Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall
Teens and Body Image

The Best Little Girl in the World ~Steven Levenkron

Francesca, feeling too fat and giving in to the pressures of her ballet teacher and the pencil-thin models in the media, begins a terrifying descent into anorexia nervosa. 1978

The Bigger Book of Lydia ~Margaret Willey

Still very small at fifteen, Lydia becomes self-conscious about her size and develops an obsession with growing, until she meets Michelle, who has anorexia nervosa and wants only to be smaller. 1983

A Body to Die For ~Keisha Lett

Seventeen-year-old Christina will do anything to get the love and acceptance that comes with being obediently thin in this made-for-the-skinny world, including falling prey to the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia. 2001

Extreme Elvin ~Chris Lynch

As he enters high school, fourteen-year-old Elvin continues to deal with his weight problem as he tries to find his place among his peers. 1999

Fat Chance ~Leslea Newman

In a series of diary entries, thirteen-year-old Judi recounts her struggles to lose weight, hide her bulimia from her mother, find a boyfriend, and decide on a profession.1994

The Hanged Man ~Francesca Lia Block

Having stopped eating after the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Laurel feels herself losing control of her life in the hot, magical world of Los Angeles. 1994

How I Changed My Life ~Todd Strasser

Overweight high school senior Bo decides to change her image while working on the school play with a former star football player who is also struggling to find a new identity for himself. 1995

I am an Artichoke ~Lucy K. Frank

Working as a mother's helper in New York City, fifteen-year-old Sarah finds herself caught in the middle of a troubled relationship between an eccentric writer and her anorexic mother.1995

Insatiable: The Compelling Story of Four Teens, Food and its Power ~Eve Eliot

A moving story of four teenage girls whose shame, fear and confusion compel them to binge, purge and refuse to eat in misguided attempts to feel safe and in control of their lives. 2001

Keeping the Moon ~Sarah Dessen

Fifteen-year-old Colie, a former fat girl, spends the summer working as a waitress in a beachside restaurant, staying with her overweight and eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her sense of self. 1999

Life in the Fat Lane ~Cherie Bennett

Sixteen-year-old Lara, winner of beauty pageants and Homecoming Queen, is distressed and bewildered when she starts gaining weight and becomes a fat girl. 1998

My Sister's Bones ~Cathi Hanauer

Growing up as the only Jewish girl in an Italian community, sixteen-year-old Billie struggles with overbearing parents and life in the shadow of her successful college student sister, until she realizes that her sister is anorexic. 1997

Myrtle of Willendorf ~Rebecca O'Connell

A bright and artistic young woman with a fondness for junk food experiences a kooky modern-day coming of age by way of the Goddess within. 2000

Nell's Quilt ~Susan Terris

Urged at the age of eighteen to marry a man she doesn't want, Nell delays the event by working on a quilt, slowly starving herself, and observing the unhappy lot of many women in turn-of-the century Massachusetts. 1987

One Fat Summer ~Robert Lipsyte

An overweight fourteen-year-old boy experiences a turning-point summer in which he learns to stand up for himself. 1977

Perk!: The Story of a Teenager with Bulimia ~Liza F. Hall

Unhappy about boys, her parents, and her body, tenth grader Perk becomes a victim of bulimia and resorts to binge eating and forced vomiting to gain control of her life.1997

Second Star to the Right ~Deborah Hautzig

As fourteen-year-old Leslie begins to shed the weight she feels makes her imperfect, she finds it increasingly difficult to reach out for the psychological help she knows she needs.1999

Stick Figure: A Diary of my Former Self ~Lori Gottlieb (YA 616.8526 Gott)

Based on her childhood diaries, the author chronicles her preteen battle with anorexia nervosa. 2000

Vanishing ~Bruce Brooks

Eleven-year-old Alice is unwilling to return to live with her alcoholic mother and her stern stepfather, so she refuses to eat to the point of slowly starving herself, in order to remain in the hospital. 2000

 Researched and compiled by L. Baldwin   1/2002