Skinny by Donna Cooner

Date Finished: 11 April 2013

Rating: 4*

Read the Goodreads description here


I have no idea why I decided to read this book. Really. I don't usually do the whole weight loss storyline, but for some reason I picked up Skinny and felt drawn to it. 

Skinny is basically about a fifteen-year-old girl called Ever, who weighs 302 pounds. She picked up a lot of weight when her mother died, and has been trying to lose it but eventually gave up because she couldn't do it on her own. She is constantly taunted by Skinny, a negative voice in her head who she believes tells her the thoughts of all those around her. Skinny is constantly telling her she's too fat and will never be as pretty as anyone else. The only person who Ever feels close to is her friend, Rat. Eventually, she decided to get an operation where they make your stomach smaller so that you can lose weight easily, because you can only consume three tablespoons of food. "Skinny" is about her journey through her weight loss and how Skinny (the voice in her head) affected her relationships, self-image, and others' perceptions of her.

This book was incredibly well written. I absolutely couldn't put it down. In a way, I think I could relate to it. Obviously, I don't weigh three hundred pounds, or have had any operation to lose weight, but I am a teenage girl, and I think all teenage girls know what it's like to have a Skinny who whispers horrible things into your ear. We all know what it's like to feel ugly and fat at times, even though we aren't. We all know what it feels like to look at somebody and think, "I wish I was as thin as her," or, "Why can't I have eyes like that?" and then spend the rest of the day moping around, because we don't look as 'beautiful' as we think they do.

I think it's important that we learn to show the Skinny inside us that we are all beautiful. After all, Skinny is blind, and can't truly see us for who we are. In reality, there will always be somebody 'prettier' than you, but it's important for us all to make sure that instead of thinking, "Why am I not as skinny as her? It's because I'm ugly," which doesn't even make any sense (I mean, really brain? I'm fatter than her because I'm ugly? Oooookayyyy...), we should focus on what's beautiful about ourselves, because no two people in the world are exactly the same.

I think that all teenage girls should read this book. No matter whether you have self-image problems or not, and ESPECIALLY if you're that girl who insults others to feel better about yourself. Seriously. Even if it isn't that good, even if you'll never read it again, you should do it to learn how to shut that Skinny in your head up and lock her away in a deep dark corner of your brain.