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A review by hzmt
Paperweight by Meg Haston
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is an excellent piece of ED literature. Normally in this genre we see the MC as someone developing an ED (Massive, Letting Ana Go), or already spiraling towards rock bottom (Wintergirls, #thighgap) but in Paperweight, Stevie has already hit rock bottom and is in forced recovery.
Stevie herself is relatable and paints a real picture of the ED experience between how she got to that point, her motives, her methods, her breakdowns, her weaknesses, etc.
One thing I really enjoyed is the portrayal of anorexia versus bulimia. It's well known in the eating disorder community that bulimics are looked down on by anorexics for multiple reasons, that I will not list, so that inclusion really felt nice to see and acknowledged as well as show that Haston knew her stuff when writing this.
One thing that I disliked was the lack of diversity at the rehab center. Think an oasis of skinny white girls when ED is also very real in men, non-gendered ppl, and in BIPOC. And I feel like the lack of inclusion deepens the stereotypes of eating disorder being a disease for rich, white girls.
Stevie herself is relatable and paints a real picture of the ED experience between how she got to that point, her motives, her methods, her breakdowns, her weaknesses, etc.
One thing I really enjoyed is the portrayal of anorexia versus bulimia. It's well known in the eating disorder community that bulimics are looked down on by anorexics for multiple reasons, that I will not list, so that inclusion really felt nice to see and acknowledged as well as show that Haston knew her stuff when writing this.
One thing that I disliked was the lack of diversity at the rehab center. Think an oasis of skinny white girls when ED is also very real in men, non-gendered ppl, and in BIPOC. And I feel like the lack of inclusion deepens the stereotypes of eating disorder being a disease for rich, white girls.