Skin and Bones

April 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-When Jack agrees to spend six weeks in an Eating Disorder Unit, he expects it to be a waste of time. Calling himself Bones at the insistence of his Rachael Ray-obsessed roommate Lard, Jack makes friends, falls in love, and tries to get over this whole anorexia thing. Bones and his fellow EDU residents are likable, but the hospital and support staff are too bland. The plot is well paced and develops quickly, while Bones's narration is easy to follow and initially interesting to read. His philosophizing about life, love, and weight loss, however, quickly becomes forced. Shahan offers a boarding school-like EDU ward, a joyride to locate a runaway, a mysterious love interest, and some snarky musings on love. In the end, it is unclear how or why Bones has overcome his eating disorder. This lack of clarity may leave teen readers confused and disheartened. Despite that, there are helpful resources for teens, teachers, and families at the end of the book.-Eden Rassette, Kenton County Public Library, KY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
Shahan tackles eating disorders in a fast-paced, contemporary coming-of-age novel. Jack (5 feet 6 inches and 103 pounds, aka "Bones") is the new kid on the Eating Disorders Unit block; his compulsive-overeater roommate, "Lard" Kowlesky, is back for another round of treatment and is full of helpful advice about where to hide out and hang out. Jack is just settling in when lovely but deathly thin ballerina Alice arrives via wheelchair and draws him into her personal web of starvation secrecy. Full of tips and tricks of the eating-disorder trade, the story incorporates multiple issues and dramas: recreational drugs and smoking, emerging sexuality, bullying, sexual abuse--and even a little mystery, as Jack discovers hidden scraps of a story left behind by a previous, anonymous EDU resident. The pace quickens as Alice manipulates all in her quest to lose more weight, a joy ride turns dark, and Jack's life depends on the choices he makes. Adult characters are well-meaning but somewhat distant; the edgy banter may help readers refrain from questioning a residential rehab program where teens roam at night and have easy access to cars. A quick read with a worthy message: We are all recovering from something, and the right companions can help you heal. The wrong ones could kill you. (Fiction. 13-17)

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July 1, 2014
Jack, sixteen and anorexic, is the newest patient in a residential unit for teenagers with eating disorders. Jack channels the energy he usually reserves for over-exercising and hiding food into intense relationships with his stoner roommate and a troubled, secretive ballerina. Although Jack's eventual recovery feels rushed and unsubstantiated, many teens will connect with the drama of his loaded friendships.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

March 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 At 16, Jack weighs 103 pounds on the day he's checked into rehab for food losers, a hospital eating-disorders unit. His parents have committed him so he will relearn not only how to eat but how to eat without punishing himself: for every half grapefruit Jack forces down, he spends hours suffering through sit-ups to avoid the weight he believes he's doomed to gain. His roommate, Lard, a compulsive overeater, nicknames Jack Bones, which is fitting, as he lays his insecurities bare to his fellow patients, his family, andperhaps most importanthimself. It's only when Bones falls for a fellow anorexic named Alice, who is being observed for potential heart failure but dreams of being a professional ballerina, that he develops a true hunger for a healthy existence. But is Alice's future already consumed by her condition? Shahan (Ice Island, 2012) has crafted a fast-moving story of addiction and first love thatrefreshinglywill appeal to male readers, who don't find themselves regularly represented in eating-disorder-treatment fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)