Skinny
Author: Ibi Kaslik
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Emily
Summary: Holly’s older
sister, Giselle, is self-destructing. Haunted by her troubled relationship with
her late father, Giselle is fighting an all-consuming battle with anorexia.
Once a role model and top medical student, her life is spiraling out of
control.
As a track star, Holly struggles to keep her own life in
balance while coping with her sister’s mental and physical deterioration. And
together they are holding on for dear life.
Told from both girls’ perspectives as they narrate
alternating chapters, Skinny explores love, pain, and the hunger for the
acceptance that drives us all.
Review: I must admit
that this book is not what I expected it to be. Given the title and synopsis, I
thought the primary focus would have been Giselle’s struggle with anorexia, but
in that, I was wrong. While it is a big part of the story (how could something
like that not be, right?), I would say that there are much more important
aspects, which makes the title slightly misleading in my view.
However, that is not to say that the book is bad. I found
it refreshing to read about other facets of Giselle’s life in equal, if not
greater, details than her eating disorder. One such example is her exploration
into the troubled relationship she had with her late father; as well as keeping
the reader turning the pages, it adds a very realistic feel to the story. It
also helps the reader to understand what would push someone, a medical student,
no less, towards an addiction that is so detrimental to their own health.
While on the topic of understanding Giselle, I would like
to add that the medical jargon at the top of each of her chapters is brilliant.
Though I did find it confusing at times (Science courses will be the death of
me), it’s extremely fascinating to see her relate her emotional and
psychological problems to physical issues, using a platform that she knows.
In the end, I felt that I had a pretty solid understanding
of Giselle’s character. I wish that I could say the same about her sister,
Holly. I am happy that the author included the perspective of a family member
to someone with anorexia, but there were so many little pieces and issues
(perhaps psychologically) with Holly’s character that I would have loved for
the author to explore further; alas, it didn’t happen, which was disappointing.
Still, it is interesting to see Holly and Giselle side-by-side; they definitely
contrast each other well.
All in all, I did like this book and would recommend others
to read it, especially if you know someone who is suffering from an eating
disorder (or suffer from it yourself) because it gives a nice insight not only
to that perspective but to the perspective of the people close to it as well.
