Nothing by Robin Friedman

Title: Nothing
Author: Robin Friedman
Pages: 232
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: August 1, 2008

This short novel examines the life of a boy with bulimia. Parker Rabinowitz, 17, is good-looking, smart, and rich; he's bound to get into Princeton. He is expected to maintain perfect grades, participate in multiple extracurricular activities and service projects, and, in other words, be the perfect son. His sister, Danielle, is jealous of the attention he gets, but she is the first to notice that something is terribly wrong. Parker is binging uncontrollably, and then forcing himself to vomit. What starts out as an occasional stress release becomes an obsession controlling his life. His downward spiral climaxes when he convulses in his bathroom. He is rushed to the hospital, and after his "recovery" begins therapy.

Everyone thinks Parker Rabinowitz has everything; looks, talent, athleticism, and intelligence. He's on the path to HYP (Harvard Yale Princeton)...In other words, he's the perfect guy with the perfect college application. Everyone loves him, adores him, or admires him. But none of them, even his parents, notice his changed attitude, his warped mood swings, and his lack of confidence. Everybody except his sister. She notices his behavior and eventually finds out he's been making himself vomit. He's become completely bulimic and hurts the people around him in the process of his downward spiral. "Sometimes trees can look healthy on the outside, but actually be dying on the inside. These trees fall unexpectedly during a storm." These words have never rung so true.

Trapped in a world of stress and responsibility, Parker finds reassurance through bulimic actions like vomiting. Guys with bulimia is a topic that is uncommon and different from other stories. Friedman connects bulimia with high-school stress; the stress most teenagers are familiar to at school. The pressure and expectations are portrayed authentically through Parker's POV and seeing through his eyes is a whirlwind of emotions and problems, and his inability to accept himself echoes throughout every decision he makes.

Nothing is a half verse novel, half real novel. Danielle's narrative is mostly in broken poetry while Parker's is the novel part of the story. Her narration is filled with clarity and bluntness that could only be a second child's perspective.

Sometimes, throughout the novel, Parker with his stress and problems fall flat and get confusing. Parker and Danielle are the only characters that I really got to know and their friends are two-dimensional and unoriginal. Parker's relationship with Julianne is weird and unconventional...seemingly too predictable and useless. B+ =)

The Bottom Line: Nothing is a novel that I think, everyone should read. But although it's unique and interesting, the delivery of the novel was not as good as it could have been.

---Report Card---
Originality: 10/10
Ending: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 8/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 8/10
Theme: 9/10
Imagery: 7/10
Setting: 4/5
Voice: 5/5
Style: 4/5
Tone: 5/5
Cover: 8/10
Total Score: 83/100 (B+)

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I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Title: I Heart You, You Haunt Me
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Pages: 240
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 8, 2008

Girl meets boy.
Girl loses boy.
Girl gets boy back...
...Sort of

Ava can't see or touch him,
unless she's dreaming.
She can't hear his voice,
except for the faint whispers in her mind.
Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.


Jackson.
The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with.
He's back from the dead,
as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

OH MY GOD. This is ONE of THE BEST BOOKS I've read. It's a verse novel. It's a compilation of poems that tell Ava's story throughout the entire book. It's in her point of view. And it's amazing. I wish I could do this book the justice it deserves with this review, but, I can't. I'll just do my best.

I'm going to break it down for you:

The Writing. Shroeder's writing was very lyrical and poetic. It was surprisingly mature. She was able to manipulate the words to make them suit how Ava was feeling in each chapter/poem. It never got boring, in fact, I kept reading until midnight. I was able to relate to Ava's feelings and her grief. Throughout the entire book, I felt like I was Ava. I was the girl who was going through so much pain and so much guilt.

The Emotions. I Heart You, You Haunt Me is a book for mature readers who want to read about the purest and probably the most common kind of grief. After I read the book, I couldn't breathe properly-LITERALLY. I felt so many poignant emotions; anguish, angst, pain, just to name a few. My heart felt heavy. I felt the pain that Ava felt. My sisters thought I was crazy. But that's just how Schroeder was able to bring out all these emotions and reactions from me, through her words.

The Ending. The ending was bitter-sweet. It was painful for me to read. The lessons that were learned and the conflicts that were eventually solved, were flawlessly summed up in the ending.

The Bottom Line: This book is NOT light reading. In fact, this could easily make readers cry. Shroeder's writing is innocent and-in words-perfect. I would definitely recommend this to teens who want to read about letting go and the simplest and most innocent type of love. It really is heart-breaking. A+ :-)

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