Perfect, by Natasha Friend

Title:Perfect
Author:Natasha Friend
Publish Date:September 16, 2004
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Pages:232 pages
ISBN:1571316515
Classification:
Genre:
Age Range:Young Adult
Price: $7.95
Annotation: After a family tragedy Isabella is discovered purging her dinner and is sent to recover in a clinic. There she meets the most popular girl in school, and together they travel a destructive path...

Summary: With her family still coming to grips with the death of her father, Isabelle's little sister walks in on her throwing up her dinner. Though Isabelle Isabelle gets sent to a recovery group. When she goes to her new group she is floored to find Ashley, the most beautiful & popular girl in school (and also object of her crushes affection), is bulimic too. They become unlikely friends when Ashley takes her as a disciple and they begin a destructive path to perfection.

Evaluation: Whether you struggle with an eating disorder or not, every girl deals with the pressures of how they look. This book does a beautiful job of making you empathetic to her while at the same time educating you on eating disorders. It was good, especially when I was having a hard time finding complimentary titles to Wintergirls.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Eating Disorders, Toxic Friendships, Loss of a Parent

Reason this book was chosen: Anorexia is more widely covered then bulimia, but just as lethal and widespread.