Marnelle Tokio

More Than You Can Chew will resonate with any (pre)teen who has ever dealt with issues of body-image, confidence, or self-acceptance. This novel follows Marty Black’s journey to self-love. Marty’s alcoholic mother and workaholic father prompt Marty to find control in some aspect of her life, her eating, or lack thereof. Despite a desperate need for love and acceptance, Marty is extremely sarcastic and almost abrasive to everyone she interacts with. It’s not until she meets Lily that she begins to change and open up. Unfortunately, Lily passes away while Marty is gone for Christmas. It is a turning point and life-changing event for Marty. 245 days later, Marty is released from the hospital with a new outlook on life and a desire to live the best life she can.… (more)

Characters: Marty (17), Lily (8), Marty's parents

Setting: Silver Lake Hospital (psychiatric ward, eating disorder unit)

Theme: Eating disorder, anorexic, bulimic, family, friendship, self esteem, body image

Summary: Marty is an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl who is overly sarcastic, is sickly critical, and hurtles witty, quip remarks that make people uncomfortable at everyone she comes across. She is always hungry for love and attention from recovered alcoholic mom and workaholic dad who walked out on family when she was a child. She is a helpless rebel at the institution until she meets Lily, eight-year-old fragile girl with terminated illness. She shows affection toward her and instantly becomes close friends with her. When Lily dies while Marty was away for Christmas break, she attempts suicide by overdose, which becomes the turning point in her life--she comes to appreciate the people around her. After 245 days at the hospital, she is released to be back home with her family, newly found dream, and new personality.

Review: It was sad there were so much I could relate to. I am neither anorexic nor bulimic, but I was always, and maybe am still today, obsessed with diet. I pay unnecessarily close attention to how I look. I, too, display disgust toward fats and subconsciously calculate calories, making mental notes of death foods. I think it is an every girl's dream to constantly eat and not gain weight.

The book could have more organized plot that spoke to the audience. It seemed that Marty's problem was not anorexia, but her warped view of the world, of everything. I read the book in the hope of being immersed into a life of an anorexic girl whose main problem was anorexia. Instead I had hundreds of pages of a black comedy lover who whines like a baby for her separated parents' love. Also, I did not like how it took Marty's suicide attempt to bring the family, friends, and her dream together, as if it is just the right solution.

Curriculum times: Health and nutrition (diet)… (more)

Leslie S. Rush
EDCI 4120/5120

Tokio, M. (2003). More That You Can Chew. New York: Tundra.

Grade Levels: 9-11
Category: realistic fiction
Read-Alouds: pp. 1-2 (Prologue), 10-12 (A look at Marty’s life), 34-38 (a look at life in the camp and Marty's attitude), 141-148 (Marty starts to accept help and opens up to her insecurity)

Summary: Marty Black was having a difficult time with her boyfriend and her family at home. She just broke up with her boyfriend and was constantly arguing and fighting with her mother. Her mother was an alcoholic and a workaholic father who lived away from them. The constant stress causes Marty to stop eating all together and she becomes anorexic. Then the story jumps two years down the road where Marty was sent to a “camp” to help her eating disorder. From day one, she rebelled against the rules and would not eat. They threaten the girls and tell them that if they don’t eat it will be tubed into them. She has a hard time getting along with other girls in the camp, but soon makes friends with a girl named Lily. She described it as the lunch tables set in “teams…team A and team B. The anorexics and bulimics.” Her father continues to have a relationship with her and visits her throughout her stay. Marty finds out that she does not want to die and does ask for help. Her relationship with her mother is coming back, but still wants nothing to do with Zach, but when talking with the shrink, she admitted that she thinks that she is in love with him. Then in that conversation, Marty admits to sleeping with many guys for protection. In a way, she was raped. She didn’t say no, but did it for protection from the guy because of the problems that she had at home. Marty spent almost a year at the camp, 245 days, when she is released to her mother. When she gets home, she finds out that her friend Lily committed suicide.

Themes: This novel explains the dangers of eating disorders very well, as well as getting into the mind of an anorexic. Marnelle teaches friendship between Marty and Lily. Another theme that is present in this novel is family and the importance of the stabilization of a family. This novel could teach students the severity of rebelling against parents and family, and how serious the issue is. Students can maybe take this to their parents and explain that something like this could happen to them if the family situation continues.

Discussion Questions:
Do you think that Marty stopped eating for attention of did she really have an eating disorder?
When Marty talks about her sexual life, do you think that she was raped or because she said yes, was it all okay?
What do you think helped Marty get through her time at camp?


Reader Response: I can relate to the character of Marty because when I was younger, I had an eating disorder, only mine was opposite of hers. Marty completely stopped eating, where as I started eating too much. When I was younger there was a lot of stress at home. My father was very strict with me and he expected more from me than I could give him. Like Marty’s mother and her alcoholism, I dealt with my father and his quest for perfectionism in me. I never had to go to an institute for my eating problem. Instead, I went to counseling which really seemed to help.… (more)