Skinny: she was starving to fit in (False Reflections) Paperback – Illustrated, December 12, 2014

Typical Melissa: "Melissa opened the pantry: chips, Twinkies, cheese crackers. "Translation: fat, fat, fat," she murmured. She couldn't bring herself to eat any of it. She turned and opened the fridge: leftover bacon, grease, a slice of cheesecake, calories, lots of calories."High school isn't easy even at its plainest. But when one adds tons of homework, a cute boyfriend, and rigorous dance classes she just might go crazy. Or go thin. Melissa feels all the pressure on her and seeks to control the one thing she can: food. But when problems go sky-high and she constantly feels hollow, will her strategy work? Doesn't God want her to be thin?Skinny explores a topic that's pretty close to my heart - anorexia. The disorder has captivated my interest for years. Starving yourself to fit in is so easy... and so wrong. It's a problem many teenage girls get into because of all the pressure and expectations others - and they themselves - have for them. The media version of beautiful doesn't help in the least. Skinny delves into the thoughts and feelings leading to an eating disorder. Laura also shows us what God has to say about food, and that is so powerful. God is, in fact, a great Curer, and He heals to this day.I think the story could have been even better if written in first person, not third. Also, Melissa's boyfriend was underdeveloped and could have been improved by having other dimensions besides being cute. A scene/scenes from either church or youth group would have added to the spiritual side of the novel.Overall, Laura L. Smith has written a story that dips into a large and real problem teens face. She reminds us that God is the solution to it.This is the first in the False Reflection series. The second and third are Hot and Angry.

This is an easy read book that focuses on a 14 year old girl and her decent into an eating disorder. The author does a supurb job in getting into the mind of a young teenager and the angst that accompanies a sensitive and developing youngster. I believe the ages this book is aimed to affect most is 11-15 year olds. However if you are new to eating disorder knowledge and/or are interested in the problems pertaining to preteens and young teens then I recommend this book to you also.As someone who is very educated in the rhelm of eating disorders, I found this book not much different than many teenage books that I have read on the topic. I had to remind myself that the book is written for young people and not someone like me who as an adult recovering anorexic, I found myself wanting more. The personality and thoughts of the young girl described in "Skinny" is portrayed with much depth throughout the novel, but I thought her eating disorder "recovery" happened much too simply. The author did a nice job with incorporating a Christian theme and some general facts about eating disorders (described by an eating disorder savvy pediatrician--which can still be a rare commodity in real life).

This book really touched me. It was very beautiful and so well done. Knowing a couple people with anorexia and struggling with eating and such has really made this book hit home for me. This book was really well done and shone a light on eating disorders and a struggle in many teenagers these days. *cue sadness*Anyways. This book was absolutely fantastic and a well written, thought provoking, novella. Once again, Laura Smith’s writing is amazing and really draws me in instantly!Melissa was such a sweet, adorable character who struggled with her weight. She constantly compared herself to her friends and those around her and that didn’t help with her insecurities. As Melissa went through everything and started (eventually) on her road to recovery my heart just went out to her. At points it just screamed reminders of someone I know who was going through the same thing and at points I was afraid to admit that my line of thought and such were the same as the characters. Laura did a fantastic job of really making the characters relatable (Whether or not you struggle with an eating disorder or anything like that) This book was beautifully done and a great read that I finished very quickly indeed.

I give this book 4 stars. I felt that it portrayed the stresses in a teen girl's life quite well. It delved into the highschool stressors that can lead into an eating disorder such as the one displayed by the main character. Melissa from the outside seemed to have it all going for her. A popular christian girl, getting `the guy', being on a cheerleading dance team, the perfect family etc. But then we go behind the scenes and see that everything is NOT perfect. Everything comes with a price or so it seems.Melissa is looking for control in her life and the one thing she can control is what she eats.... Or doesn't.As an adult I can see many flaws, well not really flaws, but fairytale like situations, in this book, however I believe that `tweens' would read it with gusto. I love that fact that there is also the christian message in the book of take your concerns to God and he will give you an answer if you listen.

Skinny is about a young teen in her freshman year of high school. She's on the dance team, she's striving for top grades and keeping up with assignments and tough course work. She's popular and on the dance team and striving for the goal of team captain and she's in love with star athlete Beau who at times seems distant. She begins to diet like many young women and eventually eating becomes the one thing that she can control.As her life begins to spiral out of control, will she lose control of herself? And who in the end has control, her or the eating disorder?This is an awesome book for all teens, especially those suffering from self-image issues and eating disorders.Author Laura Smith's characterization was awesome and the stories plot flows beautifully. She try captures the everyday angst and joys of teen-life and gives the reader a glimpse of the struggles of eating disorders and how easily anyone can slip into one. I highly recommend this book!

Definitely aimed at a younger YA audience. Probably 12-15. I generally am really interested in books on eating disorders but I didn't really get on with this one.

Found it readable not as good as I thought it was going to be

Its very important to considder when buying this book that its not a very accurate representation. The author was clearly more focused on pushing a christian agender with this publication than on creating a story showing how eating disorders actually effect people.

I chose this rating because the whole book was very good, I had feelings about the characters and I liked it a lot because in other books for teens, they don't include God and I liked how they used stuff from the bible.

I like the way it describes how easily it is to fall into a eating disorder after a simple diet. I think this book would help someone suffering from a very mild eating disorder for a very short period of time. It is very simplified. Recovery isn't that easy.