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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Fire Colour One in Books

Jun 24, 2019

This is one of those books that you see displayed in the library and just think, "What the heck? I'll give it a go."

This is YA book, as most of the books I read are. It's named after a painting, which ends up as quite a significant aspect in this novel.

Iris lives with her mother Hannah and step-father Lowell. She doesn't remember her real father. Hannah has always told her that he didn't want her, that he didn't care. She blamed him for their debts, their problems.

Thurston is Iris's best friend, her only friend. He means everything to her. He's always been there for her, until she has to move away to England without any means of telling him where she's gone.

Iris herself is a pretty troubled girl. Family life isn't great - Hannah and Lowell want her to be more like them, more conscious of her appearance and wealth. But all Iris really cares about is fire. There's nothing like the soothing flicker of a flame.

When she meets her father Ernest, Iris soon realises that everything she's been told by her mother has been a lie. He didn't leave her; Hannah took her, changed her name and hid. Ernest had been searching for her for years. But now it was too late.

The book actually begins with Ernest's funeral, and sort of goes backwards a few times. There's memories written throughout, clips from the past. We slowly learn more and more about Iris's personality, and we watch her re-develop her relationship with her father.

It's actually a pretty great book. It's so realistic, and unique. It isn't a fantasy, it isn't a cheesy romance, it isn't even really a book with a typical happy ending.

Although I wouldn't have searched this book out in particular, I am happy I read it. I'm not sure it quite gets 4 stars from me, so I'll give it 3.5.

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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Tyranny in Books

Jun 24, 2019

So as you've probably realised by now, I have anorexia. And because of that, I am always drawn to books about eating disorders, including this graphic novel I found in the library. It's always good to see realistic and relatable presentations of ED's, and I'm also always quick to point out when something is being portrayed wrong.

This book was a pretty accurate representation of my own personal battle with anorexia. It addressed the starving and the bingeing that many anorexics go through, as well as the body dysmorphia and unhealthy habits and routines. It included friends of Anna (the protagonist of this book) who are also suffering - one of which eventually suffered a heart attack and died. It's not uncommon for people with anorexia to have friends who pass away as a result of the unhealthy habits brought on by the disorder.

Anna does eventually decide she wants life, and goes into treatment. She learns to tell Tyranny (the voice/persons of her ED) that she doesn't care about being thin anymore, and eventually she gets her to leave entirely. (I can't say that's happened to me; it's more of an ongoing, up-and-down struggle in my experience.)

One thing I wasn't sure was so good about this book was the inclusion of weights - her weight loss process, the weight of another patient. This can be incredibly triggering for people suffering with an eating disorder, and can make people feel invalidated - feeling as if their ED isn't as "bad" or "real" because their weight wasn't quite as low. For this reason, I would be hesitant about recommending this book to people who are trying to recover from their disorder.

Overall, I felt it was a good portrayal of anorexia. It was brutally honest and included both the starving and the bingeing, which lots of people don't often discuss. 4.5 stars.