Life in the center is regimented and intrusive, a nightmare come true. Nurses and therapists watch Stevie at mealtime, accompany her to the bathroom, and challenge her to eat the foods she’s worked so hard to avoid.
Her dad has signed her up for sixty days of treatment. But what no one knows is that Stevie doesn't plan to stay that long. There are only twenty-seven days until the anniversary of her brother Josh’s death—the death she caused. And if Stevie gets her way, there are only twenty-seven days until she too will end her life.
This was a pretty good book about a girl who blames herself for her brother's death and who spirals into depression and an eating disorder as a result.
Disclaimer - I've never suffered from an eating disorder and don't know anyone who has, so I have no RL experience of this topic. However, I thought that the subject matter felt quite realistic. I liked the characters, although I didn't really get a sense of any of them really *suffering* as a result of their disorders. I know something about the physical symptoms of an ED, and I didn't really pick up on that here. I also understand that ED sufferers can be pretty tricksy in the ways they avoid eating and the way they battle their treatment and likewise I didn't really see a lot of that.
I've read quite a few books focussing on eating disorders, and this one was pretty middle-of-the-road. It wasn't as harrowing or as socially-incisive as Wintergirls, but it wasn't as dull as others I've read. It was okay. In fact, it dealt with the notion of grief better than the ED thing, I thought.
The characters were fine and I liked the toxic relationships between the MC and her mother and best 'friend'. I never really got a sense that Stevie was serious about her suicide plans and it felt like the author was pulling her punches in terms of the impact of this book. The character I liked most I think was the psychiatrist. She was really well portrayed and sympathetic.
All in all this was an okay book.
3 stars