  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 07/01/2016 Noah’s life is pretty idyllic by most standards, and most of his problems make for funny stories. There’s one thing the seventh-grader can’t talk about, though, and that is his sister Emma’s eating disorder. Since an episode that sent her into therapy, Emma has been given free rein in the family kitchen, and she insists that they adopt an increasingly restrictive vegan diet. Despite this, Noah rightly suspects that his sister is still starving herself while their parents persist in denial. When she ends up back in the hospital and then in a long-term residential treatment facility, Noah goes into a bit of a depression himself, and he’s angry that others are going about their lives as if nothing serious were happening. With help from his teacher, his friends, his art, and Emma herself, he slowly gets it together, reminding himself and readers that paying attention to everyday things even when bigger things are happening can be a salvation instead of a distraction. With moments of genuine warmth and middle school humor, this is a less intense but equally heartfelt exploration of the effects of an eating disorder on a younger sibling than Vrettos’ Skin (BCCB 5/06). Readers will appreciate the honesty and accessibility of this tale about Noah’s desire to save the sister he loves but doesn’t understand. KC - Copyright 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Booklist - 09/15/2016 Seventh-grader Noah’s life is full of pretty ordinary things: he gossips with his friends, competes with other guys for girls, and works on his art. Then there’s his bossy older sister, Emma, and “the Thing We Don’t Talk About.” That thing would be Emma’s earlier eating disorder episode; Noah and his parents tiptoe around the subject, terrified of triggering Emma into relapse. When this happens, Emma is rushed off to long-term therapy, leaving Noah wracked with guilt. Why hadn’t he and Mom and Dad seen what Emma was doing and intervened sooner? There is also anger (“She doesn’t have cancer . . . She’s the one making herself sick!”) and a general annoyance at classmates whose concerns now seem so trivial. Knowles deftly portrays Noah’s response to an intense family crisis in the midst of the usual dramas and banalities of ordinary life. While the latter can sometimes reach the point of silliness, this is a powerful portrait of an eating disorder from a younger brother’s unique perspective. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. Loading...
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