Book Review: “The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky” by Josh Galarza

Within the pages of The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza, you’ll find a powerful narrative about grappling with grief and a loss of self. This novel gorgeously captures the life of a teenage boy going through a difficult time without holding back.

I received an ARC from the author’s publicist (from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Content Warning: The novel and review discuss issues involving eating disorders, alcoholism, struggling with mental health, and body dysmorphia. If you’re struggling with any of these issues, take care of yourself and seek help, even if it’s talking to someone. If you have an eating disorder, there are hotlines available. If you have suicide ideations or are considering suicide, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifline (for international readers, there is a list of hotlines outside of the US).

When boys and men endure eating disorders, mental health issues, and sexual assault/rape, most (if not all) of the time they’re treated as a joke. Some girls and women (usually white) capitalize on males wrestling with mental illness, suicide ideation/attempts, addiction, and other problems by infantilizing them and treating them like inspirational role models rather than real people who need help. Thanks to patriarchy, men are expected to be strong, dominant, and incapable of experiencing mental illness and self destructive coping methods. Most men who have experienced or are experiencing these issues scarcely talk about it because they’re embarrassed. Josh Galarza’s debut YA novel explores this through the eyes of a young man trying to find his way out of grief.

The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky begins with Brett Isaias Harrison hailing an Uber to go drunk drive-thru’ing. After ordering meals from Wendy’s, Jack in the Box, and other fast food places, he’s dropped off at Tumamoc Hill where he can see the constellations, including what he calls the Great Cool Ranch Dorito. He writes and draws a comic series titled Kid Condor, a superhero who battles evil through the cosmos.

Brett binges on food and drinks the vodka from his mother’s liquor cabinet. His mother, Evelyn, had adopted him when he was six. Now she’s dying from lung cancer. During that time, Brett lives with his best friend Reed, who Brett admires for his athletic body. As he grapples with the weight gain from excessive eating and Evelyn’s last days, he meets Mallory, who expresses pride in being fat. After his comic series and a previously chucked paper in which he’d written about his eating disorder goes viral on social media, Brett, devastated and embarrassed, accepts Mallory’s invitation to hang out with her. Meanwhile, popular girl Robyn pursues Brett asking for him to join her club to inspire her other peers with his story.

The author masterfully balances the issues navigated in this story. Brett, half white and half Mexican, is considered not “Mexican enough” by the Mexican kids in his area. He binge eats and drinks alcohol to drown his insecurities and grief. He experiences body dysmorphia as he gains weight and starts to purge after eating. The narrative portrays moments between Brett and the other men he tried discussing his issues with, including Reed’s father, Marcus. As his mental health further declines, he begins pushing people away. The only other novel that deals with similar issues is The New David Espinoza by Fred Aceves, which I highly recommend.

The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky is a compelling narrative about moving on from shame and learning to live after riding through a tumultuous time.

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The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky is now available from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.

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You can check out the author’s website here.

Author: Bradda M.

Bradda M. currently lives in Virginia. He teaches ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) at a public school and spends his free time reading and watching movies each night with his partner. For The Geekiary, he writes about webcomics and SFF media.

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