This Impossible Light

Gr 7 Up—This debut by the "Shrinking Women" slam poet is an emotional novel in verse about eating disorders. Ivy is a smart girl. She studies, she doesn't party, and she is a good friend and daughter. But when Ivy's personal world is thrown into upheaval (divorce, distant family, a best friend who has moved on), she seeks control in all aspects of her life, including over her expanding body. She struggles with anorexia and bulimia while also disturbingly slipping out of the attention of every adult in her life. Ivy eventually alienates everyone and then, after a significant health scare, works her way toward healing her mind and body. The strength of this title is the writing—Myers's verses are incisive and gut-wrenching as she realistically depicts the pressure and expectations facing teenage girls. There are many passages that readers will underline or share on social media. Ivy's inner narrative also accurately represents how body dysmorphia can warp relationships and previously held goals. However, the story is often didactic, the secondary characters are flat, and Ivy's tale is a predictable arc that ends too neatly.