FADED DENIM: COLOR ME TRAPPED
Melody Carlson
Th1nk Books
Fiction
ISBN: 1576835375
215 pages

Emily is having a bad day and a bad week, and it looks to be a pretty dismal summer if things don't change. Looking back, the soon-to-be high school senior realizes how much has changed over the past several years. Her best friend, Leah, and herself have done a morphing of sorts. Emily used to be the slender one while Leah was overweight and struggling to fit in. Now, Leah is the tall, skinny, model wannabe who actually has a shot of making it. Suddenly, Emily's natural beauty and that extra weight aren't so appealing anymore. Emily finds herself constantly berating her looks, and her dad's not-so-subtle hints criticizing the weight gain make the issue even more painful. And then there's Emily's mom, overweight herself and stashing treats around the house for those weak moments.

While Emily bemoans her body, Leah presses on in her quest for model stardom and somehow talks Emily into joining her at a two-week modeling school in Chicago. Of course, Emily is horrified at being seen with a multitude of other "Leah's" and their overly thin bodies, their obsessions with clothing, makeup and food (or the lack thereof). Still, friendship wins out and Emily (at her parents' prodding) travels with Leah and sort of participates in the sessions while covertly observing this world of competitive high fashion. One lesson Emily learns that she later regrets is the how-tos of binging and purging. Since working out and trimming back on portions aren't providing her with fast enough weight loss, Emily decides to learn from the masters, those girls who frequent websites providing the tricks of the trade to becoming anorexic and bulimic for weight control.

It doesn't take long before Emily realizes that vomiting up a meal isn't a good thing. So she opts for not eating. But as a camp counselor, her junior high charges are watching her every move. Sure enough, one of them calls Emily on her eating disorder while another has the same problem. Thankfully, Emily faces her addiction before it does untold damage to her body. Recognizing the disorder is the first step of many Emily takes to find a way to eat balanced, exercise in moderation, and accept her body as is.

As with any body image struggle, it takes time and consistent effort to overcome. Melody Carlson has laid out a practical plan for encouraging sound health habits through mutual accountability, reasonable expectations, and balance, balance, balance. Readers will appreciate the author's perceptive and sensitive handling of this commonplace yet painfully challenging topic of self-image.

   --- Reviewed by Michele Howe

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