(60)Skinny by Diana Spechler

It is not unusual for me to make a lunch time run to the library. I go to pick up holds. In and out and back to work. But, not before making a walk-by the new release wall. You never know when a book will strike your fancy,right? Well there was a teen girl and her mother and the teen had picked up Skinny. Of course, the bookseller in me couldn't resist the opportunity to handsell a book. And it felt good to do so!

Skinny is a wonderful book about body image and the belief that true beauty is what is on the inside. Gray Lachmann is cruising along enjoying life with her comedian boyfriend. Even after her father expressed his disapproval, Gray continues her relationship. Then her father dies expectantly on her 26th birthday, leaving Gray lost, confused, and eating everything in sight, she discovers she is the executor to the estate. Something, or someone, listed in the will ends up sending Gray to "Fat Camp". It is there as a counselor she discovers just as much about herself as she does about the young woman mentioned in her father's will. Will she emerge from "fat camp" Skinny or will the weight of her father's past keep her heavy?

Every woman young or old has a body image issue of some type. Big nose, big hips, fat thighs, or all of the above. It is a rare woman that does not have a body issue of some type. After Gray eats her grief, "fat camp" is really the place for her. She is not the most perfect heroine by any stretch of the imagination. She is deeply flawed in several ways, but it wasn't until camp that she started to realize that being flawed is okay. I think that is a critical message for all women, particularly teens. Overall I think Skinny was a good book. Another book for the beach bag, bikini or not.