The Best Little Girl in the World

I believe all the above reviews have covered the problem with the content of the book. While attempting to do a good thing, this book makes eating disorders seem ideal and attainable to young women in situations similar to Kessa's.

But apart from that, the writing itself is incredibly weak. Levenkron's changes in points of view occur all over the place, with no real warning. Throughout the entire book, I found the lack in consistency of viewpoint confusing and offputting, making the points he's trying to make seem weak and muffled.

Also, in trying to explain the reasons for someone to develop an eating disorder, he relies heavily on stereotypes. Reading this book, I felt as though I were reading the narrative written by a high school student, based on a list of symptoms, thought processes, and possible causes. It was systematic and predictable to the point where the realism completely fell apart. Even when one takes into consideration the time this book was written, it still falls flat.

If Levenkron is the famed psychiatrist that he is famed to be (though I doubt it from the way he approaches the issues in his books), then perhaps he should stick to treating patients, and stay away from novel-writing. Clearly, his skills do not lie in the written word.

I honestly could not stand this book. At first, I didn't know why. I thought maybe it was because of the way Kessa is treated by the hospital staff, (being called a "skinny" and such), or her family's stubborness. Then, I read "Wasted" by Marya Hornbacher. If you want to know about eating disorders, read that. In it, Marya mentions this book, and how the Levenkron uses this book to demonstrate "his own genius at curing eating disorders." I had to agree fully. Now, I consider myself a fairly good reader. That is, I try to put myself in the frame of mind of the time the book was written rather then my own state of mind today. This book sickened me. I must admit that it made me admire people with eating disorders for a while, for their discipline and skill at deceit. Reading "Wasted" removed the glamourized image "The Best Little Girl In The World" gave me. If anyone who has an eating disorder, or is at risk for developing one, they should NOT read this book. Kessa seems to be turned into a martyr almost, and Levenkron's portrayal of people with eating disorders reflects many stereotypes people have of eating disorders.
One other thing that bothers me is how it seems Kessa went from being perfectly healty to starving to death to healthy again in a matter of weeks. Eating disorders evolve over time. They aren't something that you can just wake up one morning and say "I'm looking chubby. I think I'm going to become anorexic." That message doesn't come across clearly. And they make it seem that once Kessa leaves the hospital, she's going to be perfectly healthy. Maybe in an ideal world..
While this book is a good example of stereotypes of eating disorders, and how medical knowledge advances over time, it is a sickening book that could send a person on the line of illness over the edge. I advise caution and that one keep in mind the time at which it was written if you are going to read it.

Have you ever heard the saying, "Thinner is the winner"? I would bet that most people haven't. That's because it's the personal saying of a young dancer named Francesca Dietrich. Francesca has always been quiet, mild mannered, and academically Successful. But, when pressure starts building up to lose weight at dance, and the deafening silence of being ignored at home becomes overwhelming, a new person emerges. Her name is Kessa. She's the new and improved version of Francesca, she's an anorexic. She starts slipping down dramatically, in weight and grades, and also into an obsessive eray of rituals centered around weight loss. If you like books about psychological disorders, and books that you can learn a great deal form, then this book is for you. But, those with a weak stomach beware; the sad truth about this disease is quite sickening.

Just like some of the other reviewers this book has also become my bible. I've read it four or five times in a six month period. I really think this book is fantastic and even though it is horrible to make something that is fake seem real I don't know how I would live if I didn't have this book in my life. My favorite quote from this book is "wanting something means you'll never get it" because I find it very true and I find this book very true all together. If you haven't read this book I urge you to do so.

Out of all the Eating disorder books this was one of my favorite. I have over 25 ED. books and i read this one in two days while in school and working two jobs. I couldn't put it down. I recommend reading it. But it is intense. I've glad to hear about the squeal I'm buying it now.

