The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Mark Oshiro and Adam Silvera

Brett has moved in with his best friend's family while his adopted mom battles cancer. The loss of his home with her has thrown Brett into deep mourning which he deals with by binge eating and drinking. His best friend, Reed, tries to support him as much as he can, but is dealing with his own feelings of loss about his parents' divorce. As Brett's mental state swirls deeper into destructive behaviors, his only life line is a girl, Malory, who is a "super fat" and is struggling with self acceptance. The three are a hot mess but eventually find the path to healing and acceptance. 

One book that I have thought about writing is either a fiction or a memoir of my own teenage eating disorder, so I was interested to read this one.  It was clearly written by someone that has gone through the experience. Bretts thoughts, feelings and mood swings are authentic and sympathetic.  The reader comes to respect and admire his steps to get help, even when he makes one stupid choice after another.  There were some really poignant scenes and some laugh-out-loud ones.  One part of the story that is heartwarming is the amount of affection and devotion between Brett and Reed.  It was nice to read about, but I kept wondering, would two teenage boys really be that warm and fuzzy to each other?  I hope Reed is based on someone the author had in his life as he was going through his disorder but I think it is more likely it is a depiction of someone the author wished he had had in his life.  The reader should beware that this is a fairly gritty book.  The dialog between the kids contains a lot of language and explicit discussion topics.  It sounded authentic to me, not gratuitous, but it was still hard for me to listen to. Still, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone looking for a story on this topic. (313 p. 2024)