Book Review: Skinny

Title: Skinny
Author: Donna Cooner
Teen Reviewer: Kinsey Manchester
Rating: 4/5  Stars

Ever Davies is a high school sophomore who weighs over three hundred pounds. Since her mom passed away, the best way to control her feelings is through lots and lots of food. Sometimes, she can find solace in music, and it is her dream to one day be confident enough to sing for everyone in the school. Every day, she suffers the spiteful stares and cruel comments of her fellow classmates. Their relentless bullying and taunting does not surpass her own self-deprecation, though. Ever has an evil conscience, whom she has ironically nicknamed Skinny. Skinny does not let Ever go one day without reminding her just how ugly, fat, and unloved she really is. Finally, Ever decides that she needs to escape herself. She makes a decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery and change her life forever. With the help of her friend, Rat, Ever loses weight, but doesn’t find herself feeling any better. Her new and improved looks don’t change how she feels about herself, and Skinny never stops making her feel horrible. Ever has to readjust her attitude along with her eating habits if she wants her inner voice to shine through. Ever finds love along her long and painful journey of figuring out who she really is and which people are her true friends.

Skinny is a very touching and emotional book. I did not expect to become so attached to the novel and to all of its characters. Ever is a strong girl because of all that she has gone through. Her mother has passed away, and her father has remarried to a woman with two beautiful, skinny daughters. Ever has a hard time keeping her spirits up, and one way to do that it is to be mean. She forces her anger back on other people, which annoyed me to no end, but I understood why she did so. If people were that mean to me, I would probably act the same way. Her blindness to see what other people truly think of her is also sometimes annoying, but very human-like. Oftentimes, people don’t notice what others really think of them, and this is portrayed perfectly in Ever’s view of herself through Skinny. I enjoyed Ever’s taste in music, as a music lover, and thought it added a nice extra touch to understanding her life. Rat, Ever’s best friend, was so sweet and I simply loved his character! This book was very good, and I would recommend it to readers of all ages!