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genieinanovel's Reviews (752)
I have never first-handedly dealt with an eating disorder with myself or anyone I know, so my limited knowledge on ED’s are from psychology courses from early college and media. Therefore, I’m aware of the fact that I basically know nothing about them, what the person goes through, and how to help someone who’s dealing with one. One of the reasons I picked up this book was because I wanted to read from the perspective of someone who’s gone through it, and still struggles to not relapse.
Despite my lack of knowledge of eating disorders, I can’t help but feel that Evanna perfectly captured what it’s like to go through one to explain to those of us who haven’t. Her memoir is utterly raw as she talks about how her eating disorder started at the mere age of 10, and progressed to the point where she’d had to go away to a facility, as her parents felt that helping her was beyond their means. You can feel her emotions bleed out of the page as she fights to keep control over her own body and damning anyone who tries to tell her she’s unhealthy.
An aspect of eating disorders that most people don’t realize is that not all of it is related to calorie intake or wanting to be thin. There’s kind of an OCD aspect for some who go through this, and it’s more about the control over one’s body in terms of how much they intake or exercise, which kind of turns into an addiction at some point. Evanna was able to perfectly explain this concept that eating disorders aren’t necessarily always related to food and weight loss for those of us who weren’t aware of that before.
There really isn’t much justice that I could do to this book in a review, only in that it is very eye-opening and sheds a new light onto eating disorders and those who suffer with them during and after recovery. I think this is a great book for everyone to add to their TBR piles, whether you know who Evanna Lynch is or not. However, if you have personally struggled with an eating disorder, I would proceed with caution depending on how you feel your recovery is.
One last thought on this is I like that Evanna mentions multiple times how the media has misconstrued her struggle with anorexia, making it seem like she got her role of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films because she overcame her disorder. That’s not the truth, as she was still struggling even while filming, but she knew that a relapse would end her job. The media took the knowledge of her ED and made it like she was happily recovered, when she really wasn’t. I’m proud of her for calling them out on their bull in this book, multiple times.
It just goes to show you that you can’t believe everything the media says about those who are in the public eye, and maybe we shouldn’t try to pry so much into their lives. Let them tell their own stories… if they wish to do so.
Despite my lack of knowledge of eating disorders, I can’t help but feel that Evanna perfectly captured what it’s like to go through one to explain to those of us who haven’t. Her memoir is utterly raw as she talks about how her eating disorder started at the mere age of 10, and progressed to the point where she’d had to go away to a facility, as her parents felt that helping her was beyond their means. You can feel her emotions bleed out of the page as she fights to keep control over her own body and damning anyone who tries to tell her she’s unhealthy.
An aspect of eating disorders that most people don’t realize is that not all of it is related to calorie intake or wanting to be thin. There’s kind of an OCD aspect for some who go through this, and it’s more about the control over one’s body in terms of how much they intake or exercise, which kind of turns into an addiction at some point. Evanna was able to perfectly explain this concept that eating disorders aren’t necessarily always related to food and weight loss for those of us who weren’t aware of that before.
There really isn’t much justice that I could do to this book in a review, only in that it is very eye-opening and sheds a new light onto eating disorders and those who suffer with them during and after recovery. I think this is a great book for everyone to add to their TBR piles, whether you know who Evanna Lynch is or not. However, if you have personally struggled with an eating disorder, I would proceed with caution depending on how you feel your recovery is.
One last thought on this is I like that Evanna mentions multiple times how the media has misconstrued her struggle with anorexia, making it seem like she got her role of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films because she overcame her disorder. That’s not the truth, as she was still struggling even while filming, but she knew that a relapse would end her job. The media took the knowledge of her ED and made it like she was happily recovered, when she really wasn’t. I’m proud of her for calling them out on their bull in this book, multiple times.
It just goes to show you that you can’t believe everything the media says about those who are in the public eye, and maybe we shouldn’t try to pry so much into their lives. Let them tell their own stories… if they wish to do so.
Freaking damn. Jordyn Taylor did it again and gave me another favorite book. Full review coming soon.
My only complaint is that I have to wait until next year for the rest of the story
A great tale of an adventure to the earth's underground to save the planet (and others)
[full review on blog]
[full review on blog]
*I received a free e-galley from NetGalley of this in exchange for an honest review*
Brittany is given the chance of a lifetime to not only go to the U.K. for just over a week, but to also compete for the chance to win $100,000 – tell me that’s not a great premise for a young-adult novel!
This novel was fun and fast-paced, not taking too long in any of Britt’s adventures in the U.K., but also not skimping out just to get to the next destination. I enjoyed Britt and Luke as a traveling duo – with the snarky chaperone, Alexis, in the background – and found myself smiling at some of their antics to get the clues (the King Arthur one is by far my favorite). Even with the fun, cute factors, the fear of the future for both Britt and Luke were confronted, and each of them had to learn to face it.
