Sunday, November 6, 2011

Perk!: The Story Of A Teenager With Bulimia by Liza F. Hall

 Perk!: The Story Of A Teenager With Bulimia by Liza F. Hall
http://i43.tower.com/images/mm107215368/perk-story-teenager-with-bulimia-liza-f-hall-paperback-cover-art.jpg

Pages: 126
Publisher: Gurze Books
Release Date: October 6, 1997
My Rating: C

Filling the void in written resources for teenage girls with eating disorders, Perk! is the first title in Gurze's new education and prevention series for kids, teens, and young adult. Perk, whose real name is Priscilla, is a high school student with self-doubts, weight concerns, and puppy love--all of which impel her into bulimia.

 Review:

This is a book I read in my health class. At the time, we were learning about mental disorders. :D

Perk! is about a girl named Pricilla Sinclair (correct me if I'm wrong. I don't have the book on me), also known as Perk. It is her first day back to school after being out with bronchitis. She is VERY self-conscious and constantly refers back to her chubbiness. To make matters worse, she has a crush on the super-hottie, Dom, her "best friend's" ex-boyfriend. He pays her very little mind. She blames it on her "fat."

It is very clear that her distorted image of herself comes from her mom's verbal abuse. Her mother is super-model thin, and always reminds Perk that she was never Perk's weight when she was a teenager.

Good going, mommy. And you call yourself a student counselor?

To solve her problem, Perk turns to purging after she eats. This leads to disaster.

I will admit, Perk was annoying. NOT because of her disorder, but because of the way she spoke. She was always in a "baby-talk" mode. You know, the way you talk to something super cute? I've never been one to baby-talk, so it kind of bothered me.

*So wishing I still had the book on me xD*

I have never had an eating disorder before, so I don't really get why Perk is doing this to herself. As someone prone to migraines, and constantly puking up whatever I eat, I don't get why someone would willingly go through that. I suppose it's just something that only someone who has it would know how it feels.

I couldn't relate to Perk, so it made it harder to enjoy this book.

I think the best part about reading this was my class's commentary. My class is a bit of a...loud bunch, and said some stupid things.

"So, what's Perk's favorite activity?"

"Puking! :D"

"No, guys! It's art"

The ending was kind of...rushed. I don't like how they just threw Jason in there. It also seemed kind of too easy to get Perk to get help. She never seemed to have that "I'm going to die" moment. Maybe it's just me.

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