Struggling with Anorexia
Imagine being caught between two personalities as well as being an anorexic. How would you feel? Or even react? This book has the answer. Yes, I would recommend it. The Best Little Girl in the World
is a novel with a great deal of information. It also warns you of possibilities and outcomes.
The Best Little Girl in the World is a well thought out book with an informational and interesting conflict. For example the dialogue an thinking of Kessa gives you a perspective of a troubled young anorexic female. Throughout the book Kessa is struggling with a disease called Anorexia Nervosa, which I thought was caused by a ballet teacher. As a split personality Kessa has two sides. Francesca of she sees as a fat straight A girl, and Kessa who is skinny and pretty. Later she kills off Francesca and in turn kills off food. Although it takes Kessa's parents a while to realize that she is sick and unhealthy, they do try and help her. Her parents make her see two doctors for treatment. Still unwilling to eat she is put into a hospital where she seeing a physiatrist by the name of Dr. Sandy Sherman. All alone she feels confused and scared. I think that if Sandy Sherman wouldn't have help Kessa through her problems, she wouldn't have gotten all her feelings and problems out. Dr Sherman gets Kessa to open up and share her feelings, which was the beginning of a new relationship.
Dr Sherman aided Kessa with her struggle of Anorexia Nervosa. Although Kessa felt comfortable around her physiatrists there was still things she didn't share. It was good that Kessa eventually began to trust Dr. Sherman enough to tell him everything. I thought he was an honest guy who devotes himself to Kessa and her problems. As a result sandy figures out what really bothering Kessa, and is able to help and tell others. I think since his help, Kessa has mentally and physically gotten better. Dr. Sherman shows that he cares and gives Kessa attention, because he wants to know the inside look of an anorexic. It's good to see Dr. Sandy Sherman is an extreme help to Kessa throughout the book
Even with the physical and mental help of a physiatrist, the ending has a twist. This is a book I would recommend reading, because it not only shows you possible outcomes. It also shows you the meaning of relationships.

The horrible, frightening truth about the reality of anorexia. I have been recovered now for years, but the tears didn't stop coming as I read Levenkron's book. A must read for former (but always recovering!) anorexics.
Don't be discouraged by Levenkron's unimaginative style and sometimes cliche plot. You'll relate. You'll have goosebumps.

I bought the book yesterday and just finished it now. I thought it was an excellent book and having an eating disorder of my own that I am dealing with, it was interesting to read about a girl and what triggered her problems and caused her to do this to herself. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the ending. I just feel as if it shouldn't just have been so abrupt and sudden.

As a sufferer of anorexia, I can assure potential readers that you will be given a very shallow look into the disorder. The characters are so one-dimensional and such stereotypical components of "the anorexic family" that the story is almost predictable. There are several "flaws" to the story. For example, the main character, Francesca/Kessa (is this MPD or anorexia we're talking about! ), wouldn't just consciously DECIDE to starve herself so quickly--that's insane and the disorder doesn't work that way. Maybe Levenkron was saving paper, who knows? And she wouldn't think of herself as being thinner than anyone, let alone supermodels in a magazine. And oh, how wonderful is the male therapist Kessa finally sees? Couldn't be a mirror image of Levenkron himself, could it? Also, recovering anorectic readers won't be encouraged with the fact that the story begins with Francesca/Kessa at an already "very skinny" weight prior to the anorexia. If you want an awesome, powerful (perhaps too powerful for some) book on eating disorders, give WASTED by Marya Hornbacher a try. Now that's the best!

The review of "Frighteningly Accurate" is so much the same as my own experience, it's scary. I, too, am 5'4, like Kessa and the reviewer, and I, too, began the book weighing nearly thirty pounds (I weighed 125, to be precise) more than the charecter at the time of reading it. To top that off, I too, have been struggling with my own eating disorder for some time now, and when I first read this, Kessa was my role model. My own experience with anorexia nervosa was very much like that of the charecter of Kessa in this book. Although my father, a child psychologist, kept me from reaching the point of hospitalization, emotionally, I messed myself up bad. This book is great for someone related to an anorexic. If you want to know what they're going through, read this.

As a recovering anorexic, I found this book to be extremely helpful. I have read this book 11 times now, and I can't get enough of it. Unlike many books on eating disorders it told the whole unlikable truths, the lieing, stealing, etc. I have just ordered the movie and hope it is half of what the book was.

