My Sister's Bones

It's been a long time since I've picked up a book and read non-stop the way I read, "My Sister's Bones," by Cathi Hanauer. There are so many things I liked about it, but it was primarily the excellent, utterly readable writing. There is nothing excessive--each word counts in this first person story of Billie Weinstein and her struggle through family life as a sixteen year old girl. I assume this story takes place in the 1970s, given all the references, yet because it is written in first person and doesn't give off even a trace of nostalgia, I had the feeling that I was in the same room as Billie as she told her tale in present tense. Billie's beautiful and intelligent older sister, Cassie, suffers from anorexia. Hanauer expertly details the emotions brought on by this disease on behalf of each of the family members: Billie's fear for her sister, her parents' denial and debate over treatment, and Cassie's deterioration. But this is not Cassie's story. This is Billie's story and it's about so much more than her sister's anorexia. Billie is a rather typical suburban teenager, coping not only with her sister's illness, but also with pressure from her parents to do well on the SAT test, learning how to drive, dealing with a popular boyfriend who wants more from her than she's willing to give, and a best friend with a colorful family who simply disappears one day . . . One can't help but fall in love with Billie. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her story and because of Hanauer's talent for storytelling, I look forward to reading more of her work. From the author of "I'm Living Your Dream Life," and "The Things I Wish I'd Said," McKenna Publishing Group.

I found this book to be a very well written insight into the family struggles with anorexia. The authour clearly knew that not just the anorexic is affected by the sickness but the whole family. I loved the way she made the characters, especially Billie the sister grow and they came to realize that the anorexia was not their fault. Overall this book is not a reference source but rather a book about growing up despite unwanted circumstances.

This is an excellent book. The way it is written is great. I love how the whole story is told through the eyes of Billie. You can really relate to everything going on in the lives of the characters. I truly cannot express how much I loved this book.

MY SISTER'S BONES is a book I can relate to personally as a teenager living in the midwest U.S. Ms. Hanauer's excellent writing moved the book along so quickly that I was disappointed I had finished so fast. I really appreciate this book with such a realistic plot and origional style.

if you have a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a family, you will want to read this book. Cathi Hanauer's painstakingly accurate depiction of the heoroine's coming of age amidst a family plagued by a domineering father, submissive mother, and an anorexic-stricken sister can be understood by all readers. Rather than focusing on the traditional and often popularized aspects of anorexia, Hanauer gives us Billie, the younger adolescent sister of Cassie, a rapidly deteriorating anorexic. Through Billie, we not only experience the turmoil of adolescence, but we also share an aspect of eating disorders that are rarely depicted....the effects of the disorder as seen through the eyes of the afflicted's family. The struggles of Billie and her family are frighteningly realistic, and one only naturally wonders about Hanauer's insight. Even my sister, the younger sister of an anorexic, will agree