Some books are true food for thought and that includes these titles containing stories about teens with eating disorders:
• Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler carried me with it from the moment I started reading — I was captivated. Although the story is about a serious matter, it is delightfully written with a wicked sense of humour. The main character, Lisabeth Lewis, is anorexic and has a bulimic friend. She has numerous problems, suffers from low-self esteem and comes from a dysfunctional family. This book contains essential and important information about anorexia and the assistance that is available to treat this illness. What is so powerful about this story is how Lisa is able to face her problems and reach out for help.
• A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger shows that eating disorders also affect boys. It is interesting to note that more than a million males in the United States suffer from anorexia. Mike Welles is an average boy who has problems: low self-esteem and family complications. To compound matters, Mike meets a girl who encourages him to develop some wrong coping methods and, before long, he ends up in hospital where he must learn to eat in order to live. This is a good read both for teens and their parents for several reasons: the plot is interesting, the characters are credible and the dialogue makes the reading engaging.
• In What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton, a school ski trip with girlfriends changes the life of Sid, a popular 16-year-old girl. Because Sid is not as skilled in the sport as her friends, Page and Kirsten, she lags behind. Sid is alone when she meets a handsome man; she flirts with him and accepts his invitation to a late-night party. What happens next in her young life will lead to avalanche-sized consequences. While she has a comfortable personal environment, Sid lacks experience and knowledge regarding her problems and struggles with emotional distress. Unfortunately, this sad condition leads to an eating disorder. We hope that she will soon recover once she has dealt positively with her problems. Mind you, Sid has made the first step: She told somebody.
• Skinny by Donna Cooner is a story about Ever, an obese person. Ever hears a mean voice in her head, which she calls “Skinny.” While I was reading this book, I realized that my experience was similar to Ever’s. Just as it is for so many people with eating disorders, Ever’s life consists of yo-yo diets and other failing attempts to lose weight. She finally decides to take some drastic measures and goes for a gastric bypass surgery. Even though the choice is difficult, Ever has strong support and she will eventually overcome her food dependency. I chose to include Skinny in this column for the simple reason that the story clearly illustrates the emotional struggles that face obese teens and the impact obesity has on their lives.
• Set in a Welsh village, The Twins by Saskia Sarginson is an awesome read about twins Issy and Viola. Brilliantly written, the story is both sad and funny, with the constant theme of becoming lost and searching for a way out. Both Issy and Viola have different coping strategies: While Issy works hard and lives in the present, Viola struggles with an eating disorder and tries to survive on childhood memories. These childhood memories and village folklore provide a certain charm to the story, and the warm style of narration is cleverly adapted to express the twins’ emotions.
These books are available at the Coquitlam Public Library.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Grazyna Nawrocka works at Coquitlam Public Library.
