Okay, so… seeing as how I had a lot of time on my hands over this past winter “break”… and, yes, break in quotations because y’all know I’ve always got to keep myself busy, but I still had some extra time to fill around the holidays… I decided to pick up a hot n’ fresh new read. In audiobook format, that is. And, well, I happened to finish it in record time–just 2 weeks for me.
Yeah, I’m a slow reader, even when I’m technically being read to, haha.
But, anyway, I settled on My Ideal Boyfriend Is a Croissant because, hey, same, girl. And… I am not disappointed with this one!
All in all, I would call it “cute.” Not perfect, but not terrible by a long shot. And it was a tad unique, so… “cute” it is.
The Book Overview
Basically, this book is about a technically overweight teen who is told by a doctor to keep a food diary, and then that food diary becomes more of a real diary. The book follows along what she has written, although it’s not read like true diary entry by diary entry–the scenes come and go like a normal read.
The Book Cover and Description, Taken from Goodreads:
“Sixteen-year-old Bluebelle, also known as BB or Big Bones, lives her life unapologetically. She loves life! She loves food!
When BB has a worse-than-usual asthma attack, her mom insists she go to the doctor. There, she is told that she is overweight (no surprise) and prediabetic (big surprise) and must lose weight, move more, and keep a food diary. To get out of this immediate health crisis, she agrees to make an effort.
Then a tragedy occurs in the family, and things get seriously complicated. Suddenly, losing weight and moving more are the least of her worries. As for the food diary, though, BB doesn’t just document what she’s eating, she documents what she’s feeling–and she has a lot to say!”
Really, I feel like it’s chick lit for teens. Or, maybe more specifically, Bridget Jones’s Diary for teens.
*Note– This book has also been published under the title Big Bones.
My Review
Not bad, not bad at all. Not the best, though, either, but it’s certainly a refresher for me after all the not-so-amazing reads I feel I’ve been trying lately.
Here’s what it’s got going for it…
An Amazing Main Character
Oh my gosh, I loved Bluebelle. It’s like, finally, a teen character that actually acts and talks like a real teen!
Bluebelle, our MC, is overweight, and that’s kind of the main point of the whole book, but you never feel like that’s her main trait. Honestly, you forget her size most of the time, and you just have to laugh at the things she says; there’s so many subtle jokes. Oh, and the food… she talks about all of her favorite foods like she’s performing spoken poetry, and it will make you hungry. This girl could describe microwaved catfish to me and I would still be salivating.
Bluebelle also has another side to her, and it’s a tad bit whiny, I think, but it’s not overwhelming, so it’s cool. And that side only comes out when necessary, like, again, a real teen.
Oh, and I’ll just quickly mention that this is a British-based book, and the audio version narrator (Elizabeth Knowelden) did an amazing job in making me fall in love with Bluebelle more through her accent!
A Not-Too-Overwhelming Message
We all know those books, shows, movies, whatever that try to get a message across… but then it comes out either awkward or just too overwhelming. You know the type–when the whole plot is centered around one or twenty social messages with no humor or other topics thrown in to even it out.
This book, thankfully, is not like that. Yes, the main plot does center around a young woman’s weight and health, but we don’t discuss just that topic on every single page. Other stuff happens, other topics come up, and, when we do get around to that topic, there’s usually some humor involved to keep it easy to digest. For example, one sub-plot of the whole book is about Bluebelle’s decision on whether or not to finish school or jump-start her career instead.
…But Some Controversial Dialogue
While I did pretty much enjoy this book overall, I do need to mention that there were a couple of parts that had me going “eh” or even “um, yikes.”
Of course, I don’t want to include any spoilers, but there are mentions of different body types and quite a bit of name-calling–both from Bluebelle and other characters. For example, Bluebelle once has some internal dialogue calling “skinny” women she sees as “anorexic-looking,” which is another topic not really addressed in the book. Because, of course, there are many different eating disorders, and I didn’t really like hearing negative comments about any of them, even from a likable main character.
There is also mention of a side-character needing to use a temporary wheelchair, and the talk around the wheelchair became cringe-worthy at times. I mean, Bluebelle often talked to this character about the wheelchair as if it were a death sentence… and that was a little awkward to hear/read.
Tl; DR:
All in all, My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant is a cute read that works well with laid-back readers who like reading the diary-sort-of format. It has a great main character and deals with weight-related topics in a way that’s not too heavy, plus I’d give it a 4/5 on the humor reading scale.
–Kari
Kari Lynn M. 