Skinny Paperback – March 25, 2014

I don't often leave reviews, but after reading the reviews about this book on amazon, Goodreads, and other such websites, I feel as though I have to. Many people criticize the "lack of background" given in "Skinny", and I must criticize these people for their lack of compassion and understanding. For anyone who has ever been overweight or obese, they know that it takes no reason at all to eat that extra helping of cheesecake. The main character in this story suffers a serious traumatic event, and deals with her grief by consuming large amounts of food. Our bodies naturally desire the foods that she eats in abundance, and she relates eating sugary foods with the happiest memories of her life. If that isn't sufficient background, what is? Many of my own happy memories revolve around eating ice cream on the river with my dad, or a sugar daddy pop with my dad, or a milkshake with my dad. He is overweight, and I am genetically prone to store extra weight, so I've had to watch what I eat and have regular exercise since I was 11. After reading this book as an adult, I have wondered if something similar were to have happened to me, would I have turned out the same way as Ever? Would I have reached 16 weighing over 300 miserable pounds instead of a very frustrating and pimply 140? Many people who have never experienced the desire to overeat, to stuff yourself to the brink of illness will not relate to this book. In my opinion, this book expertly captures the frustration of being overweight, the desire to give in and eat your feelings, the angst-ridden early teenage years, and the dynamic relationships with both family and friends. Many people who have written reviews claim that "Skinny", the voice within Ever's head, sounds like a mental problem, whereas I believe we all have our own "Skinny" within ourselves. The small thought that forms when we're self-conscious or have doubts, that forms one or two words that can make us turn back or give up. This book tells the story of a young girl who slowly builds up her self confidence, until her eyes are opened to who she is and how she really seems to others. As to the book itself, another reviewer wrote that they devoured the book in hours, and they laughed, cried, felt betrayed, etc. I couldn't agree more- this book is well written, emotional, and relatable.

I'm proud to say this is one of the few books I read in just a few hours, I literally could not put it down. I laughed, I cried, I felt angry and hurt and betrayed; but mostly I felt an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance. I've struggled with my weight my whole life and I wish I was half as brave as Ever. I've been though all of that, the name calling, the humiliation, the feeling trapped and tightly tied down in your own body. She is just such an inspiration to every girl who has ever felt worthless, unwanted, or easily disposable; all because of the stupid number on your clothes & society's warped idea of perfect. She is definitely my favorite character. I want to be strong and confident and commanding and beautiful like an elephant; like Ever.

The main character is relatable. I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read. There could have been more to It but it’s fine.

I Chose This Book Because It Seemed Very Interesting And Kind Of An Eye Opener.. I Gave This A 5 Because I Loved Ever Through It All She Didnt Give Up And She Knew What She Wanted In The Beginning.. It Is A Book To Me If Like You Need Help With Something Or To See Who Your Real Friends Are.. Close To The End I Was Mad At Something This Girl Whitney Did But She Was Just Trying To Help.. I Am 14 So I Recommend This Book To Teens It Is Mostly For Girls But Guys You Might Be Into It. But Its A Good Buy. I Absolutely Enjoyed It.! GO EVER!

A student in my middle school English class was reading this, and during our conferences she kept talking about it, do I decided to check it out.I read it in a matter of days, and really enjoyed it. It is a great read for girls struggling with body image. I would say 8th grade and up for age. There isn't terrible language or anything ( done, but not a lot) just the overall idea is a bit more mature.

One of my favorite books of all time, and I'm pretty well-read. Though written in a naive voice, it's such a great story. I struggle with my weight as well and I swear I have Skinny in my head all the time, too. This also provides a lot of information about gastric bypass and the recovery and some of the difficulties that come with that sort of lifestyle change. I've reread it a dozen times and still love it.

it was a decent story, but had some problems. Despite talking about her attempts at 'multiple' diets, we don't see any of her previous attempts to lose weight in the book, it jumps right to gastric bypass. I like that it doesn't make the GB surgery the solution to all her problems; instead she finds that things are still hard....a fairly realistic look without too much in terms of gory detail about the surgery itself. A decent first outing for Cooner, I'll be interested to see what, if anything, she comes up with next.

Could relate to this all too well growing up with my size zero mother who made me feel like a behemoth even though I was 105 pounds as a teen. I sadly turned into a 350 pound adult. I’ve settled at 170 but it was years in the works.

It was easy to download, I like the options when you purchase the books and I'm satisfied with what I have.

I downloaded this book not sure whether I would like it as it came under a category that I wouldn't choose a book from. However, once I got past the first chapter or so I was completely hooked.I found this book very interesting; I knew about eating disorders but I had never heard of gastric surgery and the whole concept of it I find fascinating.I would recommend this book to people who are interested in any of the above or are just looking for a book that will keep them hooked until it is finished.

it was so good! un put downable, read it in 2 day.I would definitely recommend it to teenagers or adults' Fantastic read

I like young adult books - I find they are often better written than many adult books and I was quite pleased to get at the price. I quite enjoyed the story but I couldn't really get round the fact that the author seems to view major surgery as the only solution to her 17 year old heroine's weight problems. Maybe this reflects American society accurately but I found it actually shocking that such a solution would be offered until all other options had been tried and failed - such as exercise and diet, bearing in mind the huge health issues involved and the high mortality rate for the surgery. It also seemed that everyone was ignoring the issues behind her weight gain and focusing on it as the main problem rather than a symptom of her reaction to her mother's death. And I don't agree with the doctor that she knew all about nutrition because she knew the calorific values of everything - that is not the same thing as knowing about nutrition. So, while I found it an entertaining read I'm dubious about the message it sends out to overweight teens - that the only answer to obesity is to opt for drastic surgery which could kill you or leave you with severe health problems for the rest of your life.