Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 12))
Shivack hoarded candy in her sock drawer when she was six years old. Her svelte mother, a Holocaust survivor, ate only enough food to stay alive. At 14, when her swimming coach criticized her weight, she plunged into a lifelong eating disorder. Shivack's stirring memoir, largely illustrated with pictures drawn on napkins when she was in treatment for anorexia and bulimia, creatively chronicles her dangerous, decades-long obsession with food and her exhausting fight for control. Her whimsical cartoons range from adolescent doodlings to vivid, visceral paintings. One piece, captioned "This is what happens when you purge," shows a girl's naked pink body with extra, dismembered and split limbs, a finger down a throat and a bright orange head. It is stark and beautiful. Unfortunately, the riveting personal account is punctuated by clinical facts about eating disorders (in all caps!) that somewhat detract from the work's raw artistry. But, no matter. This intimate, often brutal portrait of an enduring illness will be eye-opening for the uninitiated, and painfully familiar to those in its clutches. (afterword, eating disorder resources) 2007, Ginee Seo Books/Atheneum, 64p, $17.99. Category: Nonfiction. Ages 13 up. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
In this intensely personal work, Shivack traces her ongoing struggles with anorexia and bulimia. The heavily illustrated pages feature ink, crayon, and colored-pencil doodles. It's more a therapeutic confessional piece than a polished work, which may appeal to readers who can relate to Shivack's experience. Facts about eating disorders are interspersed, and a list of resources is appended. Category: Nonfiction-Biographies. 2007, Atheneum/Seo, 64pp, 17.99. Ages 14 to 18. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Snow Wildsmith (VOYA, June 2007 (Vol. 30, No. 2))
Shivack's problems with food began early in her life. Her mother was a Holocaust survivor who forced her girls to finish everything on their plates, but who would not allow herself to eat more than one meal a day. Her father never thought that anything that his wife or daughters did was good enough. By the time she was a teen, Shivack was swimming competitively, furthering her descent into an eating disorder. Shivack started with diets and then began binging, moving on to purging. When she tried to open up to her family, she was told that she needed to learn self-control. For years, she fought "the E.D." (eating disorder), until finally being checked into a residential treatment facility when she was forty. This graphic work is a fascinating portrait of illness, filled with drawings and paintings created by Shivack to illustrate her tortured inner world. Her art is powerful and visceral, putting a face on a disorder that strikes millions of people. Teens will identify with the multimedia collage of images and words and will appreciate that Shivack does not offer any easy answers. Her battle with her disorder is still going on, even while she studies to become a mental health professional. Her story is highly recommended for all libraries. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P J S G (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Graphic Novel Format). 2007, Atheneum/S & S, 64p.; Illus., $17.99. Ages 12 to 18.