Find your next great for Eating Disorder Awareness Month by exploring reviews of my favorite books about anorexia and eating disorders.

Reading stories of others and knowing that you—or someone you love—is not alone can be a powerful way to cope. There is magic in sharing our stories. Ask anyone who has belonged to a healing or recovery community.

Reading books about eating disorders even can help save lives by showing what the symptoms and behaviors look like. Through the power of story, someone may recognize that something is wrong in their own life or in the lives of one of their friends, and this can lead someone to seek help.

So which YA books about eating disorders should you read? Here are reviews of my favorites in this category. (Bonus: There are some memoirs in this list, too!)

The Delinquent Hero by Khristina Chess

“It’s easier to think about food and the physical pain inside my body from not eating than the other pain of not having Kat. My sister would totally understand this. She would. As long as I’m connecting to her this way—our familiar, hungry old way—she’s with me.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero

Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped!

Although pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this YA is also a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss. It’s hard to put down. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes apparent, and Molly finds herself connecting with her older sister in their same old way:

"I'm not very hungry. I am, and I'm not. I am hollow, but this feeling seems less about food and more about Kat. At any rate, I do not want to eat."

What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. It’s a great novel that shows the way eating disorders can impact the people who love them the most. There is so much pain in trying to answer why?

You won’t want to miss this great new YA book about eating disorders, sisterhood, and grief. Fans of Wintergirls will enjoy this one. In fact, Delinquent Hero is one of three novels by Khristina Chess in the top 100 Best Sellers in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Self-Harm and eating disorders.

Hollow Beauty by Khristina Chess

“I’d always called my body ‘athletic.’ Words like ‘stocky’ and ‘muscular’ described my figure. I was the fastest girl on the track and cross country teams. Muscular, stocky girls weren’t beautiful, though. Skinny girls were. Girls like Erica Miller.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Hollow Beauty

When tall, gorgeous Brody asks Olivia to the prom, she's ecstatic until he suggests that she use the two months before the dance to lose some weight.

But how thin is thin enough?

Body's comment sends Olivia on a spiral of dangerously rapid weight loss that borders on anorexia. As her pounds vanish, her friendship deepens with Ross, the new prep cook at the diner where she works. Despite his mysterious limp, he doesn't suffer crippling low self-esteem issues like she does; she can't even look at herself in the mirror anymore. The only time she doesn't feel ugly or fat is when she goes riding dirt bikes and cave-hunting with Ross. With Brody, instead of finding romance and true love, she feels like a terrified rabbit he's going to devour. 

She's almost thin enough to be beautiful for the prom when the unthinkable happens.

Holy cow! Buckle up for a fast read because Hollow Beauty hooked me from the beginning.

What makes Hollow Beauty special is the realistic portrayal of how Olivia falls into the self-esteem trap of trying to change herself for someone else. I worried about her. I loved seeing her journey and choices as the events escalated toward the story’s climax. It’s a great positive message. This is the kind of authentic novel that really shows how someone with even a little insecurity can be manipulated and hurt.

This book is a must-read for anyone looking for YA novels about eating disorders. Fans of Thinspo will enjoy this one.

The Stone Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel

“The blade finds its way to her hip bone. Sethie’s favorite part, the part where the bone protrudes: the skinniest place on her body.” ― Alyssa B Sheinmel, quote from The Stone Girl

This wisp of a book is a quick read, and its petite size seems to reflect the super-skinny shape of the heroine, Sethie Weiss. She’s such a disconnected character she’s almost hard to like. She’s so cold, made of granite, and not in touch with herself in any way. She makes bad choices. It takes awhile to realize that Sethie’s pain is part of this perfectionist state she’s iced herself into, and the things she does and says are linked to her illness.

Sethie focuses her love on Shaw, but he’s not good for her. As the relationship deteriorates, her weight drops, and health declines. The third person voice fits with the detachment she seems to have with herself, her body, and her situation.

In the end I rooted for her. I wanted her to become a real girl again.

If you’re looking for the best YA books about anorexia and eating disorders, you should take a look at this powerful story.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

“Eating was hard. Breathing was hard. Living was hardest.” ― Laurie Halse Angerson, quote from Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson is the touchstone YA novel for eating disorders and self-harming. This book is stark, beautiful, and also painful. At times the book is disorienting, but this seems to align with Lia’s state of mind. In addition to wrestling with an eating disorder and self-harming, she struggles to come to terms with the grief and loss of her friendship. A girl is dead.

While reading this story, I often felt confused and even uncomfortable, which was the point, I think. Lia’s guilt and anorexia is palatable. Laurie Halse Anderson writes beautifully and gives the reader an understanding of someone living with an eating disorder.

In fact, Laurie Halse Angerson is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!

Bonus Round: The Merry Recluse, Appetites: Why Women Want, and Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp

In addition to those recommendations, one memoir writer stands above the crowd: Caroline Knapp. Her struggles with anorexia are woven through her writing in The Merry Recluse, Appetites: Why Women Want, and even to some extent in Drinking: A Love Story. Her work is funny, honest, challenging, and all-around amazing. I give her 5 stars all around and devoured everything she wrote:

"What is this drive to be thinner, prettier, better dressed, other? Who exactly is this other and what does she look like beyond the jacket she's wearing or the food she's not eating? What might we be doing, thinking, feeling about if we didn't think about body image, ever?" ― Caroline Knapp, quote from Appetites: Why Women Want

Ultimately, Caroline Knapp overcame her struggles with anorexia and adopted a dog, writing another great book, Pack of Two.

I was deeply saddened by her untimely death in her early forties.

If you enjoy memoir, you should check out Caroline Knapp’s work.

(Bonus Round) Wasted by Marya Hornbacher

Okay, one more memoir writer should also be included: Marya Hornbacher. I read this one more than twenty years ago, but I remember how poignant and biting her voice was. Hornbacher doesn’t hold anything back. Her experience with anorexia, bulimia, mental illness, and everything else was painful, but she survived and shared it with us. She’s a brave person.

If you are someone who struggles with food or body image issues, do not take four decades to learn the lesson that I have learned: you are enough. You are small enough, good enough, smart enough. The number on the scale does not define who you are or who you will become.

Other YA Books about Anorexia and Eating Disorders

In addition to the books about anorexia and eating disorders mentioned here, Goodreads offers two great book lists: YA Eating Disorder Fiction and Best Books about Eating Disorders. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens, such as self-harming.

I’d love to hear about your favorites in the comments below.

Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. Hollow Beauty, her book about eating disorders, was named a finalist in the Next Generation India Book Awards. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.