REVIEW for Skin and Bones

Wow! that is the word that comes to mind when reading this book.  

I am both blown away and annoyed at the same time.  I loved that the author tackles an almost taboo subject - anorexia and bulimia.  She is also brave enough to bring it one step further - the main character is a boy - yep, this is one of the only books I have read on this subject where the focal point is male. 

I was lucky enough to download this book from NetGalley.

TITLE:                      Skin and bones

AUTHOR:                 Sherry Shahan

GENRE:                     Fiction

RATING:              

I love how so many people think eating disorders are strictly female - but read this book and you will never again believe this to be true.

I have to say, I did not like any of the characters in this book - but that is fine with me because the main point of this story is the eating disorders - delivered via the characters.  While this is a book of fiction, this story could be pulled straight from reality.

Because this book is set entirely at an eating disorder clinic, we are given the opportunity of discovering both bulimia and anorexia (although HELLO!!!! Lard is definitely a compulsive overeater - words that are never uttered in this book) which is odd because the AMA has recently recognized compulsive overeating as an eating disorder.

However, I digress, back to the locale - because of it, we are exposed to many eating disorders, by both male and female (although the leads are male).  We are exposed to just how tricky the people suffering can be, we get to see how the dr deals with ED, and how each and every person in this story is touched in some way by the disease.

Now, for the part that wanted to make me scream.  Alice - gimme a break - she was incredibly annoying and I never really got why she was worshiped as she was.  Maybe the back story was not set up enough?  Anyway, she was seriously annoying.

Overall though this is a MUST read for EVERYONE.  Written in a clear voice (I think the book could have been a tad shorter (remove the Alice references) although hard to read, it is a must read.