Lighter than My Shadow

Green, Katie. Lighter than My Shadow. Jonathan Cape, 2013.

In this graphic novel memoir, Katie Green tells the story of her lifelong struggle with anorexia and food, as well as her healing and survival. The muted grayscale colors are appropriate for what is a good story, though not a happy story. This book may seem daunting at first due to its size and weight, but it is a quick read and a compelling one. Green brings the reader through her childhood as a picky eater into her teen years when she began her struggle with anorexia, and includes reactions from her friends and family and her continued struggle in her relationship with food.

I appreciated her candor in that she never says she is completely healed. She does, however, find the strength to live each day and to work through each challenge as it comes.

TW: anorexia as well as bingeing (no purging); molestation which, as this is a graphic novel, is a bit graphic in nature

Recommended for: teens and adults
Red Flags: fat-shaming, language, molestation,
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

The Weight of Zero

Fortunati, Karen. The Weight of Zero. Delacorte Press, 2016.

Cat is planning to die. She has bipolar disorder, and she knows that her current level of stability will eventually disappear to be replaced with overwhelming depression. The last time that happened it nearly killed her mother. Cat is planning to kill herself before that can happen. She doesn't want to live through the depression and doesn't want to be a burden on her mother. But as Cat continues with her therapy, with school, with life, she realizes that maybe, just maybe she actually wants to live.

I imagined a very different ending for this book than what I found. What I found was not a devastating, "the character I have grown to love dies" kind of ending, nor was it a Disney-esque "happily ever after" ending, either. But it was a satisfying ending. I appreciated this author's use of research to portray teens with various disorders and issues in a balanced light. I was glad for the realistic portrayal of Cat's family struggling to make ends meet as they pay for her various therapies, which would ring more true to my patrons than a teen who has an endless supply of funds for whatever types of therapy are needed. I'm especially glad for the not "happily ever after" ending: Cat doesn't find a magical cure for bipolar disorder. Her former friends don't see the light and give tear-filled apologies and become besties again. What Cat gets is a real life, complete with its ups and downs.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: discussion of suicide, Cat plans to lose her virginity (she doesn't), teen alcohol use at a party, language, members of Cat's therapy group struggle with eating disorders, OCD, and other issues which could be triggering
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Butter, All the Bright Places, Everything, Everything

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purposes of review.

Elena Vanishing

Dunkle, Elena. Elena Vanishing. Chronicle Books, 2015.

Elena is a teen who is suffering from anorexia, although she wouldn't tell you she is suffering. She is battling the number on the scale and attaining perfection through control of her food. This is Elena's story, told in Elena's voice as she recalls her ongoing struggle against an eating disorder.

This isn't an easy book to read, but it's a timely one, and the fact that the author is also a teen/new adult will make this book appeal to a teen audience. Elena's mother has also written a book about the same time period, Hope and Other Luxuries: A Mother's Life with a Daughter's Anorexia. It would be interesting to read both books back to back and see the same story from two different perspectives.

Recommended for: teens and those who work with them
Red Flags: discussion of eating disorders, rape, drug use, language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Wintergirls, Skinny, Purge

45 Pounds (More or Less)

Barson, K.A. 45 Pounds (More or Less). Viking Juvenile, 2013.

Ann lives with her perfect, skinny mother, her stepfather, and her twin siblings Justice and Liberty. Ann's mother is obsessed with her own weight, and Ann has been on every diet imaginable and has failed every one of them. But when Ann's aunt decides to marry her girlfriend and asks Ann to be a bridesmaid, Ann decides she needs to lose 45 pounds before the wedding. Thus begins Ann's journey on yet another diet, which leads her to see what has happened to Liberty, her four-year old sister, after living in a house with two weight-obsessed people.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were both believable and likable - except the ones I loved to hate, of course - and the drama in Ann's life was appropriate without being over-the-top. Ann does a lot of growing and changing in this book, and I appreciated the ending as well. Unlike some other books I have reviewed, Ann's life seemed very realistic: she lost weight by eating better and exercising, instead of attempting expensive and dangerous surgery; she reinvented herself at home, rather than insisting on being sent to a boarding school halfway across the country. I also appreciated that Ann's aunt is a lesbian, but that her orientation isn't the focus of the book, but rather simply a fact. I would definitely add this book to my library's collection.

Recommended for: teens

Red Flags: Ann's grandmother is a bigot, but she's a ridiculous bigot, similar to the grandmother on the failed TV series The New Normal. 

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.

Skinny

Cooner, Donna. Skinny. Point, 2012.

Ever Davies has a voice inside her head, and it tells her that she's worthless, hopeless, an elephant, a freak. Ever weighs over 300 pounds and has tried every diet on the planet, to no avail. Finally, Ever decides to undergo gastric bypass surgery in order to lose weight and make the boy of her dreams notice her.  She works hard to lose her extra weight, loses that awful voice in her head, and realizes that the best person in her life has been there the whole time and has loved her no matter what her weight.

This book had a lot going on.  First, there's Ever's weight issues.  Second, there's Ever's family issues - she's in a blended family and is jealous of her stepsiblings. Third, there's the relationship between Ever and Rat, her childhood friend. Rat has always been there for her, and Ever has been clueless to the fact that he really, really likes her. I really enjoyed watching Ever find her voice and herself and banish that awful voice in her head.  I was glad that she was able to take care of the relationships in her life.  I was sad that she seemed to do everything just to please those around her; Ever lost weight to impress a boy, not to help herself.

My biggest concern with this book is that Ever gets gastric bypass surgery surprisingly quickly and easily.  It sounds like her new doctor has no idea of her dieting history and just takes her family's word (and money) for it and lets her have this dangerous surgery when she's still a teen.  I don't think that's a very realistic portrayal of this situation, nor do I think most families would have the money to get an expensive surgery at the drop of the hat like that.

Recommended for: teens, those who work with teens, as part of a collection of books on eating disorders

Red Flags: language, teen drinking

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars