Title: Skinny Author: Ibi Kaslik
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9738-4
Recommended Grade Level of Reader: 9th and Up
Publisher: Walker and Company
Media Type: Book
Copyright: 2004
Genre: Fiction
Reader's Annotation: A struggle to be thin. A story of family, perfection and dysfunction told from two different points-of-view.
Plot Summary: Skinny tells the story of two sisters, Giselle and Holly. Giselle, a former medical student, has been battling anorexia. Holly, a high school athlete, has been struggling to deal with her older sister’s disease. Being a top student and a perfectionist, Giselle has to discontinue her medical studies in order to deal with the disease that consumes her. As such, she has to move back home with her mother and Holly. Slowly, Giselle begins to uncover the reasons that led to her self-destruction. Told from the point-of view of each sister, this novel documents the affect an eating disorder has not only on one individual, but also those that surround him or her.
Evaluation: (B) While the idea of how one’s struggle with anorexia affects more than just the victim is interesting, Ibi Kaslik had difficulty setting up the story. Skinny was not engaging in the beginning which made for a boring read. A disconnect may have occurred as a result of the story being told from two people’s points-of-views. The novel bounced around too much for the reader to become attached to or get to know either character in the first half of the book. The author could have shown more character depth by telling the story from one character’s perspective instead of two. Giselle’s story could have been told effectively through her point-of-view or by Holly a la Julie Anne Peters’ Regan in Luna.
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