I found Steven Levenkron's The Best Little Girl in the World to be absolutely horrible. It lacked depth, character development, and a maintainable story line. Overall, the book struck me as not a novel about a teenager dealing with anorexia, but as an ego trip for the author. So much of the book focuses on the apparent brilliance of the fictional Dr. Sandy Sherman (an all to clear incarnation of the author, who himself isn't a "Dr" of any sort, but rather holds a MSW) overshadows the entire work. Instead of seeing Kessa's issues in full light, we are instead exposed to the dramatic issues and fears of the therapist. Really, if Levenkron really had dreams about his patients being flung through the air per his dictate, perhaps he himself should spent a bit of time on the couch.

Every single character in the book is underdeveloped. We are left with a semi-alcoholic father, an insecure and submissive mother, and the stereotypical over and under achieving older siblings. The gender lines are drawn so clearly that it borders embarrassing. The passive mother tries to defend her family form the well meaning yet overbearing and strict father. The mother sews, the father reads the paper and all of the problems "pale before" the evening news

Perhaps the fact that the characters beginning weight was 98 lbs was meant to get the point across that the girl was by no means in need of diet, but the low weight overdoes it and works more to obliterate and trust the reader can have in the accuracy of the events..

Lastly (and only because of space restraints, be assured that this is not my "last' problem with this book, nor is it the least) I found the portrayal of the character of Kessa's African American roommate in the hospital to be wholly discouraging. Had Levenkron been working with the upper middle class so long (since, according to this book, they are the only ones afflicted with anorexia) that he had come to the assumption that black girls are ignorant, are incapable of speaking like the white characters? Since when, exactly, has anorexia, let alone any disease, been a problem of "white girls"?

This book is disgusting and revolting. The author's insensitive remarks in trying to promote himself and his "success" are sickening and distressing.

I'm 15 and dealing with anorexia and bulimia since I was 11. I began reading the book hoping it would help me understand and relate to someone else. From the moment I began reading I could tell that who wrote the book had never experienced the disorder personally. I don't think it really showed how this disorder is. First she was a 15 year old weighing 96 pounds before she even began starving herself and you don't just all of the sudden decide to do this to yourself. I felt it portrayed an unrealistic look at the life of one with an eating disorder. It was your typical eating disorder story and completely predictable. I don't recommend wasting your time on this book. Read Wasted it's worth it.

This is the best little trigger book in the world. This book should not be read until you are very secure in your self image. If you are the average person that would pick up and read this book, then this most likely will trigger an eating disorder in you.

Its full of catchy rhymes, 'tricks', and making eating disorders glamarous. Yes, it was written in the 70's? (not sure) But even then, it seems a glamorous image...shes comparing herself to magazine pictures..which are bad also, because many of the models are entirely too thin.

Don't let your kids read this. Its not worth the trauma it could cause, and I am not speaking with sarcasm here. This book is not good for anyones mental health.

typical super psychiatrist swoops in to save the day. this book i enjoyed but it is predictable and old school. Anoretics want to be thin for many mental and physical reasons. Its not oh im going to look at a magazine and say oh im going to starve myself.

While I understand that people view this book as setting anorexic standards to the anorexic, I do consider this to be a good book. I think it is important to bear in mind the time period that this was written in (it's a pretty early book on ED considering it was first published in 1979).

I think it showed people who had no idea about anorexia what it really is and the danegrs of it. Of course now it is important to show that anorexia is far more complex than just not eating, going into hospital and then getting better.... and those that have experience of eating disorders realise how unrealistic that is. But novels limit what an author can do realistically. I believe the aim of Levenkron was to highlight the problem of anorexia at a time when people were pretty much uninformed about it.

I do think that the publishers could have chosen a better cover than this one... Kessa is 15 but the child on the front of this looks about 9.

Despite the book being your 'standard anorexic story' I still think it is worthy of a read. At least suffers can feel they are not alone.

