"Hopeless. Dreadful. Elephant. Pitiful"


The never silenced voice screams in to 302 pound 15 year old Ever Davies's head and takes over every voice even her beautiful singing voice. Skinny is her name. Skinny tells Ever nasty thoughts her classmates think about her, and Ever believes them. Her magical fairytale of being Cinderella and finding Prince Charming is not achievable because of her weight; she thinks that she will never find love and Skinny makes clear. Skinny by Donna Cooner tells this story of overweight 15 year old Ever Davies, who battles with the voice in her head.


After her mother passed when she was ten Ever began to hear the voice of Skinny. She was quiet at first and grew louder and louder as Ever gained weight. After an incident at an awards assembly at the high school she attends, Huntsville High School in Texas, Ever breaks the chair she is sitting in an ends up on the floor; she makes a decision that will change her life. Hoping it will help her find love, try out for the school musical of her dreams, and saving her own life Ever decides at the age 15 she will undergo gastric bypass surgery. It is not only risky but also a long process and journey to lose weight. Ever starts to lose a lot of weight with the support of her best friend Rat, and people start to notice her. As her appearance changes so does her attitude and mind set; she had been completely blind to the real thoughts of others because of Skinny. Ever starts to realize the people that are there to support her and the many voices that have been covered.

Ever finds out that even your appearance doesn't matter if you are not able to be in control of the person you are inside. You have to find confidence in yourself before you shut out everyone and everything around you. The voices inside your head and people around will try to tell you mean things and pull you down but you have to find your voice over all the negativity. Donna Cooner, professor in education and a former gastric bypass patient, hopes to inspire young adults and readers through Ever with her own personal experiences. Skinny gives you a different perspective on how some teenagers think and feel about themselves and their appearance. I felt that the book didn't focus too much on the actual surgery because everything happened so fast, it had focused more on how Ever felt and about her love story. How Ever had to find who she really was as a person and be confident about who she is is what stuck with me after reading. While I was reading I enjoyed it but after reading I realized there was not much to like; there was a lot wrong about the story and it was very predictable romance story. It was not my favorite book but it is a book that opens your eyes to see how some people feel about them selves. I would recommend to read this story if you can relate/ connect or if you would like to read about a teenagers drama of dealing with love and high school.