To Die For

This is an unusual and interesting look at one young girl's experience with anorexia and bulimia. Written by an already acclaimed writer, 'To Die For' tells the story of Emma, the author's god-daughter. And the fact that Carol Lee is professional writer is very clear, as the book is eloquently written in an impressive style. Starting with Carol's first encounter with Emma, she narrates Emma's story in a dramatic, absorbing manner. From's Emma's unstable and unhappy childhood, Lee chronicles her growth into a deeply depressed teenager. Using extracts from Emma's own diary, we see her go through dangerous eating-disorded cyles. Developing severe anorexia at the age of 15 and being hospitalised, Emma's weight swings from one extreme to the other, eventually becoming very overweight throught binge-eating. This cyle is repeated several times by the time Emma is twenty, with her weight veering from dangerously low to almost obese within months, resulting in several more hospitalisations. Writing as an onlooker to the apparent choas of Emma's life, Lee accounts her attempts to reach out and help someone who is clearly desperately unhappy. It is a frustrating position for her to be in, as she must watch as anorexia takes over the girl she once knew. A gripping read, that will no doubt imprint on the reader's mind.