, Eugene knows that something has to change quite radically in order for him to be in with a chance. What he doesn't bargain for is to unexpectedly find himself hanging out with the jocks - or to discover that he likes it!

But is this new life of his too good to be true? And what if he has to give up his old friends in order to have this new beginning? The story may require some suspension of disbelief, but it is a good portrayal of the humour and pathos of teenage life for those who are not part of the one size fits all spectrum. It gets 3. 5 stars.

This book has a lot of depth and go tent that makes me lean towards ya more than middle grade. Oral sex is briefly mentioned as well as drinking. I loved the message taught in the story. It is funny and gives. N accurate portrayal of your typical guy

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the Audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book ate (donuts)! (I'm sorry)

I liked this book! It felt a bit like Mean Girls with a twist.
The story addresses important topics like body-image issues, self-esteem and friendship.
I enjoyed seeing Eugene grow as a person and gain more and more confidence as the book went on.
The ending was slightly predictable but I didn't mind that at all.


PSA: I would urge anyone struggling with body image issues or body dysmorphia to be careful when reading this book as it's heavy on the self-depreciation in several instances. The protagonist doesn't get bullied much for being overweight but more than makes up for that with constantly pointing out what he believes are flaws in his appearance

From the very first chapter, I found myself rooting for Eugiene, the endearing yet somewhat outcast protagonist. He's a budding playwright who just met the girl of his high school dreams. An unexpected gym class accident propels Eugiene onto the football team, catapulting him to instant popularity. The ups and downs of high school play out in this story.

I appreciated the modern references, such as mentions of long Covid, which help students relate to the story. However, I noticed that Eugiene's self-bullying, particularly with fat jokes, was more pronounced than any external bullying he faced. It was a bit jarring and took away from the empathy I felt for him.

I found the audiobook really easy to keep me interested and the narratior did a great job of making the voices for dfferent characters.

A raw and relatable YA coming of age story that features a fat Jewish drama nerd who gets recruited to play on the school football team only to have his newfound popularity go to his head. This was good on audio and recommended for fans of authors like Julie Murphy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest opinion