Although the book describes an interesting account of a young girl and her struggle with anorexia nervosa, one is a bit confused as to the origin of Kessa's disorder. Levenkron does an ideal job of describing her hospital stay, but the description of parent/sibling interaction and the initial onset of Kessa's illness were lacking. Interesting reading for those for young adults (junior high) but the the descriptions of the characters and their interactions may be too simplistic for many adults.

I urge caution in reading this book. While it offers a glimpse into the eating disordered mind, the book reads like a handbook to anorexia. I know I used it as one, and abused it as a source of inspiration to lose weight in order continue down a dangerous pathway. I definitely wouldn't recommend it as reading material for anyone (particularly pre/teenage girls). I wouldn't even recommend it to parents/loved ones of those struggling with eating disorders because the book's tone leave's little room for the hope that is necessary in order to recover from an eating disorder.

I absolutly detested this book. I felt as though the author was talking down to me the entire time I was reading it. I am 24 years old and have been ana/mia on and off since I was eight (in ballet and striving to be the best little girl in the world myself).
I feel that the author took too much liberty with the subject, and that treating ana/mia patients and being involved in their lives can only give an outsider so much insight, he was never (and will never be) a female struggling with an eating disorder and didn't convince me that he understood one iota of the disease's complexity.
More than the story, it was the writing that irritated me. Having a doctorate does not an effective author make.

this is the best book about anorexia nervosa
i have ever read .it give you a lot of imformation about this disease and how dangerous it can be i recommend it to all teenage girl who are having trouble liking their body .and i want to thanks my teacher (even tough she won't read this)becasue if it wasn't for her i might had end up like francesca being an anorexic .i also recommend you this books "please don't go" by elizabeth benning and "second star to the right" and "kim:empty inside "a diary of an anonymous teenager

When I was teenage anorexic, this book helped me to stay that way. It confirmed all my fears and gave me some new ones. It also gave me tips as to make myself more ill - which I accept was part of my illness, but nonetheless, people should be wary of reading this if they want to be healthy.

That was over a decade ago now. Now when I read this book all is see is a grandiose psychologist attempting to "prove" his insight and skill, that are in my opinion, questionable... or absent. Sorry if he means well, but Levenkron just does not get inside the mind of someone with Anorexia - he does not get the fear, the loathing, the control, the lack of options, the desires to get well and stay ill. No, Levenkron does not get it.

This is not a helpful book if you are ill or if you want to understand Anorexia Nervosa. Choose something else.

I downloaded this book on my Kindlefire. For some reason I got to Chapter 25, read the first page, it will not advance to the rest of the chapter. Therefore, I do not know how it ended. VERY frustrating.

Kessa is a representation of a girl with anorexia nervosa. When reading this book, one may think that this represents the majority of eating disordered patients. In fact, it is mostly an "ego-boost" for the psychologist, who seems, on the surface, to know what he's talking about but really doesn't have a clue. Not a helpful read, mostly depressing and false.

Out of all the books concerning eating disorders that I've read, this is perhaps my favorite. When I read this book I myself had an eating disorder, and I found the book to be very triggering - I wanted to salvage "tips" and ideas to aid my own disorder. I also watched the movie which was also extremely triggering. A note to all that have an eating disorder: enjoy the book, but remember that it is a BOOK - not a set of rules to live by!

Both my teenage daughter and I read this book. It gave us both a great insight into how one small comment can change a persons perception of their self. The book was a eye-opener for me because I was not aware of the impact comments about a persons body shape can have on them. A persons mind can have a very strong hold over their body and this book goes into detail of this effect. It also shows that these girls are not the only one's to be in this situation and that there is help available, albeit via hospitalisation and counselling. I am amazed that this book was first published so many years ago, when anoxeria nervosa seems to be a relatively recent 'disease'.

I purchased this book withone hing in mind-Learn how to become an anorexic. Thanks to all you other Handbook to hell people, that's why I purchased it. If you're gonna do something like that do it discreetly. I think its a good book, but its not a handbook to anorexia and it shouldn't be used as one. Thanks to all you HTH people it is. well, all you people, you people who urge caution in reading this book are doing is saying: Hey! You know what this book is? Its a handbook to anorexia! Isn't that great? You can learn how to be an anorexic too! Isn't that great? I also want to say that Myrna was entirely nessescery- she made Kessa see how disgusting she was. also I have a theory on how Kessa could have been saved. madame coulda seen what was going on earlish and told KESSa to stop, I betcha she woulda stopped.

