Rating: 3.5

TW: Eating Disorders, Abuse, Grief, Suicide, Depression

Stevie has a lot going on in her mind and is confident about the way she wants her life to play out. Unfortunately, her father has other plans. He admits her into an eating-disorder treatment centre for 60 DAYS! Stevie however does not intend to stay that long.

She hates everything about the clinic and is working extremely hard to ensure that her schedule is not sabotaged. She only has until the first death anniversary of her brother, which is in 27 days.

Meg Haston does a brilliant job in depicting various kinds of eating disorders and the trauma surrounding the same.

Paperweight sheds light on the deep-roots of mental health issues, the refractiveness of people suffering from them and the effort it takes to help them through.

It is not an easy read. It is very dense, depressing and impactful. The author, being a therapist, presents a raw and honest story.

Stevie is overpowered by her illness. She hates everything. EVERYTHING. Initially, she does not understand why she needs to heal or that she needs any healing at all. After all, she has her plans in place. Irrespective of her unreceptive nature, her therapist (who is addressed as ‘SHRINK’ in her thoughts) perseveres.

The shrink through her patient and consistent tries, helps Stevie open herself to more possibilities than the one that has been consuming her.

Healing is more often than not, an extremely slow process and the book manages to get across a message that inspite of the sluggishness and the amount of work needed, it is always worth it.

The growth in Stevie through the story is slow but steady. I appreciate the author for presenting a sensitive subject in a delicate manner.

A reduced star and a half are for the loose threads left in the story. Granted that the book is about Stevie and her struggles but we don’t get answers about some of the other characters like Eden who has a major impact on Stevie or her relationship with her mother.

Apart from that, it is a good book to educate ourselves about the effects of EDs. ( )

This book had a very beautiful arc and plot line with a lot of depth and some very well formed characters; however, I couldn't manage to connect to Stevie.

Seeing Stevie's perception of anorexia and her thoughts on the labels various eating disorders created was also very powerful and though I have no personal experience with the matter myself, I found it felt very real and poignant. There were no veils thrown over major issues and I admire this story for tackling these things in a way that feels very normal.

Stevie's plan didn't seem very feasible or quite real, and this I think was very telling.

Many characters in this story seemed to play small roles but served as really strong foils and managed to make an impact in the small space they had. Anna/Shrink was very humane and had an interesting backstory that led up to her job at the center. I loved Stevie's relationship with her roommate and how much of a contrast this relationship she provided, especially after how dismissive Stevie had been.

Stevie's parents were both well developed and had their own interesting characteristics that really added a lot to the story. Since ultimately a lot of Stevie's struggles had stemmed from this and had only been escalated by her connection to Josh, this was very telling and poignant.

But I really didn't connect to Stevie very much, and I found her backstory with Josh and Eden to be confusing. There was a lot more content that could have been fleshed out and I felt like Haston had a lot of backstory in her head that didn't make it onto the paper. If I had really felt for her, this book would have been much stronger.

Overall, this book deserves a lot of credit for creating such a real and poignant story with such a variety of characters. Though I wouldn't reread it, it was very strong. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

*Thank You Harper Teen for an Advanced Copy*

This book caught me off guard with it's deep rooted emotion and addicting storyline. I'm not usually keen on switching from past to present, but with this one, it worked. It added depth to the story and made me truly empathize with the lead character. Now I will warn you... Stevie is a tough character to like. She is selfish, troubled, and confused. Give it time though... Let the story progress and get ready to be surprised by many twists. In the end my heart was filled with Stevie love.

The writing in this book was great. I applaud the Author for tackling such an intense theme with poise and charm. Most of the scenes were intense, but she did throw in some witty parts that put a smile on my face. I particularly loved the swimming scene. It was the turning point for me... At that point, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Overall, Paperweight is a story I recommend to all teen readers. It opens your eyes to a tough subject and shows you that in the darkest of times there is always a sliver of light. ( )

Paperweight centers around Stephanie, preferably known as Stevie, a girl suffering from an eating disorder. Stevie was forced into a treatment camp by her dad, where she meets girl with similar issues and her shrink, Anna. The book is told in the present with brief flashback of the past explaining Stevie's life before she got there. Readers get glimpses of her unhealthy friendship and romance with Eden, the recent death of her brother, her barely there father, and her nonexistent mother. Stevie's plan is to kill herself on the anniversary of her brother's death through starvation. She tries to fight any and all treatment, refusing to live because she believed she killed her brother. With the help of Anna and her new friends she finds new worth in living. Haston does a beautiful job in describing Stevie sickness and why she really believed that she should die. The book will have you in tears at how these young girls see themselves. There is advice in this book that can apply to anyone and a beautiful take away message to love yourself as you are. ( )