Title of the Book: Skinny Boy
Author: Gary A. Grahl
Number of Pages: 236
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Review:
As a teenage boy struggles with anorexia and continues his journey through recovery he is faced with some inner demons later labeled as “IT”. This IT voice is the evil subconscious that always tells him what to do and how to lose more weight. Soon the voice overpowers him and leads him down a road of bad habits and judgment and even to the hospital. Even with intensive care Gary struggles to satisfy his parents and friends or is that just IT speaking? His battle with IT last for a long while and even longer to recover from the damage he did to his body.
While reading this book there were a few things that made it very unique, but there was one thing in particular. As you read you will notice different fonts and levels of boldness throughout the book. Those fonts represent the voices he is hearing in his head which tells him to exercise, not do something, etc. At first, it can be hard to decipher what that is all about but you will soon catch on. It was very unique to format the book as such making sure you don’t get lost in who/what is talking. Gary uses language that is targeted towards teens. You can tell he pulled most of the words straight from his diary he kept all throughout his hospitalizations.
Gary’s first hospital visit is the first big moment in the book. He is very reluctant to the idea of being somewhere else and under other rules. He won’t have time to exercise nor will he be allowed to. Change is very hard for Gary. After being on unit 13 and opening up to his therapist he finds a name for this evil voice in his head which is when IT is introduced. I would recommend this book to everyone if I could, but it is a very sensitive topic and would not suit everyone. Gary does not shy away from details and tells everything from the worst to the best. If one has struggled with an eating disorder, body dysmorphia, or is an easily triggered person I would not recommend this book. If you are the type of person who loves to learn about the thoughts of others or seeing the growth people can make I definitely would recommend this book!
This sounds like it was an interesting book to read. Was there a specific reason you chose to read about eating disorders, or did it just sound like an interesting book to read for the unit?
ReplyDeleteOverall I am interested to read this book primarily because you don't hear or really think about guys having eating disorders. I don't think I have ever heard one thing related to a guy, it's always been regarding the girls. You had good and important details regarding the story without giving anything away or being triggering. Im glad you put that warning at the end for those who may need the warning. I will defiantly be reading this to learn more about this controversial topic. I have recently seen/heard about the affects of this current pandemic on those with eating disorders as people in isolation tend to struggle more with their situations which has sparked an interest in me wanting learning more.
ReplyDelete***I could be misinformed but, wanted to add.