Each day I focus on finding fault with my body, one piece at a time.

In this poignant, personal graphic memoir for ages 14+, author/illustrator Marie-Noëlle Hébert shares her struggles with body image. The memoir opens with her aged 20, living alone in an empty apartment, admitting to her mom that she’s not doing too well. As the narrative flits back and forth in time, we learn that this is no sudden change in circumstances. We see Marie-Noëlle obsessing over perfect princesses as a young child. At age 11, she secretly wolfs down a pack of chips after she is body shamed by other kids. And throughout the memoir, she comments on how “ugly” and “fat” she believes she is. She longs to be thin and beautiful like the girls in the “cool group” and thinks that all the guys she likes are out of her reach. 

Support from the adults in Marie-Noëlle’s life is far from ideal, and her father’s words harmful and hurtful. (At one stage, he openly refers to her as “Fat Ass”.) Her PE teacher suggests she sign up for the early morning jogging club, leading her to undertake a punishing exercise schedule. Her mother and aunt provide advice on what (not) to wear and advise her to pull in her stomach. Marie-Noëlle’s comment on this, “Women pass down their body shame from generation to generation,” serves as a reminder to readers that society plays an important role in promoting unrealistic body ideals.

Fortunately, right when Marie-Noëlle is at her lowest ebb, a friend Matilda steps in and proves the catalyst for change. Marie-Noëlle confides in her and reaches out to her for information on therapy. It’s a turning point in the narrative, enabling the young woman to explore the issues she has buried over the years and gradually learn to love her body and herself.

At just over 100 pages, this graphic memoir is a short read, making it accessible even to those teens and young adults who may be time poor or reluctant readers. Text is sparse and illustrations are skillfully and sensitively rendered in graphite pencil.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize, My Body in Pieces is a brave personal account of the emotional, psychological and physical impact of negative body image. It exposes the ongoing role of unrealistic societal expectations and pressures around body norms and beauty, and promotes the importance of self-love and body acceptance.

My Body in Pieces
Written and illustrated by Marie-Noëlle Hébert
Translated from French by Shelley Tanaka
Groundwood Books, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77306-485-7 (Ebook)

Reviews: Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Quill & Quire, Montreal Review of Books

Awards: Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize (2023 Shortlist), 2020 Prix des libraries du Québec (French edition)

You can buy a copy of My Body in Pieces here or find it in a library, here.*

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Laura Taylor previously posted at Planet Picture Book, a world children’s literature blog she founded in 2017. She is a small business copywriter, NAATI-certified translator of French into English and member of AUSIT. When she is not writing, she is reading and spending time with her two young children. She occasionally tweets @plapibo