Official Review: Letting Ana Go by Anonymous

[Alexandra Bayer]

She loved to run and was on her school's track team. She had a family and plenty of friends, and an eye on a nice boy. Everything was going well for her, until the day she had to start counting calories. Her coach wanted everyone to make sure they were getting the proper amount of calories, so she and her best friend, Jill, started watching together. Only problem was that Jill was a ballerina and wanted to slim down to get the part of Clara in The Nutcracker. Jill asked for support at the same time as the main character's father left her overweight mother. Soon both girls were cutting back on calories and exercising like crazy. Nothing happened at first. They got compliments, she got a boyfriend, and she loved the way she looked, perhaps a bit too much. Soon things stated to spiral out of control, and as things worsened, the questions arises: what would you be willing to sacrifice in order to be beautiful?

This was the first fictional book I've ever read about anorexia. I was able to access it through PulseIt's 31 Days of Reading, and I am so glad I did. It was an extremely compelling book, and I finished it probably within 24 hours. It was written in the style of a diary, and the thoughts and stories recorded were very accurate with what an anorectic would put down. This story very clearly underlined the seriousness of this disease. It irritates me to no end when I hear people say that anorexia is a choice; anorexia is never a choice. Healthy people don't choose to starve themselves to look 'beautiful'. Anorexia is a lifelong struggle, and many people never get through it. I'm so happy this book was able to depict that fact.

This book was written in the format of a journal, so it was in first person. That could be part of the reason as to why I really enjoyed it: I love first person stories with characters that are easy to relate to. At the beginning of each entry, it gave the date and the main character's weight. Readers then have a visual every few pages (since the entries were usually quite short) to see her weight dropping. This was very helpful, because then it was much easier to keep track of how much weight was being lost. The look of the dialogue was very different than it looks in most other books. Instead of being in quotation marks, the person who was talking had their name written down, then a colon and their lines. It looked much like a script. The originality of the formatting was an interesting and enjoyable touch added to an already great read.

This book doesn't have a happy ending. I won't say exactly what happens, but if you don't like sad endings, don't read this book. Personally, I liked the fact that this book ended in a dramatic way. It drove the point home that anorexia is not a joke. This was the first book I've read in a long time that wasn't fantasy, because usually my favourite books are all fantasy. However, I could read it for free and had the time, so I started it out of sheer boredom. And then I couldn't put it down. I came home and read for several hours until I had finished it. The main character of this book can be compared to a train wreck: at first you don't see it coming; then you do, but there's no way to help. The main character was very personable and happy near the beginning of the book, a strong female lead. This story defined the gradual descent into the mindset of an eating disorder. If you have an eating disorder, read this novel. You will be able to compare your thoughts to this main character's, and see how she ended up. It may help you.

I thought this book was amazing. It's a much-needed dose of reality in a world of super-thin models and actresses, where images of unrealistic body types are splashed all over different types of media. I would rate this book a high four stars. It was a nice change from the rest of the books out there, and will stay in my mind for some time to come. If you enjoy reading about real-life problems, romance, and teenage issues, you should definitely read this story.

[allesha]

I've been wanting to read this, glad to hear it is good!

[booklover_0413]

This is one of those books that you can't shake because it is so real, yet the feeling you can't shake isn't a good one. There was nothing spectacular about the writing or the story or the characters. It was simply real. And, if you have ever had something like this touch your life, you know it as you read that you won't be able to stop reading even if you wanted to.
I can't say that I enjoyed this one. Not because it is a bad story or poorly written or boring, but because it hits close to home. It was almost torture reading this. I did enjoy that is written in a journal style. I don't know why, but that has always intrigued me. I also was surprised how the author managed to make it so real. When my sister handed it to me, I knew what it was about. After reading it though it was so strange how much it hit home. If this person didn't actually go through it themselves, they have very much done their research.
I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone. I would not want young girls to get inside her head and start doing what she did. I would not want anyone who has dealt with this to have to go through it again or to feel the sick that I felt as I read it. And I wouldn't think that if you are some random person who isn't a teenage girl and who hasn't had an eating disorder touch their life, then I feel it would just be boring.