Don't Call Me Kit KatBy K.J Farnham
312 pages | April 20th 2015 | Createspace
Junior high is where things really start to happen. Cliques form and break apart. Couples are made and destroyed. And a reputation is solidified that you won’t ever be able to escape. Everything you do and say, and everyone you spend your time with, matters.
Katie Mills knows that. She gets it. That’s why she tried so hard to get in with the cool girls at school. And why she was so devastated when those efforts found her detained for shoplifting and laughed out of cheer squad tryouts.
But Katie has more to worry about than just fitting in. Her parents are divorced and always fighting. Her sister never has time for her. And her friends all seem to be drifting apart. Even worse? The boy she has a crush on is dating the mean girl at school.
Everything is a mess, and Katie doesn’t feel like she has control over any of it. Certainly not over her weight, which has always topped out at slightly pudgier than normal—at least, according to her mother.
So when she happens to catch one of the popular girls throwing up in the bathroom one day, it sparks an idea. A match that quickly engulfs her life in flames.
Is there any going back once she gets started down this path?
And would she even want to if she could?
This book spoke to me. I have never personally suffered from an eating disorder, but I have had friends who have. While on the surface I felt like I understood what it was like, I have never really read a narrative that got to the core of understanding like this did.
This book was beautifully written and accurately depicted the voice of a teenager. This didn’t sound like an adult, trying to sound like a teenager, it felt real.
This book isn’t a fun, happy story. It’s a true gritty look at the horrors that can be present when being a teenager and the different types of struggles they face daily. My sisters are fourteen and twelve and I am demanding that they read this book. They too already have friends that are facing these issues and soon enough, though I hope not, it could be them. I think this book brings a real look to the issues, a truth that was missing.
Every other book I’ve read where the character has an eating disorder (whether it's acknowledged as that or not) it’s mostly passed over, or worse praised as a diet. I remember reading Go Ask Alice, and while I praise that book for scaring me the hell away from drugs, I remember when the protagonist basically eats nothing but diet coke and loses a bunch of weight. Written as a diary she’s more or less bragging about the fact and how it finally gets her what she wants.
This is a terrible approach. I relate to Katie. Wanting to be accepted, wanting to fit in, to feel beautiful, to be that extra little bit of something so that maybe, those people who really aren’t worth your time, will finally look at you in a positive light. It brought me back to an awful time in my own life.
I legitimately found myself crying when I read this book and while no one wants to be sad, I find that’s the mark of a good story. If you can move me to tears, anger, attachment, any sort of real emotion, you’re done your job. I am having a hard time describing how much I loved this book in words. I think everyone should read this book. I think it gives an insight to other teenagers to their own behaviours, but I also think it’s an important read for adults with teens in their lives so they can understand that extra bit.
I recommend this as a must-read.
Yes, it’s sad but life is sad. Cue the emo flip.
But actually. READ THIS BOOK!!
K. J. Farnham is a former educator turned author and freelance writer. She was born and raised in a suburb of Milwaukee and now lives in western Wisconsin with her husband, three children and three cats.Website - Amazon - Facebook - Goodreads
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