Skinny by Donna Cooner

Skinny is a story about a girl named Ever who is overweight. She is just 15 years old and weighs over 300 pounds. All Ever wants is to be a normal size, and she knows that if she could just lose weight she will be happy and have everything she has ever wanted. Ever decides to have gastric surgery which reduces the size of her stomach and severely limits what she can eat. As she starts to lose weight though, she is faced with the realization that it isn't just about her size, it is about how she feels about herself that is making her unhappy. While this is a story about one girl's journey to lose weight, it is also a story about how everyone lives with a negative voice in their head. That voice that speaks about all of your insecurities about yourself and how you can learn to silence that voice. I liked this book, I think it would be great to share with girls at the Intermediate level. On the surface it is a pretty easy book, but there is a great deal more depth to the book and it would be great to use it as a literature circle or in a conference with a student.