REVIEW for Paperweight

A huge thank you to HarperTeen for giving me the opportunity of reading this wonderful book through Edelweiss

TITLE:             Paperweight

AUTHOR:        Meg Haston

GENRE:            YA

RATING:           

Can I tell you how much I loved, loved this book?

Eating Disorders - two words that should not go together but they do.  In Paperweight, the author takes a hard, harsh look at loss and eating disorders.

Suffering myself from an ED, I felt so much while reading this story.  Hate, frustration, envy, fear and most of all sadness that we use our beautiful bodies so badly to express our fears and self hatred of ourselves, our lives and of the people around us.

Written with an extremely clear voice, the author makes no judgments.  She explores the harsh reality behind a disease that has been hidden for too long.

Stevie, the main character is broken - from the loss of her mother and her beloved brother, she blames herself.  She buries it deep inside and decides that she needs to kill herself - with food.

What I found so sad and at the same time engrossing was the complexity of Stevie's disease.  She thinks she has anorexia (she is proud of it) only to be diagnosed with bulimia - which just adds to her hatred - she can't even do THAT right!

I like the author's pace and our discovery, little by little of what is going on in Stevie's head as well as the other girls at the rehab.  I like Stevie's "shrink" and most of all, I find myself rooting for all of these girls/women who hate themselves.


Thank you to the author for delivering such a wonderful book on a difficult and harrowing subject matter - there needs to be so many more of thee books - it makes me feel as though I am not alone.