As a victim to anorexia i totally know what Kessa was going through! I Loved this bok! It related to me in so many ways and though some of you think this is a bunch of lies it really is true! You see I have been an anorexic for almost a year now and i understand the fear and the panic she felt after she ate! It was like looking at my twin or something because i'm 5'4'' and reached all of thoses weightes thrn they put my on hyperal! So basically this book was totally real and the best ever!

This book is my favorite book of all time because i feel i can really relate to it. I've read it about 6 times already, and i'll probably read it even more. Almost every emotion involved in the book i have known and felt. I love this book, the best book i've ever read.

I thought "The Best Little Girl in the World" was a book created more for an anorexic audience than just the general. I original got the book because I was "practicing" anorexia and thought it might have some tips/ inspiration. All around it is very stereotype and not a book I would usually recommend, not even to anorexics. Honestly I didn't like the book.

A super book that really got the readerr inside the mind of the character Kessa. This made you feel sorry for her and sympathize over her postion in her family. The book also talked and explained many different aspects of anerexia. This book keeps you attentive and I regret having finishing it. It makes you wonder what happens to Kessa or Francesca.

It suprises me how many people rated this book low! This book does not glamorize eating disorders, but gives the perspective of someone with the disorder. They believe that their disorder is helpful at first. They are losing weight and gaining attention, so why would a young girl not like it? It also highlights the dangers of anorexia. It describes the horrors of eating tubes and massive low self esteem.

This book is great!

This book was absolutley fabulous. I couldn't put it down, but I was upset once I had finished it, because it was so good. Although I just ordered the sequel "Kessa" off of levenkron.com and I can't wait to get it! I also reccommend "The Luckiset Girl in the World" by Steven Levenkron, he is just a terrific author!

Before I read this book, my knowledge of anorexia nervosa was minimal. I had friends in middle school that struggled but it was minor and sporadic. After reading this mind-blowing novel, I was not only more educated but astounded at how beautifully intense the book was. It made me mad, scared, happy, satisfied, but craving more. I've never read a book more than once in my life on purpose, and I read this book three times, granted within like a five year span. Other wise it would have lost a little of it's edge. It is so intense, but it is an easy read as well. My good friend hates to read and ate this book up in a week. It's changed her life as well. High, high recommendations for this one. Go buy it right now!

This is one of the best books written on anorexia nervosa. Steven Levenkron has a very unique way of therapy that works well. This book is so touching and it makes you realize how bad eating disorders are.

As a victim to anorexia i totally know what Kessa was going through! I Loved this bok! It related to me in so many ways and though some of you think this is a bunch of lies it really is true! You see I have been an anorexic for almost a year now and i understand the fear and the panic she felt after she ate! It was like looking at my twin or something because i'm 5'4'' and reached all of thoses weightes thrn they put my on hyperal! So basically this book was totally real and the best ever!

Before I read this book, my knowledge of anorexia nervosa was minimal. I had friends in middle school that struggled but it was minor and sporadic. After reading this mind-blowing novel, I was not only more educated but astounded at how beautifully intense the book was. It made me mad, scared, happy, satisfied, but craving more. I've never read a book more than once in my life on purpose, and I read this book three times, granted within like a five year span. Other wise it would have lost a little of it's edge. It is so intense, but it is an easy read as well. My good friend hates to read and ate this book up in a week. It's changed her life as well. High, high recommendations for this one. Go buy it right now!

This is one of the best books written on anorexia nervosa. Steven Levenkron has a very unique way of therapy that works well. This book is so touching and it makes you realize how bad eating disorders are.

Man, that was hokey. The dialogue is contrived. The story is unrealistic. The characters are poorly developed. As someone who's been through this for real, I'm surprised and disappointed by the oversimplification.