Britt was an interesting character to have as a main character in a book that’s centered around literature because she – and she states this a lot – is not a reader. Up until this point in her life, she was a soccer player, and a darn good one. But then she got injured, and now she can’t play ever again due to a genetic diagnosis she gets after sugery. So, of course, she’s more than upset about that, and the fact that she has no other plans for her future. Despite being picked as one of the students to win this money, she doesn’t have high hopes of winning, even though she really wants to. Her development in learning to face her fears about her diagnosis and future was one of the elements I loved in this story. She learned something on this trip about herself and how she needed to change.
Luke was a great companion for Britt. He was the total opposite in that he had the bookworm/nerd thing going on, but wasn’t physically incapable. Not to mention that he often sought peace and quiet in times, while Britt had to keep going and/or talking. His banter and patience with Britt was impeccable, and I loved his relation to Alexis, which definitely seems coincidental for the book, but then again, this is a small world when it comes to family. Alexis, of course, was enjoyable. I loved how she cared but pretended not to and acted like an annoyed babysitter.
I would like to say that I enjoyed the other characters, but we didn’t get to know them that well. I would have liked more context to Spence, Peter, and Amberlyn, and even Ms. Carmichael as well. They all had potential for interesting backgrounds, but we didn’t get to see much of that. Only a few glimpses here and there.
There is a bit of history between Britt and Amberlyn throughout the book – that they used to be best friends until Amberlyn dropped Britt for some reason, and it turns out that there’s another side to that story. We thankfully get to learn it, as Britt does eventually confront that part of her past, and it’s one of the things that makes Britt look deeper into herself and how her mind works. The girls do come to an understanding, and what I like about them reconciling is that they don’t go back to being best-friends right off the bat. It’s much more realistic in that the air is cleared between them, but if they do ever become friends again, it would be a process.
Lastly, I loved that fact that this was a clean YA novel. No swearing (or if there was any, it was barely noticeable… but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any at all), and no romance that went from a first meet to having the characters lose their virginity to one another. It was a sweet book, with a little romance, cute moments in the right places, and focused on the characters learning about themselves and growing as people.
I highly recommend this book for an anytime read for anyone who loves sweet YA novels, stories that take place in the U.K., or wants a cute summer read!
Brittany is given the chance of a lifetime to not only go to the U.K. for just over a week, but to also compete for the chance to win $100,000 – tell me that’s not a great premise for a young-adult novel!
This novel was fun and fast-paced, not taking too long in any of Britt’s adventures in the U.K., but also not skimping out just to get to the next destination. I enjoyed Britt and Luke as a traveling duo – with the snarky chaperone, Alexis, in the background – and found myself smiling at some of their antics to get the clues (the King Arthur one is by far my favorite). Even with the fun, cute factors, the fear of the future for both Britt and Luke were confronted, and each of them had to learn to face it.
Britt was an interesting character to have as a main character in a book that’s centered around literature because she – and she states this a lot – is not a reader. Up until this point in her life, she was a soccer player, and a darn good one. But then she got injured, and now she can’t play ever again due to a genetic diagnosis she gets after sugery. So, of course, she’s more than upset about that, and the fact that she has no other plans for her future. Despite being picked as one of the students to win this money, she doesn’t have high hopes of winning, even though she really wants to. Her development in learning to face her fears about her diagnosis and future was one of the elements I loved in this story. She learned something on this trip about herself and how she needed to change.
Luke was a great companion for Britt. He was the total opposite in that he had the bookworm/nerd thing going on, but wasn’t physically incapable. Not to mention that he often sought peace and quiet in times, while Britt had to keep going and/or talking. His banter and patience with Britt was impeccable, and I loved his relation to Alexis, which definitely seems coincidental for the book, but then again, this is a small world when it comes to family. Alexis, of course, was enjoyable. I loved how she cared but pretended not to and acted like an annoyed babysitter.
I would like to say that I enjoyed the other characters, but we didn’t get to know them that well. I would have liked more context to Spence, Peter, and Amberlyn, and even Ms. Carmichael as well. They all had potential for interesting backgrounds, but we didn’t get to see much of that. Only a few glimpses here and there.
There is a bit of history between Britt and Amberlyn throughout the book – that they used to be best friends until Amberlyn dropped Britt for some reason, and it turns out that there’s another side to that story. We thankfully get to learn it, as Britt does eventually confront that part of her past, and it’s one of the things that makes Britt look deeper into herself and how her mind works. The girls do come to an understanding, and what I like about them reconciling is that they don’t go back to being best-friends right off the bat. It’s much more realistic in that the air is cleared between them, but if they do ever become friends again, it would be a process.
Lastly, I loved that fact that this was a clean YA novel. No swearing (or if there was any, it was barely noticeable… but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any at all), and no romance that went from a first meet to having the characters lose their virginity to one another. It was a sweet book, with a little romance, cute moments in the right places, and focused on the characters learning about themselves and growing as people.
I highly recommend this book for an anytime read for anyone who loves sweet YA novels, stories that take place in the U.K., or wants a cute summer read!
