14th July 2016, Hot Key Books, 336 pages, Paperback, Review copy
Content: near rape scene,
mean girls, exteemes of anorexia, overating and bulemia,
Book summary
What happens when you give in to the voices in your
head?
Annabel is dead. And she's not happy about it.
Despite having strived to be 'lighter than air' back when she was alive,
the consequences of that yearning haven't quite sunk in yet.
Julia Jacobs is fat. Which Annabel immediately
notices when she's assigned as Julia's ghostly helper (don't even think
about calling her a guardian angel). And as her helper, Julia's problem
seems pretty obvious to Annabel. Fat = problem = unhappy. Sorted.
The only trouble is that whatever is causing Julia to
overeat is hidden deep within her. Annabel will have to get to know
Julia to uncover this secret and 'fix' her. Annabel can become the voice
of reason, Julia's source of strength.
Except. . .
all this time spent in someone's head has got Annabel thinking. Not just
about food, but about her family too. And that maybe happiness can mean
more than eradicating all the flesh from your bones.
Nayu's thoughts
A lot of aspects of eating
disorders are explored in Annabel's afterlife. Bit by bit the reason
for Annabel having to watch over and help Julie is made clear, and
it's the only way Annabel can get a message to her family from beyond
the grave. She wanted to quit so many times because she thought Julie
should and could easily lose weight. But Annabel discovers herself
through helping Julie, alongside the fact that life is never simple
and there are a million reasons why people have issues with food. Annabel tries
to push her own views on Julie, since Julie can sometimes hear what
Annabel says, and she goes too far.
Julie learns the strength of true
friendship, and the horrendous thing which forced her to overeat
wasn't entirely her own fault. It is a hard hitting read, with a knock
on effect of anorexia that I'd not come across before, and I've read
a few fiction books exploring this issue. I liked in some ways how
Annabel couldn't really see her family until the end, as the
frustration urged her on when she despaired of Julie's wavering inner
strength. It was good how Julie had such a passion for journalism, it
was hard when she worked with others who weren't that bothered. Julie
learns the hard way how catty girls can be, which Annabel learns
because she can hear the thoughts of people when she is near them,
and sometimes their internal thoughts were unexpected.
While the
overall feelings of a specific character to Julie was eventually true
and sweet, people who play around can't be trusted fully, which
brought down the grade for me. Otherwise a superb read which you will
need tissues for, especially at the end.
Find out more on Claire's website.
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