Letting Ana Go

Warning to anyone who has or knows someone that has been affected by anorexia. 
Potential triggers ahead...

I have four books from this "Anonymous" series. I picked it up to read because it was short and I needed a quick read. Okay, I had no idea what emotional battle I was in for. This is heart-wrenching read dealing with the struggles of a high school girl and anorexia. I enjoyed the book. I gave it four stars. It let me into a world that is difficult for those who have never suffered the disease themselves find difficult to understand. This book helped me to wrap my brain around the difficulties of not only the person with the disease but also those around them. 

The book is told in the format of a high-school girl's diary. The girl, Ana, goes from just watching what she is eating for cross-country to calorie-counting, obsessive compulsive. If I had to guess, this is a realistic account of anorexia. However, I realize that I am no expert on the disease, but it definitely does not "sugar-coat" it. It shows the depths of its ugliness.... actually to a point where I question if I will put it in my classroom library or not. I do not know how a 13-14 year-old would handle the book and the emotions that come along with it. It worries me in some ways because it is told from the victims perspective and how that voice in her head speaks to her could come off as "the answer" to some younger girls or boys struggling with body image. I am definitely glad I read it prior to just placing it on the shelves of my classroom library. It is one of those books that I will watch closely, if it goes into the library at all, and will come with a disclaimer. If anyone directly affected by anorexia wants to give me some input on your thoughts about this, I would be happy to hear them. 

I would recommend this book but with caution. There were points where I myself fell into the pull of the disease and would think things I do not normally think. I would have to put the book down at times to really think about the thoughts of this girl and how they are impacting me, someone who has not struggled with this. That is the main reason I am nervous about putting it into a middle school classroom library. If the writing was that "well-done" (or so to speak) or realistic that it was able to pull me in as an adult, I worry what it could do to young-adults with undeveloped thought processing. Overall, the book had me from page one and I plan to read the other books in the "series".