Here's the thing.... ARFID is an underresearched eating disorder and there's not alot out there right now on it, particularly because it's so new.
Sometimes it's not just picking eating.

What I liked:
This book being in second person. Bold move but it worked.
The descriptions of what Pea was feeling. Most people with an ED feel disconnected from the disorder likes it's a monster inside as Pea says often, and I liked the relatability.
Pea finally advocating for herself. It was great character growth.

What I didn't like:
I didnt like that Pea got such an easy explanation for ARFID. She has less taste buds and more sensitive cheeks but most people with ARFID can't relate to that. It's such an easy explanation, and for most people with an ED, there is no easy explanation, most are just in the dark about WHY.
I think Pea was a little too dependant on Ben, and that can be dangerous in the long run if she doesn't develop coping skills to learn to deal with loss, but I can assume she will off page at least.


Over all, I enjoyed this book. It didn't hit as hard as some other ED books I have read, but this is litterally the only novel I've found that deals with ARFID so I'm very thankful that this book exists.

The characters were flat, but the fact that I couldn’t put it down gave it a five star rating.

2.5

I don't know how I feel about this book. I definitely do not recommend it if you have or have had an eating disorder as this is pretty triggering. I appreciated the trigger warning from author at the beginning of the book, I always like to see that. I think my biggest complaint is that it's written in second person so you feel very disconnected from Pea and her struggles. I feel there was decent eating disorder representation, some passages really resonated with me and I could really relate to some of Pea's thoughts. I don't know what exactly didn't work for me but something about this just didn't do it for me.

I read this beautiful book in one sitting. Told in a unique second person perspective, Pea's story put me through a wringer of emotions. I smiled (Ben, hello), I cried, I raged for Pea. This is a tough subject, but handled so perfectly by the author. Well done.

I was so excited to read this book--my book's also in second person, and I loved the premise. Also, Stephanie is an amazing human being, and I loved talking to her about the book and the premise. I read reviews about this book being triggering, and kind of shrugged them off, but in the end I found myself with a similar response. I won't say no one should ever read this book, but if you have a history with eating disorders or "picky eating" it may not be helpful. I'm unsure if it is helpful to those who don't, but I had problems with Pea's character arc, and am unsure how much she changes to see her relationship with food as unhealthy.

This book does little to oppose Pea's unhealthy relationship with food, or show the readers that what Pea thinks about food and her body is unhealthy. I could see plenty of people reading this book, and walking away with reinforced unhealthy ideas about body and food which I find problematic. I have no history of having an eating disorder (though have gastrointestinal issues and have always been labelled a "picky eater") but I found myself triggered by this book. I had to put it down, because it became too real.

As you can see from the reviews, some people loved it, some people were triggered (as in, pretty much every book ever)--so if you're trying to figure out if you should read it or not, I encourage you to examine your relationship with food to see if this would be a good fit for you.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I was sucked in after readng the first chapter. Also, this is the first book I've read in second person and to be honest it fit the story as if Pea was telling the story. I have a sixteen year old daughter and I feel that this book would be a good read for her and think that she could relate to some of the things that Pea has gone through. I have written a couple books myself about the effects of bullying, teen suicide, and cutting due to what my daughter has had to go through in 7th and 8th grade. It's hard being a mom, but sometimes I think it's harder being a teenager. Learning about love for the first time in your life and hating your parents because you think that they don't understand, but in reality is that they've already been through some of the things you've gone through; some more than others. I highly recommend this book to everyone with or without kids. It's an amazing story!