Skinny by Donna Cooner

Author: Donna Cooner
Title: Skinny
Publication: October 1, 2012
Publisher: Putnam
Rating: 4 out 5
Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Synopsis
Find your voice.

Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies’s head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she’ll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it. 

But there is another voice: Ever’s singing voice, which is beautiful but has been silenced by Skinny. Partly in the hopes of trying out for the school musical—and partly to try and save her own life—Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over.

With the support of her best friend, Ever begins the uphill battle toward change. But demons, she finds, are not so easy to shake, not even as she sheds pounds. Because Skinny is still around. And Ever will have to confront that voice before she can truly find her own.

Thoughts:
Ever lost her mother about five years ago and turned to food for comfort. As time passed she lost control and her weight began to rise  Skinny tells Ever that she will never be accepted and will always be fat and ugly. Skinny has convinced her that everyone thinks bad things about her, so much so that she becomes isolated from the world. Ever is consumed by these thoughts to the point that her reality of her world is distorted by her battle with how she feels about herself. Ever has tried every diet imaginable and after a conversation with her step-sister Brielle, she truly begins to consider having the gastric bypass surgery. Her best friend, Rat, motivates her throughout this new journey but Ever has to come to terms with the real problem, how she feels about herself.

Ever's character touched me in a personal way. I've been down that road with being teased and picked on. I could connect to her emotionally and understand where she is coming from, now would I have gotten surgery at that age...most likely not but that's what she felt she needed to do to feel better about herself. Mostly, Ever just made me sad as she withdrew into herself but as she grew throughout the story, I felt her joy. Ever must learn that people can surprise you and in a good way. She must come to understand who skinny really is and not let her weight dictate who she can become. It did make me think of Wintergirls by Laurie H. Anderson in how the girls see themselves. 

My favorite character: Rat, he embodies the ideal heartthrob for me. He is kind, smart, and loyal. Rat sticks by Ever through everything from the loss of her mother to the aftermath of the surgery. He is an absolute true friend.

What I got from this story is this: Don't let the outside dwindle the beauty on the inside. Overall, this is a good read about self-worth, friendship and family and I would recommend it to teens 15 and up.