Title: Paperweight
Author: Meg Haston
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication: July 7th 2015
Cover Rating: 5/5
Paperweight is an amazing, heart-breaking book. So much pain, sorrow, agony and loneliness is packed into this tiny book that I am surprised it was written as great as it was. How can you fit so much into a book? Let alone a small book. I don't know how the author did it but she did it perfectly.
Stevie is one of those characters where you love and hate her. She has been through a lot and has caused a lot of pain and is still causing pain. She hurts everyone, including herself, all because he selfish bitch of a mother decided to leave. Yes, that is tragic, but the wake of destruction she leaves and the brutal pain she causes is unforgivable in my eyes. It is just amazing to see how the brain works around an eating disorder and what causes most disorders. Most are caused by a great deal or pain and loss. Families are a huge factor in a lot of eating disorders.
I liked the Dr. She truly cared about helping Stevie and she even had some skeletons of her own. She was very down to earth and I think the book would have been an entirely different one had the Dr. been a stuffy old man who just wanted to fix people and move on. I also have a feeling that Stevie might have been dead or never would have returned to the rehab if she had a different Dr. caring for her.
All the girls in the book are different yet so much alike. They have all been hurt by someone they loved. All except for one. And she felt like shit after hearing the other girls stories. Like she had no reason for her bulimia like the other girls had. They were all in such fragile states of mind and it takes one hell of a person to help these girls. I got frustrated by some of the things that were said and felt that the girls were weak. Everyone goes through pain in their life and we don't all turn to eating disorders, drugs and alcohol. I just feel like people who need crutches are honestly weak. It just sucks knowing that some people just aren't strong enough to live. I think school should focus on helping kids emotionally a long with academically. But just because these girls are the way they are doesn't make them weak. It just means people like me can take a lot more pain than someone else.
How do you rate a book like this? You can hate the content and the actions of the girls as much as you want but can you truly hate the book? The author told the stories of these girls in such an amazing way. She didn't paint rainbows and sugar coat everything. She showed the brutal and gritty horror that is eating disorders and I don't think the book can be rated strictly based on the story itself. It has to be rated on the story, characters, plot points and development along with the very difficult subject matter that the author was brave enough to tackle. The bravery points alone give this book an amazing rating.
Aside from the story, one thing I would like to address is the cover. This cover has a hidden meaning to me. Even though something is pretty on the outside doesn't mean the inside will be the same. I love the cover so much. I am not sure if anyone else will get the same feelings it gave me but I can hope.
Overall, I gave the book 5/5 stars.
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