Empty

Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Dell is overweight, and she eats to deal with a series of letdowns, beginning when her father left the family. No one understands the pain she harbors, not even her best friend. She hides behind her weight and self-deprecating jokes. Her classmates even get her to participate in sumo poses and to moo for them on demand. The bullying turns vicious at a party; she drinks too much and is raped by one of the bullies, on whom she happens to have had a crush. She has no one to turn to, and rumors start that she attacked him. Dell's life is starting to get even more hellish and she is running on empty. Dell is a well-drawn character, and her loneliness and hurt are palpable. Teens will be sucked into her downward spiral and will start to wonder if her situation is ever going to get better. Empty will hit home hard with teens who have been or are being tormented and should shed some light on how painful and destructive bullying is to its victims.—Shannon Seglin, formerly at Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, VA