Told through diary entries, this is the story of Riley's time at a treatment center for kids with eating disorders. Rather than showing a character with an eating disorder pre-treatment, this book begins with recovery and shows Riley's journey throughout the process.
Life at the treatment center isn't easy. Riley is lonely. She misses her friends. She wants to recover, yet she's scared to eat. She misses running on the track team, yet realizes she turned running into something harmful.
When Riley starts to recover, her hospital roommate starts exercising in the middle of the night. Her behavior triggers Riley to slip back to her old, destructive behaviors. Recovery is hard. Riley isn't sure she'll be able to stay healthy once she's released from the treatment center. Will she be able to deal with her dieting mom, her gymnastics-star sister, and the school bully who picks on her weight and food choices?
My rating: FIVE STARS. I could not put this book down. I felt deep empathy for Riley and her journey toward recovery. Young readers will come away with a deeper understanding of the complexities of eating disorders. The author, an eating disorder survivor and an advocate for recovery, lived this reality. There is heart in this story. And truth. This is a must-read for middle graders and teens.
For a chance to win an ARC of GOOD ENOUGH along with Jen Petro-Roy's You Are Enough, a middle-grade nonfiction book designed to help young readers as they begin to recover from eating disorders, over-exercising, and body image issues, leave a comment and your email address below. A winner will be drawn at random.
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