|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HELP | |
|
  $4.50 List price:
TRADE PAPER, USED
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:Perfectby Natasha Friend
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Thirteen-year-old Isabelle Lee struggles with an eating disorder while dealing with a turbulent home life and social pressures at school. The author brings a depth of characterization, humor, and a real adolescent's voice to this multileveled story about the desire to be perfect in an imperfect world.
Review:"Ever since 13-year-old Isabelle Lee's dad died nearly two years ago, her mother refuses to talk about him or cry publicly. Isabelle has followed her example, keeping her feelings inside. On the day of his funeral, though, she began binging and purging. When she's later caught (her younger sister tells on her) her mother sends her to an eating disorder support group, where Isabelle is surprised to see 'perfect' Ashley, the most popular girl in her grade. The two form a friendship that revolves around their eating disorder; they use their hands to cram down mass amounts of food, then throw up in a dumpster, side by side (Ashley even introduces Isabelle to ex-lax). The story arc here is fairly predictable: Isabelle learns that Ashley's life is not so perfect after all, and this combined with therapy puts her on the road to recovery. But graphic binging and purging scenes ('I alternated handfuls of potato chips and HoHos with swallows of Diet Coke.... It always feels better coming up than going down') and Isabelle's therapy sessions help explain the disease to readers without seeming didactic. The believable and likable heroine relates many heartwarming and heartbreaking moments (in one scene, she and her sister decide to celebrate Hanukkah, which they haven't done since her Jewish father died; they raise their glasses to his empty chair). Ultimately Isabelle's story will both touch and educate readers. Ages 12-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.) Synopsis:Isabelle Lee has a problem, and it's not just Ape Face, her sister, or group therapy for an eating disorder, or even that her father died and her mother is depressed and in denial. It's that Ashley, the most popular girl in school, is inviting Isabelle to join her at lunch and at sleepovers at her house, and this is presenting Isabelle with a dilemma. Pretty Ashley has moved Isabelle up the social ladder, but is it worth keeping the secret they share?
Caught in the orbit of popularity and appearances, Isabelle must navigate a world with mixed messages, false hopes, and potentially harmful turns, while coping with her own flailing family and emotions. The author brings a depth of characterization, humor, and a real adolescent's voice to this multileveled story about the desire to be perfect in an imperfect world. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 5 comments: | ||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Don't Miss
