A review by mikaiten
Paperweight by Meg Haston

3.0

This book was painful to read, but for all the right reasons. Stevie isn't exactly a likable character, but her pain is so real and raw that you can't help but get pulled into her story.

Spoiler

What I like about this book is that Stevie's journey towards healing isn't sudden. She fights the whole way and slips up all the time. She isn't magically cured through the power of friendship, or even drugs and therapy. She is constantly on the edge of slipping one way or the other and you never really know where she is going to end up. Even at the end of the book you aren't entirely sure that she has managed to forgive herself.

I kind of wish there was more information about the other girls in Stevie's cabin. While Ashley's story gets more attention, the other girls never really got to explain what brought them to the treatment centre. I get that the story is really about Stevie and her journey, but I think it would have rounded out the rest of the cast better if we knew more about them. As it stands, the secondary characters felt a bit wooden and underdeveloped.

Overall, it was a really interesting and eye opening read. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is suffering from the affects of any type of trauma as there are a lot of triggers, but I think it would be a great read for someone who is struggling to understand a friend or family member with an eating disorder or PTSD.