The Stone Girl

Gr 9 Up—Sethie, a driven, type-A personality who desperately cares what people think about her and is never satisfied with her rapidly shrinking body, is spiraling into a catacomb of eating disorders and cutting. When she finds out that the guy she thought was her boyfriend is only using her for sex and drugs, she goes into further decline. The author's constant referral to her in the third person is rather jarring at times. Sheinmel depicts the common control and textural issues prevalent among many anorexics in a stark and chilling manner; Sethie relishes the feeling of the hard floor underneath her butt and has an exacting ritual of chugging cold water before bedtime. Although Sheinmel indicts the health-care industry and memoirs by anorexics for inadvertently providing tips for anorexics, she explains Sethie's starvation rituals in meticulous detail. However, in an age of "thinspiration" websites, this is probably a moot point, and the details show the ugliness and heartbreaking aspects of anorexia/bulimia. Sethie receives little intervention from her mother or school officials until the end of the novel, for which there is no explanation. The novel is a bit disjointed at times, but it is still a compelling take on a common theme in young adult literature.—Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA