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Show v L riV. Vii tiue-to-li- fe Stoiy of Four Food and lb Power Teens, & to DM The Compelling Hm Ciwwnslrrtfsra, IMS .. BRANCH Why do sojnc girls cot anythingthey wart and some girts eat nothing they wart? And why, especially during a girt teenage years, does it feel like a crisis to be the prettiest, die thinnest and impossibly, of course) the . most perfect? ' Y With all the traumas dial are associated with priming of age in todays conqriex, ' . ing alone, athletics and social standing within the peer group; As one of the characters, Hannah, laments: just feel so lonely about it" Y Absolutely," agreed die guidance counselor. "It feels so lonely to ; bedifferent Sometimes differentness feels like a blessing, but sometimes it feels ike acurae;foOi" No preachiness here. Insatiable it an novel (usually die kissof death for teen books), but it works because it driws the .reader into the giris lives in ways that nuke them seem like teal people with real concerns ...'? Y like friends. If ''.; s t' . - . . .. . . . V . . T"' - ; . 'S 'T -,- - w . tr I f ? ' ' ' ) -- h. . - ; Utsnticz REVIEW BY JOANNA BMCHETTO Many Potters J.K. Rowling is the., hottest children's author in the United Kingdom, but Jacqueline Wilson, with ' .more than 50 novels to her credit is no. : slouch as second-hotte- st Readers aged 11 are attracted to Wilsons realistic situations, characters arid dialogue, and they appreciate a good story with ' 8-- .'Z'Y- ' .1 .V r. r. ' and . .. - v - p pace. Bad Girts addresses ' subjects near and dear to most scary bullies, best friends .and embarrassing parents. Mandy is beset by a trio of bad girls who conspire to make her life a complete misery.' a: t iMiJ, 331Jfo . W . NickSharratt's small, : T3I US? cartoon ish illustrations are ideal for the author's light. touch..They seem casually strewn, punctuating the ... text with the immediacy and truth of preteen marginalia. Wiltons deft treatment of ordinary.; tough problems and her clear; quick sto ., ties continue to win tht admiration of .; Y many fans. Look for her other books. .. The Lottie Kid, Suitcase The especially Project and Double Act, winner of the Silfiarties Prize and the Childrens Book . of the Year Award, if t: I- ,J M-i.- .' . Mandys loving but clue Jess parents are no help at '. riL Then, Tanya moves next door. Tanya is all Mandy is not older, tougher and cooler, and Mandy instantly idolizes her. These attributes, plus Tanya's status as a foster child with a police record, make'; Tanya the baddest girl of the lot. Her . Qualifications may frighten off Mandys fotmentors, but they also inflame . . .f;; .' - : . . . 22HE33E I "'T ?: . start to see the bully and bullied with .. -new insight and compas-sio- n. So do readers, of course. By extension, this new compassion should cover the geezer parents arid kids from the unlucky-sidof the tracks, foa 'Jf . i,: - . IWicaiHSUJS .M YYC . Maridys moms bverprotective instincts. Mandys loyalties are tom belween her .. new friend and hersmotheringparents. : . The situation comes to sn abrupt end when Tanya is sent away to a childrens home. One again, Mandy isalone. Although she ls lcaming to rcly on her own strengths for protectionsnd peace, she does get help from several unexpected sources,including it new teacher who leads a class discussion about bullying. Mandys class her Stalkers included S J..- i .ft' r BAD GIRLS 0. .. v.1' i -- Naomi Branch lives on a ranch in Tennessee where she reviews books writes about women 'tissues. ' f it,'. - : issue-orient- ed . .r . p. 1 ' ld . . i-- ;.'' . middle-schooler- iw )yw " , BM ., : ia totoqaeUM WUsom ; ttastnted by Nick Shamtt k. issues: dating, feel- -' ld . ft - WKHKf char-acto- food-relat- society, it seems nonsensical that soci-ety-'s most primal become the focal point of so many young girts who are hying to figure orthow they fit into thevrorid. But statistics on earing disorders clearly show that food is a major component of adolescent angst, especially among girts. veEliot should knriw. As a psy- diothenpist and facilitator for treating eatr ingdisotdets, she speaks with empathy about food addictions, having suffered firim (and conquered!) anorexia nervosa, compulsive eating and obesity herself. Eliot also understands that parents have a treacherous tine to walk m educating their teens about therole of food in their lives, Brt Insatiable is not a medical text ora lecture, sure to turn off teens. It is cleverly ", I ill' I .' . multi-med- . Samantha, Hannah, Jessica and Phoebe, Y who desperalely seek rimtrol by choosing food, or the depravity of h, its a way of , Y:. .Y:.' W"- Y:;;Y ,icoping.Y;':. Insatiablc is a novel that tackles the , food and ks powet issue in a unique way foia is certain to appeal to gids 12-- 18, all die while promoting ways the charac- - : tefs (and possibly the readers) can find 'courage to seek help, types ': of therapies that are avail- able andodier alternatives to bad dioices. The book is effective because of its V:. conversational style and rt completely believable who deal with . ttW15574l0 KVIEWBYHAOIi "is and comfortably written through the eyes of four high school giris, INSATIABLE , I J . ' . 1 I M ,ti |