JoAnna Novak

I am not a child of the 80's or 90's, so some of the references or 90's oriented dialogue flew right by me-- some things I was able to figure out through context, but others I was clueless about. "I Must Have You" is a bit disturbing. It is a book about mainly 2 teens and one of their mother's who have eating disorders. Eliot is an 8th grader who has been anorexic for 3 years, and she has turned that into something some of her peers envy. She charges $5/wk to to be their life coach, and that also entitles them to a weekly newsletter she produces. Eliot via the newsletter focuses on one of her "clients" a week to inspire her other "clients" with semi-nude pics, dieting and exercise tips. At one point, she searches for concentration camp victims photos to use in the newsletter as a body type to strive for/ see as desirable.
It is easy to see where Eliot had absorbed some of her self-esteem, body image, and attitude towards food issues-- her mother, Anna, is a college professor, married to an importer who is not home much, and bulimic. So, in a sense, because of their upper class income, and the ability to circulate in intellectual and artsy circles, their thinness is seen as chic, but not problematic. Eliot sadly is able to spread her dysfunctional attitudes towards food, self image, and the desire to be thin at any cost to the other young impressionable girls her age. Her best friend Lisa, nearly lost her life, in ICU, and then inpatient rehab due to her tutelage. It is sad that all these girls' activities, friends and extreme weight loss go unnoticed by their parents'. Anna, Eiot's mom is a case by herself. She should have never been a mother-- she is too wrapped up in herself, and having sex with her young students to boost her ego to pay attention to her daughter-- and I think that has a lot to do with Eliot's problems-- she just wants some kind of attention, validation, affirmation from her mom. I think the book is a sad statement about our culture and what we find worthy as a society in regards to women and their appearance to the point that young girls should feel the need to go to these extremes in order to feel accepted.
I also had issues with Lisa (Eliots' ex-bestie) now recovering from anorexia, has taken up with a 19 year old boy and is quite promiscuous with him. It gets worse when he is interested in a threesome with Eliot as well.
So my final rating is 4 stars-- it is a disturbing, weird book, but also good.… (meer)