TGI Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!

Today I have(surprise surprise) a book review for you!

Last weekend was my big bike ride, and I was able to get in some books over that time, starting with:

Skinny by Laura L. Smith

Yes, it's a book about an eating disorder.

So this book was written third person omniscient, which was really weird for me, because the main character was named Melissa.  Every other sentence was "Melissa did" this or that, and it was throwing me for a bit when I first started reading.

Anyway, Melissa is an overachiever, a dancer, and OCD to boot, which, as we all know from after school specials, is a direct path to eating disorders.

As she starts a new school year, her classes are harder, boys are weird, and she overburdens herself with even more things, like trying out to captain the dance team the next year.  As things spiral out of her control, Melissa controls the only thing she know how: food.  First, she just cuts back on the amounts she eats, but as she can't control her binging, she eventually gives in to purging as well.

This book was paced really weirdly.  When it finished, a whole year had gone by, but it was really hard to tell during the narrative framing.  The author tried to be sneaky about it, but you really shouldn't be if you want people to actually know that time had passed.

The effect of that was the story felt really rushed.  That is fine in an action-adventure type story, but this one was based more in reality.  And honestly?  A eating disorder story should not feel rushed, because then it really does feel like an after school special, in a bad way.  You don't develop an eating disorder in a month, nor is it cured by the end of a two week period.

In sum, the actual plot of this book felt forced, contrived, and not real to life, which sucks for a 'fake but accurate' story.

Now, on to the characters.  I really didn't like the main character.  She seemed whiny and self-absorbed, and not relateable at all.  Her friends and family rang more true, but still kind of hollow.  It seemed they were there only to fulfill a certain role: best friend, oblivious parent, bitchy girl, et cetera.

In all, this book was OK.  I wouldn't read it again, but it may be a good intro to eating disorders book for young girls, 8-10.

2/5 half-eaten bagles.