Running Lean by Diana L. Sharples
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stacey is a quirky teenager with a boyfriend named Calvin and best friend named Zoe. Stacey is artistic and poetic, and is very much in love with her boyfriend. However, she is haunted by experiences in her past and develops an eating disorder. Calvin is unsure of how to help her, and their relationship is tested as they struggle to figure it out.

I really liked this book. The author does a great job of writing a person with an eating disorder. I read other reviews and saw that people were annoyed with Stacey, but I felt like she was authentic--yes, she was annoying, but that's because she has a disorder! People really have thoughts like that! Personally, I was annoyed with Calvin, but again, that's because he was reacting like a real person who is being torn apart as he witnesses someone he loves self-destructing. I have struggled with an ED myself and I knew someone who reacted like Calvin. I hated him for it, and I still feel like he had no right to do what he did (I barely knew him), but now I have a slightly better understanding of what was going on in his head.

Rating: I gave this 5 stars for it's personal relevance to me, so it might be more like 4 stars to other people. I think this is a good read for people who are trying to understand someone with an ED. Also, apparently this is a Christian book, though I didn't find it overwhelmingly so.

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