Paperweight by Meg Haston

Stevie is our main character in this book, her brother Josh has passed away and now her dad has sent her to a retreat clinic for eating disorders. The distinct first feel is she's having a tough time coming to terms with events and has been drunk too much to cope with her feelings previously as well as impulsively cutting her hair in to an uneven crop thanks to her friend and sort of girlfriend of sorts, Eden.

We follow her on her journey to the retreat where she stays with twenty girls in total admission, four to a cottage each. She meets her therapist who is coincidentally called Anna when Stevie is suffering with what she believes is anorexia, then later her diagnosis is bulimia nervosa. In memory flashbacks, her mum seems to have controlled the household's food choices and is a perfectionist. She has abandoned Stevie and her dad to go live in Paris with her new boyfriend.

She has plans for twenty seven days time from her supposed, sixty day admission as it's the one year anniversary since she believes she killed her brother, Eden was there the night he died but not at the scene of death, she did however cause a scene just before.

Now though, Stevie plans to commit suicide and join her brother as she feels guilty living.

This book dealt with really strong issues, death, suicide, eating disorders, abuse, manipulative behaviour, love and LGBT related issues around that. It was well crafted but I do feel in part, for readers who are sensitive to eating disorder talk and about foods and food types etc, do not read it or be mindful reading it. It again proves how true to eating disorder talk it is though and really shines light on the situations eating disorder sufferer's go through.

I really did enjoy this book and it's already one of my top for the year so far!