Reading for Awareness!

February 26th - March 6th



It's almost the end of February, and with every ending comes a new beginning. In this case that new beginning, is the start of this year's National Eating Disorder Awareness Month. I'm a huge advocate for supporting and continuing to learn more about mental illness. Mental health awareness has come such a long way in recent years, but there's still so much work to do! I've decided to pick up an old favorite of mine, that is centered around eating disorders, mental health, and how ED's can impact and severely alter an individual as a person and their day to day life.

As we, book worms, know there really isn't any way other better way to bring a concept near and dear to our hearts, than to have the words imprinted in both our minds and our hearts. Reading is one of the easiest and best ways to walk a mile in someone else's shoes; to develop a better sense of empathy; and to grow as an individual and to grow in knowledge and experience. You never know when the words you have read will be of use in your life. And if you don't need to hear these words for yourself, there may come a time when someone may need to hear them from you.

So consider taking the time in the coming week to pick up a book that has the potential to bring awareness to both your life and those around you.

The old favorite that I've selected is Skinny by Ibi Kaslik.


Summary: Do you ever get hungry?  Too hungry to eat?
Holly's older sister, Giselle, is self-destructing. Haunted by her love-deprived relationship with her late father, this once strong role model and medical student, is gripped by anorexia. Holly, a track star, struggles to keep her own life in balance while coping with the mental and physical deterioration of her beloved sister. Together, they can feel themselves slipping and are holding on for dear life.

This honest look at the special bond between sisters is told from the perspective of both girls, as they alternate narrating each chapter.  Gritty and often wryly funny, Skinny explores family relationships, love, pain, and the hunger for acceptance that drives all of us. 

Author: Ibi Kaslik

Genre: Young Adult; Mental Health; Mental Illness

Goodreads Rating: 3.44/ 5 stars

Pages: 256

Publisher: Walker Childrens

Published: April 17, 2004

**Important Sidenote: This book was published in the early 2000's, when the YA section had yet to become a concept. Books for young adults at that point were classified as Teen. At this time it was really only older teens/mature teenage readers who were reading books from the Teen section, but as younger children (13-15) were beginning to try to select books from the Teen section, which wasn't all that censored in regards to language or material the way that YA books are presently, the YA label was born and certain books were moved out of the Teen section. Skinny is one of those books that does contain two narrators and while the one is a teenager, the material itself is heavy and not terribly YA friendly. The publisher age recommendation for reading this book is 14+. I'm going to venture to say that it falls more so around the 16-17+ age range. While I think that this is a necessary read, there is a specific age group that it is suited for. Although younger, mature readers could definitely be an exception.

I'd love to hear about your selections if you choose to pick up a book for this coming week. Happy reading!

Until next time! Thank you for stopping by! And if you have yet to do so, follow me here on my blog via email subscription to be able to stay informed on when new posts are uploaded.

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