Aya Tsintziras

For me, Pretty Bones was a bit tough to get through. On the one hand you have a character who gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of a normal girl who is battling anorexia. Raine is a person who has a fairly great life. She has a family who cares, she does well in school, and she has a support group of friends. In fact, Raine has it more together than most of the other characters I've read about lately. However, despite everything, Raine still feels out of control. So she turns to the one thing she can control, the numbers on the scale.


I know what I'm doing to myself. But I'm fine. I could stop if I wanted to. I just don't want to. Not yet. - pg. 22


At only 160 pages, Pretty Bones doesn't really allow the reader to probe that deeply into Raine's motivations. I felt like I was missing the reason as to why she chose this lifestyle. It made me feel like she just didn't care about anyone but herself, and that selfishness drove me completely crazy while I was reading. I'll admit that there were small mentions of things going on in her family life, but none of those seemed to me like enough reason to turn to anorexia. Perhaps it's just me, but did take away from my enjoyment of this book.

The one character that I really did fall in love with was Dylan. I won't spoil, but he was a character who made me smile. The message that comes through, under everything Raine related, is that it only takes a few people who really care to make a difference. Pretty Bones also shows the reader that giving up is not an option. It was this part of the story line that was a saving grace for me. All of the side characters actually made more of an impact on me than Raine did.

Overall Pretty Bones wasn't my favorite read of the year so far, but it does have its good points. If you are looking for a fairly quick read with tougher subject matter, this is one for you.
… (más)

I think that eating disorders and distorted body image is a very important thing to talk about, and I think that Ava handled it well in Pretty Bones. We saw the start, especially where Raine, the main character thought that she was in control of it and could stop when she wanted. Next we have the concerned friends, then the crash that after she keeps on with the disorder, and then the final wake up call where she wants to get help.
What my problem was is I didn't see a new or unique twist, I felt like I have read this book before. Don't get me wrong, I am drawn to books like this, and I flew through this one, and the fact that it is pretty short helped that along. I just don't see where it brought something new.
I connected with Raine though, because I have been in her shoes, and I still have problems with my body image. It is always about those numbers on the scale, and no matter how thin, you always see fat. Though these days I am on the other end where I eat what I want when I want so that I don't fall into the anorexia or bulemia again. I am trying to just love myself the way that I am and see food as a tool, and not let it rule over me. Size twelve, fourteen, twenty, zero, five or seven should be okay, AS LONG as HEALTHY. I know, I am preaching to the choir, but I have let media, boys, and myself tell me that I am ugly for far to long.
Okay, off the soap box. I really do think that Pretty Bones is a good read, and the pacing is good. Nothing felt overly rushed, but I do think that some layers could have been added or expanded on in order to give something new and more fully tell Raine's story.

Bottom Line: Good message… (más)