Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves

Every size is beautiful and perfect when comfortable in your own skin. Comfortable in your own skin is the key to this book. I will pass this book on to my size 12 granddaughter (whose sister is size 4) to let her know she too, is perfect, and beautiful. I have since seen Crystal Renn (model and author) in magazines from Glamour to Goodhousekeeping to Oprah. Great read for all ages and sizes.

Wow. I couldn't put this down. I never tried to be a model, but had a serious eating disorder when I was in high school (30 years ago!), and Renn's book brought it all back to me. It's very well-written and moves along at a good clip, without a lot of padding. I actually would have given it 4.5 stars if I could, because of two things: 1) There could have been more pictures. Crystal talks at length about many shoots for Vogue, etc. without including any photo, and I was dying to know what they looked like. (Maybe it was a copyright issue?) 2) Her newfound self-esteem sometimes gets a little over-the-top near the end ("I'm so sexy, I'm so hot," etc.). But on the whole, I really recommend this. She actually doesn't slam the fashion industry as hard as I thought she would -- in fact, she acknowledges that sometimes people told her she was too thin -- and she mostly blames herself for nearly starving to death. I saw her on one of the morning TV shows and she came across as quite smart as well as gorgeous. Way to go, Crystal!

I think some people are missing the point of the book. The book is not to say that it is "OK" to be obese, and she is not endorsing weight gain. The message is to feel comfortable with who you are/who you are supposed to be. She tried to make herself something she wasn't by starving herself. Once she realized she was killing herself, emotionally and physically, she turned her life around and came to a point where she was herself, comfortable and happy. Crystal is a 12/14, which is average in America, yes. And sure, if she gained weight and were to be a size 16 she still wouldn't be obese, but she's not claiming that she suffers from obesity, nor is she claiming that she would be if she were to gain a little more weight. The moral of this story is to show women that beauty radiates from loving yourself and in order to love yourself you must feel comfortable and confident. For women, that starts with your body. I adore this book 110%!

The story of a rise and fall and rise of a twenty-two-year old American model could've been lame in so, so many ways. I mean, what does someone this young have to say? A lot, actually. Hungry is gripping and wise and funny and thoughtful and provocative and also, I felt like I was getting a far truer glimpse of the fashion industry than I ever get from fare like America's Top Model, The Devil Wears Prada, and even Project Runway. It wasn't always such a nice glimpse, either. The ingrained bias (ahem, hatred) of not just large but regular-sized bodies was pretty chilling, and reading this book, it's hard to tell whether that bias flows from fashion to mainstream culture or back or whether it's one anorexic twisted cycle. But, it's a book with a happy ending. Cream rises to the top. So, it turns out, does beauty. When Crystal decides to commit that revolutionary act and eat lunch (a healthy lunch, a salad with fish!) and let her body grow to its natural size, her body blooms, and her career takes off. You'll be cheering as you read her funny, smartly self aware account of her amazing (so far) career and life.

I walked by this book at Borders, and immediately felt drawn to it. I picked it up, sat on the floor, and did not move until I finished the whole thing. This young lady has so much wisdom to offer. It was so amazing to read her journey to becoming the confident, self-assured woman she is now. I'm willing to bet that everyone out there has, at one time or another, tried to ram their square-pegged self into a round hole... and it is so overwhelmingly gratifying to read the story of someone who came out the other end of that to live their dreams. What could be more inspirational?? I mean, who hasn't said, "Oh, if only I work hard enough, then I'll be good enough"? Crystal demonstrates that we are good enough as we are.. and once we realize that and embrace it, magic starts to happen. I believe that's the message of this book. I felt like I was walking on air after I left the bookstore. On my way home, I went and bought myself a bouquet of beautiful flowers :-)