Wishbones by Virginia Macgregor

Feather was a small and light baby, her mum however is obese and seemingly always has been on the larger side of the scale which over time has attracted local press attention as her mum has many phobias and one means she can't leave their house and she actually hasn't in thirteen years.
(This reminded me of Tracy's mum in Hairspray.)
Virginia has her best friend Jake and his mum, Steph around for her to rely on. Jake has a girlfriend we learn early on as Feather nearly full on kisses him as she leaves to go home to celebrate new years at home with her parents.

Unfortunately, events take a turn for the worst and Feather's mum is rushed into hospital, resulting in the village watching on as a crane is used through the living room window to reach her mum and get her out. This is a wake up calk for Feather who sets out on getting her mum healthy again after learning her mum weights over 30 stone. She tries to entice her mum to eat healthy foods, invites the local slimming group round and wishes her mum would make friends again especially with Steph.

Throughout the novel the issues surrounding weight gain such as depression and postnatal depression arise as well as the issues surrounding weight loss in the form of character, Clay whom feels guilt over past events and suffers severely with anorexia.

The novel is great for raising awareness around the mostly silent issue of male anorexia and also pushes the point that it's never just about the food, it's mental abuse we often use towards ourselves in the form of past horrible memories and feeling towards ourselves.

The book has a brilliant mystery woven into it around the issue of Clay arriving and Feather's mum acting weird around him raising Feather's awareness that's things aren't right.

There is a great contrast between healthy and competitive swimming in Feather and proving that passions shared through families can keep them together even if one takes a step back and how families share the same interests.

This book is sure to be a hit with many of us young adults and teens alike. This book was sent to me by the publishers for review and I can't rate highly enough that this book is one of 2017's best to come out this year for sure.