| and the book is... Wasted by Marya Hornbacher
 (thats a picture of the cover)
these are some reviews from amazon.com about the book (im nto plagarising because i said they were from amazon, right?)
"I fell for the great American dream, female version, hook, line, and sinker," Marya Hornbacher writes. "I, as many young women do, honest-to-God believed that once I Just Lost a Few Pounds, suddenly I would be a New You, I would have Ken-doll men chasing my thin legs down with bouquets of flowers on the street, I would become rich and famous and glamorous and lose my freckles and become blond and five foot ten." Hornbacher describes in shocking detail her lifelong quest to starve herself to death, to force her short, athletic body to fade away. She remembers telling a friend, at age 4, that she was on a diet. Her bizarre tale includes not only the usual puking and starving, but also being confined to mental hospitals and growing fur (a phenomenon called lanugo, which nature imposes to keep a body from freezing to death during periods of famine).--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
YA-Eating disorders are frequently written about but rarely with such immediacy and candor. Hornbacher was only 23 years old when she wrote this book so there is no sense of her having distanced herself from the disease or its lingering effects on her. This, combined with her talent for writing, gives readers a real sense of the horror of anorexia and bulimia and their power to dominate an individual's life. The author was bulimic as a fourth grader and anorexic at age 15. She was hospitalized several times and institutionalized once. By 1993 she was attending college and working as a journalist. Her weight had dropped to 52 pounds and doctors in the emergency room gave her only a week to live. She left the hospital, decided she wanted to live, then walked back and signed herself in for treatment. This is not a quick or an easy read. Hornbacher talks about possible causes for the illnesses and describes feeling isolated, being in complete denial, and not wanting to change or fearing change, until she nearly died. Young people will connect with this compelling and authentic story.
Patricia Noonan, Prince William Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Dates: I don't want to rush anyone in their reading. so how about we have the book read by Christmas (December 25). I'll have a post up where you can leave comments about what you thought about the book. I'm trying to reach the old owner because I think she had a website for the bookclub. If not, maybe if we have enough people we could do an AIM or AOL chat to discuss the book.
I feel bad that I'm not giving you a lot of time to go out and get the book. I'm trying to get better at this whole book club thing. I've got a few books picked out for the next book, but I'll take any suggestions.
<3 MiKayla |
