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September 29, 2012

Review: Skinny by Donna Cooner - Farah

Title: Skinny
Author: Donna Cooner
Publication date: October 1st, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Pages: 272
Find your voice.

Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies’s head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she’ll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it.

But there is another voice: Ever’s singing voice, which is beautiful but has been silenced by Skinny. Partly in the hopes of trying out for the school musical—and partly to try and save her own life—Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over.

With the support of her best friend, Ever begins the uphill battle toward change. But demons, she finds, are not so easy to shake, not even as she sheds pounds. Because Skinny is still around. And Ever will have to confront that voice before she can truly find her own.
When I first saw the cover of Skinny, I immediately decided this was a book I needed to read ASAP. If you know me, I'm such a sucker for realistic fiction, and especially books that talk about eating disorders. The synopsis kind of reminded me of one of my all time favorite books "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson. The main protagonist, Ever, pissed the hell out of me. She's fat, and the big problem is that she feels sorry for herself. She doesn't try to help herself, and she pities herself, and I'm just standing there wanting to slap her. I mean if you want to be "skinny", you gotta work for it. You're obviously going to eat less, and cut off the chocolates and junk. I actually found myself rolling my eyes most of the time. Also I hated how much of a big deal her schoolmates made because of her weight. I mean, so what if a person is fat? Does that mean you can't be friends with them? I found that really stupid and unrealistic to believe. People at her school were actually disgusted because of her! I mean, really?
 After doing some thinking, I understood why she felt pity for herself. The voice inside her head, Skinny, is the most unsupportive person, or actually a voice, can be. It's not mentioned in the book, but I understood Ever's psychological problem. That's how the voice inside her head developed, and it grew to the point that even Ever gave the voice a name. That's when I realized that the characters felt real, even though it wasn't clarified of who or what "Skinny" is. Moving to her friend, Rat, he was a very fun character to read about. The only problem was that Donna Cooner didn't really provide any history about how the two of them got to meet each other and etc. Honestly, the story did get better towards reading, because I liked how Ever's attitude towards her body changed, and she started feeling more confident about herself. (Yay)
Overall, it wasn't a book I could compare to "Wintergirls", but it was still a fun read. Even though somethings were expected, it was still a good read that I would recommend to a friend. Really teaches people to be more confident about who they are, and what they look like. I also really liked Donna Cooner's style of writing, so i'll be waiting for her next novel. 

11 comments:

  1. I am really into issue books too. There's just something about them that sucks me in and I really enjoy reading them. This one sounds really great. Fantastic review!!

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  2. I love a good contemporary that touches on a heavy issue. I think I would enjoy this one, I haven't read Wintergirls yet but I have it and need to get to is soon. Great review!

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  3. I haven't read Skinny or Wintergirls yet, but I really want to! I'm glad you enjoyed this book. I am super into realistic fiction right now too.

    Awesome review, Farah! :)

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  4. Lovely review, Farah! I have to admit, I usually tend to avoid topics such as eating disorders, but this does sound like a good book for the right reader. :)

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  5. Great review :) I actually haven't heard of this one, but I've been wanting to read Wintergirls for some time now. I've just never gotten the chance to pick up a copy. This book sounds interesting, but kind of sad. I hate when people start feeling depressed about themselves. I may need to check this out!

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

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  6. I wasn't planning on reading this one but after reading your review I might. It touches on a topic that I think all girls can relate to. I don't know if I could handle an annoying protagonist though lol. Great review and thanks for stopping by today.

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  7. Sounds like a good one. Thanks for sharing.

    Valerie
    StuckInBooks.com

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  8. WOW! What an intense issue to write about! This seems like something I think I would enjoy so I am adding it to my TBR list! I always enjoy a light fun read so there's that! LOL ;p Lovely Review Farah!

    ~ Maida @ Literary Love Affair

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  9. This sounds like a really interesting book. I haven't read that made weight related stories. I'm excited to check this one out, great review! :)

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  10. Having a non-supportive voice inside the head could be really miserable. I'm glad that Ever feels better in the end. Thanks for sharing your thoughts,Farah!

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  11. It seems like I've seen this one around but haven't really heard much about it. It sounds a bit different then I was expecting. It does sound really good though. I hadn't realized that she was overweight, I figured she was skinny and THOUGHT she was overweight. I know that obsessing about weight can become, well- an obsession. And that obsession can happen a bit too easily. Growing up I don't remember ever judging anyone for being fat. I had friends that were overweight and I honestly never gave it much thought. Times have definitely changed though.

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