As people who came to America to get their children better lives, Giselle's parents put a lot of pressure on their first daughter to study very hard, be healthy, good-looking, etc. This book showed how Giselle's anorexia and mental disorders were a result of many different reasons, some of them almost hidden. For example - the fact that her parents were immigrants from Hungary had an effect on Giselle. They definitely set an example to how a relationship between sisters should be - caring and ego-less. Holly, from her side, never thought about herself when it came to Giselle's sickness - she always thought about her sister's health first and never about the effect it has on her own life.

Giselle didn't hate her sister even though she had everything she'd ever wanted - their dad's favoritism, a perfect body, a stable soul. They never let jealousy take over them and they always meant good to one another. I adored their close, harmonic relationship. They both kind of balanced each other with their strong bond. I can't decide which of the sisters I liked more.

I was surprised at how much I could relate to their pain and struggles even though none of them are actually close to my life. Both sisters were dealing with unbelievably hard situations, but somehow I could believe and understand everything. Everything was so completely genuine and honest - the narrators, their feeling, their struggles. What impressed me the most about this book was the sheer realism of it. This book describes a battle with Anorexia - a battle that involves not only Giselle, but all the people in her life. While trying to shape her identity as a teenager, Holly has to deal with the sickness of the sister she loves. She is a talented basketball player and runner and has a strong lean body, the opposite of her sister's skinny figure. Holly, a middle school student, has a very strong spirit, the opposite of her sister's. Besides her Anorexia, Giselle has many mental issues that were mostly caused by her father's preferring of Holly over her.

Giselle had suffered from Anorexia for many years, and at the end of her first year in medical school, she's taken to the hospital after losing a lot of weight and having a mental breakdown. This book is narrated by two sisters, 20-something-year-old Giselle and 14-year-old Holly. Don't let the cover fool you!! This book was so much more than teenage drama!! It was one of the most complicated and unique books I've ever read. I wanted to get the real FEEL of this illness that is so close to many of us teenage girls, and luckily I found exactly what I wanted in this book.įrom the green popsicle on the cover, I was expecting a typical story about some teenage angst with a happy ending. We discussed this big, scary subject at school a couple of times, but it was mostly 'dry' descriptions. I found this book after a short Goodreads search about the subject of anorexia.

Skinny by ibi kaslik