Morgan Menzie

Reagan Kaufman
EDCI 5120—Dr. Rush
Summer 2008

Menzie, M. (2003). Diary of an anorexic girl. Nashville: W Publishing Group.

Grade Level: 7-10 grades
Category: Realistic Fiction
Read-Alouds: pp.10-15 (comparison); pp.32-37 (Owen); pp.110-111 (The Dance poem); pp.128-136 (parent’s week).

Summary: Blythe is a middle school student who seeks perfection. Like her peers, she desires to be popular and to have her crush notice her. Blythe’s obsession with another girl’s weight prompts her to struggle with her own. As she compares herself to others she begins to spiral downwards. Her parents’ attempts to get her help make her sneakier as she fights to keep an identity that will kill her.
Themes: Though Diary of an anorexic girl is largely about eating disorders it could prompt a lot of discussions about self-image, our nation’s obsession with weight and beauty, the pursuit of perfection, and the desire to be desired. In addition, I think this book will open up discussion about where students can go to for help regarding any of the issues discussed, when to intervene for a friend, and how to deal with peer pressure. This book would work best in small discussion groups. It would work well in reader’s theater as well.
Discussion Questions:
• Blythe writes several poems in her diary. What is the significance of the poems in regard to her physical, mental, and spiritual health?
• In what ways do bullying and manipulation lead to Blythe becoming anorexic?
• Blythe considers Diane and Oliver to be her best friends. Did they live up to this title? Why or why not?
• Was Blythe a stereotypical candidate for anorexia? Why or why not?

Reader Response: My sister was anorexic so I could so identify with this book. At times I found myself being quite angry with Blythe’s friends and family for not taking her illness seriously. On the other hand, I know what lengths anorexics will go to hide their disease from others so I did cut them a little slack. I am grateful that the author discussed this disease in terms of a struggle that was equally internal, physical, and spiritual. And though she did not blame peer-pressure, bullying, perfectionism or media for the disease, which was right, she also did not let them totally off the hook, which was also right. This is an important book to read if, for nothing else, to identify thought patterns of people struggling with eating disorders. I remember my sister thinking, “Pat will love me more if I just lose five more pounds.” Though a calorie minimum is offered at the end of the book along with ways to talk to a friend with an eating disorder, I wish the author would have listed resources—websites, phone numbers, etc., of people who could help.… (meer)