Best Little Girl in the World
Author: Steven Levenkron
List Price: $6.99
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ISBN: 0446358657
Publisher: Warner Books (07 March, 1989)
Sales Rank: 21,408
Average Customer Rating: 3.93 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 3 out of 5
Who is Kessa??
I had wanted to read this book for a long time after hearing what a great portrayal of anorexia it is. However, I was dissappointed. I'll save you the plot of the book (if you're interested, it's on a lot of other reviews). This book was not bad, but I have read many better ones, and it did not live up to my expectations.The way this book was written is exactly like Kessa's problem. She is alone, and her parents focus all of their attention on her siblings. Similarly, this book focuses its attention not on Kessa, but on her mother, her father, her dance teacher, her
psychiatrist, just about everyone but Kessa. She has a supporting role in the book, so that she serves more as just another client for Sherman to talk about and dissect.
I did not like Kessa, mainly because the reader is not really given a chance to get to know her. The book jumps right in with
Francesca deciding to lose weight and changing her name to "Kessa." Other than her teacher's comment that she might want to lose a little weight, we see little motivation. This is fine, because I understand that there are many lingering, old issues that can bring on anorexia (and we see many of them as the book progresses), however, as a reader, I would have liked to see or learn a little more about the actual development of the disease. I also find it a little unrealistic that she just one day decided to be anorexic and stopped eating. In every case of anorexia I've ever heard of or experienced, there is usually some kind of struggle, some kind of "slip-up." I would have appreciated the book more if Kessa were more realistic, instead of the "perfect anorectic."
My main problem with this book is its impersonality. We hardly get to know Kessa. It seems that Levenkron uses her only as a means-to-an-end, just to get across a point. Maybe this was his intention; however, I would have gotten more out of the book if Kessa was more developed. I would also have liked to see her fighting a little more of the battle, instead of just being helpless and depending on Sherman.
However, this book was fairly enjoyable and interesting to read. It was not the best book on the subject (my personal favorites are "Second Star to the Right" and "Wasted"), but I wouldn't call it a waste of time either.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Interesing Account of a Girl's Desent into Anorexia
As a recovering anorexic, I've developed a library of books on the subject of my disease. As a therapist, Levenkron gives some interesting insight about the anorexic mind that many other authors cannot share; though primarily told through the eyes of a girl modeled off Levenkron's clients, he also leaves room for the perspective of the girl's parents and the psychiatrist that eventually saves her. Though I don't necessarily recommend this book for an anorexic or bulimic, I wish that more people in general would read this kind of book; that way many of the myths about eating disorders would be dissolved.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Written for author's advancement...
I honestly could not stand this book. At first, I didn't know why. I thought maybe it was because of the way Kessa is treated by the hospital staff, (being called a "skinny" and such), or her family's stubborness. Then, I read "Wasted" by Marya Hornbacher. If you want to know about eating disorders, read that. In it, Marya mentions this book, and how the Levenkron uses this book to demonstrate "his own genius at curing eating disorders." I had to agree fully. Now, I consider myself a fairly good reader. That is, I try to put myself in the frame of mind of the time the book was written rather then my own state of mind today. This book sickened me. I must admit that it made me admire people with eating disorders for a while, for their discipline and skill at deceit. Reading "Wasted" removed the glamourized image "The Best Little Girl In The World" gave me. If anyone who has an eating disorder, or is at risk for developing one, they should NOT read this book. Kessa seems to be turned into a martyr almost, and Levenkron's portrayal of people with eating disorders reflects many stereotypes people have of eating disorders.
One other thing that bothers me is how it seems Kessa went from being perfectly healty to starving to death to healthy again in a matter of weeks. Eating disorders evolve over time. They aren't something that you can just wake up one morning and say "I'm looking chubby. I think I'm going to become anorexic." That message doesn't come across clearly. And they make it seem that once Kessa leaves the hospital, she's going to be perfectly healthy. Maybe in an ideal world..
While this book is a good example of stereotypes of eating disorders, and how medical knowledge advances over time, it is a sickening book that could send a person on the line of illness over the edge. I advise caution and that one keep in mind the time at which it was written if you are going to read it. Similar Products
Diary Of An Anorexic Girl :
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