Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful, Touching Story
Review: After hearing how excellent this book was, I decided to check it out of my school's library, and I read it all in one night. I was so engrossed by the main character's struggle that I just couldn't put the book down! It was so amazing and touching. 'Second Star to the Right' is a moving story about a fourteen year old Jewish girl named Leslie Hiller. Leslie is a perfectionist who resides in New York with her mother, who constantly worries; her father, who is a pianist; and her little brother. In an attempt to find happiness, Leslie decides to go on a diet. But quickly, it becomes more than just a diet; it becomes a gradual and painful death. Leslie is well aware of the fact that she is slowly killing herself, but she believes that she is incapable of climbing out of the complex web in which she has intangled herself in. This book doesn't focus on the physical conditions of anorexia nervosa; but rather, the emotional and mental conditions of the victim. It's interesting how Leslie struggles to understand why she is starving herself to death. Also, her parents confusion as to why their daughter is going down this self destructive path is interesting as well. I just wanted to jump right into the book and embrace Leslie. I desperately wanted to assure her that everything would be alright. But, unfortunately, I couldn't do that because 1.) It's impossible to jump into a book. and 2.) It was up to Leslie to decide if everything was going to be alright. We don't find out if Leslie begins her journey down the 'road to recovery' because the book leaves us with Leslie trying to figure herself out in a hospital, but that doesn't matter. We're given plenty of details, so we can imagine how things turn out for Leslie. Personally, I believe she recovered, but I'll never actually know. This story delves into the mind of an anorexic and helps you to understand them, to see things from their perspective. Anorexia is a dangerous and terrifying disease, and aside from really moving me, Leslie's struggle also frightened me. The confusion... the pain... the slow deterioration of body, mind, and soul. I recommend this book to anyone between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Even if you have never battled an eating disorder before, you'll still enjoy it. Deborah Hautzig did an excellent job at writing this magnificent story.
Rating:
Summary: COMPELLING AND ELOQUENTLY WRITTEN
Review: Hautzig wrote Second Star to the Right beautifully. I have read many books describing anorexia and bulimia, but Second Star to the Right was by far the most detailed and beautiful. Leslie Hiller, the main character, deviates from a low self esteem to the craving to become skinny, to the frequent purging cycles of bulimia. From the first step towards her illness to the trigger of her realization of anorexia nervosa, this novel has sharp twists and turns through Leslie's bumpy life. I must say that Second Star to the Right is currently my favorite book. The suggested reader would probably be around the age of 10 and over. I RECOMMEND FOR PARENTS AND ADULTS TO READ THIS because it describes a serious subject that most people avoid learning more about. Read it, love it, and spread the word. That's my motto.
Rating:
Summary: Sincere, multi-faceted and authentic
Review: Having finished my sixth young adult fiction book on anorexia, I enjoyed Hautzig's book as well as "Go for the Gold" the best. Each cast varying influences and different scenarios instead of the typical stereotyped plot and characters that most books fall into. Hautzig gave a voice of reality to Leslie's experience by using her roomie, the African American girl who was hospitalized for leg surgery, as a beacon of normalcy. The main character, Leslie, didn't want to spend all her teen years trying to establish an existence all of her own by self abuse. Her friends in the hospital and the different sources of medical knowlege could be weighed in how postive the outcome was. It showed the reader what doctors and people should not say and what is also beneficial to do. I enjoyed the ending as it showed that there aren't just pat remedies for problems and things can't often be fixed in a pre-determined timeline. Really a nice read for any age.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ive read in a long time
Review: I loved tihs book sooooooo much. I picked it up at the library and couldnt put it down. I could realate to the main character(leslie) and i just felt so grateful to read about someone who saw things almost the exact same way i did. Anyway, if you have ever struggled with an eating disorder i definatly recommend this book for you will be able to relate and be spell-bound by it. I hope that anyone who has been debating with themeselves over whether to read this or not will defianatly pick up the book and give it a chance. Even if you have never struggled with an eating disorder, it will allow you to get a brief glimpse into the mind of an anorexic and see that people dont choose to get like that. Anyway, i sincerly hope you pick this book up and enjoy it as much as i did.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ive read in a long time
Review: I loved tihs book sooooooo much. I picked it up at the library and couldnt put it down. I could realate to the main character(leslie) and i just felt so grateful to read about someone who saw things almost the exact same way i did. Anyway, if you have ever struggled with an eating disorder i definatly recommend this book for you will be able to relate and be spell-bound by it. I hope that anyone who has been debating with themeselves over whether to read this or not will defianatly pick up the book and give it a chance. Even if you have never struggled with an eating disorder, it will allow you to get a brief glimpse into the mind of an anorexic and see that people dont choose to get like that. Anyway, i sincerly hope you pick this book up and enjoy it as much as i did.
Rating: 
Summary: Only if you're 9 years old
Review: I thought this was one of the more entertaining books about eating disorders I've read. Most anorexic characters aren't nearly as appealing as Leslie is in this novel. I question a little bit how realistic it is in terms of Leslie's inner world - I'm under the impression that most anorexics are more openly defiant, more irritable, and less friendly than Leslie is once their diseases get so critical - but I guess it may not be the same for everyone.
A reader down below commented about how unrealistic it was that Leslie wasn't hospitalized earlier. I'm inclined to think that was simply due to the year in which it was first written (1978?) when anorexia was much less common and physicians weren't as on top of things are they are now. The outdated hospital procedures are probably due to that as well. Also, I believe that reader was mixing this book up with Best Little Girl in the World - Leslie doesn't have a black roomate named Lila, but Kessa does, and I'm not sure I agree the portrayal was racist anyway. In 1978, black girls not getting anorexia wasn't a stereotype, it was reality. That's not true nowadays, of course. Anyway, I digress. This is worth reading just for Leslie's character. I recommend it, especially to pre-teen or teen readers.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent portrayal of this disease
Review: I too suffer from Anorexia. Leslie and I could be the same person. It was great to read a book about eating disorders that didn't focus on the PHYSICAL aspects of the disease, but on the person suffering and what their life is like. I spent a month in a hospital this summer. My guess is that I'll be back in the same program fairly soon. Leslie's conflict between recovery and the disease is one which I fight every day. Finally, there's a book that describes accurately how someone with and eating disorder feels!
Rating: 
Summary: Second Star to the Right
Review: It's a short book and I was glad for that because I like shorter stories. I had a hard time rating this- I wish I could do a 3.5. The storyline was average, the writing style was ok. It didn't really have an ending in the sense that there was no resolve; it just randomly ended. Also, it was fiction, and I prefer non-fiction, as it tends to be more realistic. I had a hard time believing some of the things that happened in the story. For those things I would give the book 3 stars. But I would give it 4 stars because I found I could really relate to the story. Not only do we have the same name, but some of the same interests and even characters in our lives. Her thought process has an amazing resemblence to my own. Also, I read it in one evening- not because it is short, but because I couldn't put it down. I had to know what the ending was (and I was disappointed with the end). So, even though it wasn't too great of a storyline, I still enjoyed reading it.
I would like to average those out and rate this as a 3.5, but I can't. So I'm going with the 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: gets into the head of an ed
Review: It's hard to explain to people without an eating disorder what craziness goes on in the mind of an eating disordered person. this book does it.
Rating:
Summary: A Must
Review: Little things had stuck with me as much as this story, Leslie potrays a lot of things about youth that are still valid. The plot is vivid, Leslie's relationship with her mother is an honest representation of mom and daughter. I would recomend this book to anyone, there are so much things you can get out of it! And its not at all preachy or moralist.
|
