04 August 2009

Nothing by Robin Friedman


Parker Rabinowitz has a problem. More than one actually. Between trying to do his best in school, meeting with his college consultant and trying to keep up with his father's ridiculous standards, he just can't do everything. With all sorts of pressure on him from every side, Parker strives to control the one thing he can. . . his food intake.
As Parker struggles to keep his food down or to not overeat, he finds his control slipping. While others watch without really seeing, only his little sister Danielle realizes something is seriously wrong with Parker. But even she has her own problems. . . namely that when her brother is around, she's invisible, silent and borderline non-existent.
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I was hesitant to read this book once I realized part of it was in verse, but I'm glad I did. Too often, books are published with serious issues and most of them are about girls. I was encouraged to find another book (similar to Target by Kathleen Jeffries Johnson) that brought a so-called Girl issue and showed that boys can suffer from it too.
Looking back, I'm actually glad that Danielle's portion of the book is in verse form because it tended to be more powerful than if it had been in a regular story form. I was able to appreciate the feelings behind her words and feel the suffication she must have felt being Parker's little sister.
This book has an interesting way of dealing with eating disorders, but in a not too graphic way and stresses that there is no such thing as a "girls only" issue. . . eating disorders and diseases can affect both.

1 comment:

The Obsessive Reader said...

I would like to read something like this. It seems like all problems has classifications as either boy or girl problems. Guys can have just as many issues as girls.

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