Skinny is the story of the two Vasco sisters, Giselle and Holly. Everything seems to turn south for the sisters, years before the novel even begins, with the death of their father. Eldest Giselle picks up a dangerous eating disorder in med-school, and is put in a psychiatric ward at the beginning of the novel. The plot of the story follows Giselle’s recovery and relapse at home while living with her sister and mother over a series of weeks. Throughout the book, Holly and Giselle must fight to keep their family together and functioning while finding out more about their past and future along the way.

There are several different themes and ideas intertwined in this story. I think Kaslik says it best herself in the front cover, “Skinny explores family relationships, love, pain, and the hunger for acceptance that drives us all.” Skinny goes into almost any theme one can imagine from sexuality to grief to hallucinations. However, the book really centers on the last theme Kaslik mentions “the hunger for acceptance that drives us all.”

Skinny, which earned the Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult Book award, was not without its weaknesses.

One weakness is the author never indicates the point of view of each chapter. You just have to pick it up as you read. If you don’t read the inside cover, it would be very easy to get confused within the first two pages. The introduction alone is on its own as a random flashback to an incident in Giselle’s youth. Skinny’s second weakness is following the train of thought and plot. I found that I often had to look back over chapters to find things I missed, like a confusing conversation with a hallucination or a childhood flashback. Yes, Kaslik uses font and format to make it easier, but the switching of time and tenses makes Skinny a more complex read.

Skinny has many admiring qualities. One can find a nice wry sense of humor in the sisters’ conversations. One example comes when she says, “ Because, lazy-@#%!, you’re acing English, because, somehow, miraculously, the batteries in your hearing aid only seem to die during math class.”

The plot, though at times hard to follow, is enticing and eventful. I had a hard time putting it down once I got to the middle. The random little medical factoids give Giselle a nerd-like but interesting voice. At the beginning of Chapter 9, “Cardiovascular activity increase serotonin levels as well as the rate of blood pumped to muscles.” Also they make an interesting attention-getter at the beginning of each Giselle chapter.

There are a myriad of lessons that can be taken from Skinny, all of which apply to the big-life picture and everyday life. I highly suggest Skinny to any teen, parent, and teacher. Skinny can be found in the YA-Zone at West Bend Community Memorial Library.