Et cetera : Book Review: Purge

Purge
         Sarah Darer Littman
                                               Young Adult
                                                Fiction
                                                Reviewed By
                                                Connie Bennett

          I feel conflicted about this book, since it is categorized as a "young adult" book, but seemed to evoke incidents and emotions much above a high school level.  There is some raw language, but nothing worse than what average teens would hear in T.V. shows, movies, video games, or even on the streets of their own neighborhoods. 
          The subject of eating disorders is not a pleasant topic, but is very real and needs to be studied and understood in order for treatment to be found.  Long considered a disease for girls, the gender barrier has been broken, and is now moving in ever-widening circles. 
          In this story, "Insaney Janie" has been committed to a mental hospital because of the actions she has made in regard to her bulimia; that is, the bingeing and purging that has taken over her life.  I'm assuming that the reason that all of these characters seem so real and vulnerable is because the author lived it.  Although the book doesn't claim to be a true story, the acknowledgments contain a sentence thanking the staff at several very similar hospitals for the help she received "on her road to recovery."  The other teens that Janie encounters are no doubt composites, made up of people the author met along the way.
          This book isn't for the squeamish, but is very informative, even including resources such as websites, books, and treatment facilities.  Presently, this title isn't available in Hoopla or Libby, but can be requested from other Iowa libraries through inter library loan.  If you're interested, drop into the library or give us a call!  Start the New Year with a new book!
                                               Published 2009
                                               Scholastic Press NY;