The Stone Girl Paperback – August 6, 2013

Sethie has anorexia and Shaw, a guy she considers her boyfriend who treats her like an acquaintance with benefits. THE STONE GIRL is a dreadful story about a girl so disconnected from herself and her world she is barely an individual.I’ve enjoyed some of Alyssa Sheinmel’s books, but THE STONE GIRL was so down and depressing, I wanted to skim through to the more uplifting parts, except little in the story was hopeful.I wish I had one reason to recommend, but I don’t.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than I thought it would be. It was more graphic, in terms of the main character's e.d. description, yet refreshing, to have the truth of the situation out there. It was a hard book to put down, because the writing style was so addictive. I would recommend this one, but not if you have ever struggled with the issues presented in this book, as it could be triggering.

Although I have never experience eating disorder myself, I'll say the author made it so real and quite authentic. I love the character of Sethie and how she began this process and when she realized she also needed help. I recommend this book and for those who are experiencing this disorder.

Great read! Kept my interest the whole time

Definitely hits a lot of areas that girls with eating disorders deal with on a daily basis but it also leaves you questioning so much

You can actually get into her mind set and almost understand her. While I don't agree or have followed her choices. I have felt the same body image and insecurity as sethie

The writing is superior. The words flowed so well. Characters were well-drawn. The main character, Sethie, is likeable and very in touch with herself and that was refreshing. I liked the way the author basically let the story unfold and then let Sethie draw everything out herself. I would highly recommend this book!

This was just another run-of-the-mill book about teen eating disorders. The characters and story were predictable, I don't feel like I gained anything from reading this.

Trying to recover from eating disorders half my life, I've read more books about people suffering from them than I can count, and 'The Stone Girl' is certainly one of my favorites about this topic. Unlike many other novels in this category, this one is solemnly about the struggle with the disorder and does not mention any forms of therapy during the storyline, which is why it might definitely be a trigger to many people. But if you're strong enough to handle it, I highly recommend Alyssa Sheinmel's work because I don't know any other book that pictures the denial you're stuck in with your anorexia this well.Written from the main character's POV, the so-called stone girl Sethie slowly starves herself to death while attending class, making out with a boy who never loved her and smoking pot with friends without even realizing it. 'I'm just not a naturally skinny girl' is what she keeps telling herself and believes it's simply necessary for her to eat less and less because she wasn't born as one of those girls who can eat whatever they want without gaining weight.With a father who practically doesn't exist in her life and a mother who's never there for her, she never experienced real comfort and love and having a boyfriend who only thinks they're friends with benefits and a best friend who teaches her how to throw up food certainly doesn't help maintaining a healthy image of herself. It's not just that she has a bad relationship with her body- she doesn't have one at all.It's almost like she doesn't even believe it's her own body she's ruining as she watches falling herself apart completely emotionless.I love the childlike immaturity that's used to depict the ways he doesn't even notice what's happening to herself as she continues to take one step after another closer to her own suicide. When worried people tell her how thin she is with shocked looks on their faces because they don't know what to do to help her, she only smiles because they think she's thin, and when someone tells her she hasn't eaten, she frowns because she's sure she has- at some point. She's not a 'real anorexic', she's just not naturally skinny, right?This clearly isn't one of those books that show young girls how to overcome an eating disorder (the ending gives us a little cliffhanger about that, but I refuse to spoiler anything), but it perfectly shows what it's like to be stuck so deeply that you don't even know you're sick.A wonderful lecture for anyone who knows what it's like or wants to know about it.