The Stone Girl

An affecting and unflinching portrait of a girl battling an eating disorder by critically acclaimed writer Alyssa B. Sheinmel.

She feels like a creature out of a fairy tale; a girl who discovers that her bones are really made out of stone, that her skin is really as thin as glass, that her hair is brittle as straw, that her tears have dried up so that she cries only salt. Maybe that's why it doesn't hurt when she presses hard enough to begin bleeding: it doesn't hurt, because she's not real anymore.

High school senior Sarah Beth (Sethie) Weiss is disciplined. She has never cut a class in her life, has never had a grade below a B+, and has always been a favorite among her teachers. Her college applications are finished and she only ate six Ritz crackers today. But even on days when Sethie needs to eat more, there's always the toilet to make up for her mistakes. Sethie manages to get down to 104, and maybe if she works just a little bit harder, becomes a little more disciplined, she can get below 100. Truth be told, Sethie has more to worry about than her relationship with her body; but the deeper she descends into her disorder, the smaller her world gets and the harder it is to see her way out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR

ALYSSA B. SHEINMEL is the author of The Lucky Kind and The Beautiful Between. She lives and works in New York City.

Praise for The Beautiful Between:

"Endearing, realistic, and heart-wrenching."—The New York Post

"An absorbing tale of unlikely friendship, loss, and family secrets . . . the intriguing and well-defined characterizations will keep readers riveted."—Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Lucky Kind:

"The Lucky Kind is an honest, powerful, and emotional look at family secrets and falling in love."—Justine Magazine

"Honest and compelling."—School Library Journal