Skin

Fourteen-year-old Donnie and his older (and more popular) sister, Karen, have a ritual that helps them avoid their parents' fighting. Donnie depends on Karen to get him through their fighting and the fallout from his own unpopularity. But when Karen develpos an eating disorder, Donnie struglles to keep his entire family afloat.

I loved everything about this book. Donnie is a fantastic character with his analysis of unpopularity ("We're the end of the line. We're the ones people look at and think, At least I'm not them....and there's something really wrong with all of our personalities, because nobody likes us, not even the teachers"), and the relationship between Karen and Donnie is spot-on for its showcase of sibling love and rivalry. show more The relationship between their parents is well-explored also. I also liked that the reasons for Karen's illness were never blamed on any one facet of their family life, or on her parents at all. It could have just as easily been another girl, and I liked how Vrettos treated that issue while still keeping it critical to the story. I challenge you not to love this book! show less

Grade Levels: 8-11
Category: Realistic Fiction
Read-Alouds: 7-8 (Porch sitting); 21-23 (Chris and Bean); 96-98 (Food journals); 150-154 (Rehab); 170-172 (The discovery)

Summary:
Donnie’s sister has always taken care of him. When his parents fought or he got awful earaches, he could always count on Karen being there for him. Donnie struggles to watch his older sister grow up and move on, making new friends without him. He eventually falls in love with Karen’s best friend, Amanda, a bond that, later, helped him cope with the worst event of his life. Karen grows increasingly distant and one day Donnie finds out the secret she’s been keeping---Karen is anorexic. Karen’s eating disorder affects the entire family and Donnie finds that for show more once Karen can’t be there for him and he’ll have to do the rescuing.

Themes:
The central theme of the story is eating disorders, specifically anorexia. Karen’s battle with this disease is detailed at length and describes her family’s struggle to cope with her ailment. Because eating disorders are extremely prevalent and are becoming more so, this book would be a vital asset to a classroom and a great starting point for discussions on tough issues. Family dysfunction also plays a role as do other teenage problems such as love/lust, friends, social interactions, etc.

Reader Response:
I loved, loved, loved this book. It was very sad, but the tragedy of the situation served as a vehicle to help readers consider deeper points. This book would be excellent in middle and high school classrooms as well as for teachers. It not only talks about anorexia from the standpoint of the suffering individual, but provides insight to the ramifications eating disorders cause to entire family units. In most of the books I chose I wanted to find material on real, tough issues that teenagers, specifically teenage girls, go through. Eating disorders, body dysmorphia and other body image issues, and self-esteem are huge in the lives of teenage girls in our society. This book is an asset to teachers who want to do more than just teach reading, writing, and math. It provides the opportunity to look deeper into the lives of students and closely examine things they deal with on an every day basis. The author’s choice to use a male narrator served two purposes: there is equal coverage of males and females in the book allowing it to appeal to a broader spectrum, and providing the insight of a person who, because of his gender, would not normally be considered when discussing eating disorders. As I mentioned before, the book was heartbreaking, but well worth a few tears. show less

Donnie has always had his sister to rely on. Through their parents' fighting, through his unpopularity at school, and through his loneliness. But when his sister develops an eating disorder, it is Donnie that starts to look out for everyone, even though as he does it he loses himself, turning invisible in school and at home.

This is a stark, vivid portrayal of an eating disorder from the point of view of a sibling who is also damaged by the disease. The writing pulls you into Donnie's world filled with loneliness and confusion. Even as you realize that Donnie is disappearing, you are struck by the quality of the writing that can create a main character who is becoming nearly invisible. Yet Donnie's voice and point of view are never show more compromised. Karen, the sister, is equally well-written as the reader and Donnie both continue thinking, hoping that she has defeated her demons and overcome her disorder. The author has created a book with a unique perspective that is one of the best eating-disorder novels for teens that I have ever read.

This book will be an easy sell with teens who enjoy problem novels or books about eating disorders. But it will also be enjoyed by boys who may not usually pick up problem novels. It is a searing look at a serious issue, so boys looking for reality books will enjoy it. show less

This story is told by a boy whose sister has anorexia. Although her family tries to do anything they can to help her, she keeps getting worse. It's a very interesting look at how family members are effectied by the disease.

This book explores what happens to other members of a family when someone has a problem, in this case anorexia. Donnie's family is pretty dysfunctional. His parents fight just about constantly and his dad moves out. The book begins with Donnie finding Karen dead and goes back to tell the story of how they arrived at that tragic moment. Donnie works very hard to watch out for Karen who continues to shrink in size throughout the narrative, but at school he just tries to get by through becoming invisible.
The constant bickering and fighting between family members was tough to read at times. Although I kept hoping that they would be able to pull together enough to help Karen get well.
Although Donnie has been through an incredibly rough show more time, I finished the book with some hope that he would be ok. This book kind of reminded me of My Brother's Keeper in that it took at look at the sibling who was trying to keep things together. show less

Dionne stands on the sidelines as his parents' marriage dissolves and his sister struggles with anorexia.
Between Kate's anorexia and Dionne's depression, there isn't a more angsty novel than this one. It is compelling, though. The choice to tell the story through the eyes of the victims younger brother is an interesting one, and it really brings the pain of anorexia into focus. It also shows the pain of not fitting in and not knowing how to deal with fighting parents. In other words, this book is trying to tackle a lot of separate issues, but manages to succeed for the most part.
This is definitely a book for high schools. It's very dramatic and could upset younger children.

This is a well-written and different take on eating disorders as it focuses mainly on the sibling of the ill person. I thought the ending was a bit too neat and easy, but other than that a good handling of this important subject.