The Donut Prince of New York

Zadoff, Allen. The Donut Prince of New York

November 5, 2024 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Eugene Gutermann is starting his junior year of high school, but he is not as convinced as his best friend Mia that it is going to be a fantastic year. He's still stuck in a rut; his mother, a doctor, has more time to pester him about his weight now that his screenwriter father is living with an actress, he hasn't written the play for the drama club that he was supposed to write over the summer, and it's still easier for him to eat donuts than to talk to the girl of his dreams, even if he sees her in the donut shop! Mia is determined to start a new social media site, Anti Social Media, and has updated her wardrobe. Even Ishaan, his other best friend, is upbeat about his year playing violin and obsessing about girls. Eugene knows that he should make more of an effort at Upper West High, but as he puts it (from the E ARC) "Everyone's talking about body posititivity, but no one's been positive about my body." This is even more evident when he has gym class, and the girl of his dreams, Daisy, is there. She recognizes him, and they even have a decent, clever conversation. Wanting to impress her, and to get out of being placed in "adaptive gym", Eugene attempts a run, and ends up running into the football captain, Harry Habib, breaking his arm. He feels terrible, and goes to football practice to apologize, where Coach Kyle see some potential; maybe Eugene could join the team and use his girth to protect Harry, who plans to play with his arm in a cast, since it's his senior year and he wants to be scouted. Since nothing else is going well in his life, Eugene agrees. This leads to the football team inviting him to sit at their table, inviting him to their parties, and not giving him a horrible hard time, although the nickname "Pudge" isn't something he enjoys. Basking in his newfound social status, Eugene invites Daisy, Mia, and Ishaan to come along with him to the party. Daisy tells Eugene about her checkered past, and encourages him to drink beer. Mia and Ishaan don't have a great time, but Eugene strengthens his connection with Daisy. As he spends more time involved with football, he doesn't work on his play or pay attention to his old friends. Things go fairly well... until they don't. Harry doesn't need Eugene on the team when he's out of the cast, and things go south with Daisy. Eugene is inspired to write a play, and manages to make a very late entry into the school drama round up. He also has a revelation about his relationships, and it looks like his junior year will be decent after all. 

Strengths: Like Zadoff's 2010 Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have, this is an excellent mix of drama, football, and self esteem issues. Adults can preach body positivity as much as they like, but that doesn't mean that is how teens actually feel. Eugene's involvement in sports is very realistic, and even his slight weight loss lines up with what I've seen happen with several boys who ran cross country and found that the changes in activity and diet they made for the sport resulted in weight loss. Daisy is the most body positive character in the story, which also makes sense, since she knows the prevailing thoughts even though she herself doesn't have any issues with her own weight. She likes Eugene, thinks he's funny, shares a few interests with him, and is more than happy to date him. Until she finds someone she would like to date more, which sort of sums up most high school romances. Mia and Ishaan's reactions to Eugene's changes in social circles are completely realistic, but it also seemed true to life that Eugene would embrace a different sort of social standing. There's angst, some writer's block, and a lot of Eugene being "stuck in his head", but in the end, it's an upbeat story. Very much enjoyed this one, and the cover is great. 
Weaknesses: Other reviewers think that this is a bit dated because of Eugene's perception of his weight, and they also don't quite believe the reactions Mia and Ishaan have, or the twist at the end. I thought about this a lot, and while it might go a bit against prevailing thoughts that get broadcast on social media (and there are some things, like body image, that people seem to only be "allowed" to think of one way), and that the ending might be a little quick, the whole book also rang really true to me. I'd be interested to see what actual high school readers think about this. I wasn't completely convinced that Eugene's play would have been able to be produced so quickly. 
What I really think: This is more of a Young Adult book (Daisy mentions that most guys would ask for oral for their birthdays, and it's left at that, but there's also some drinking), so I probably won't buy it for middle school, but will definitely make sure the public library has a copy. This is exactly the sort of book that we need for guys; funny, thought provoking, and a realistic portrayal of an average guy doing average things... and eventually having a successful romantic relationship.