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Teen Fiction
Second Star to the Right by Deborah Hautzig β€” book cover

Second Star to the Right

by Deborah Hautzig, Joy Peskin (Editor), S. November
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Overview

Leslie Hiller is a bright, attractive, talented teenager who leads a privileged life in New York City. She is also a perfectionist. When Leslie starts to diet, she finds herself becoming obsessed, getting thinner and thinner, until she is forced to realize that her quest for perfection is killing her.

First published in 1981, this groundbreaking novel has been lauded by countless librarians, educators, and teenaged readers. This new edition features an afterword by the author in which she discusses her own struggle with the disease, the difficult road toward recovery, and the lasting effects on her life.

As fourteen-year-old Leslie begins to shed the weight she feels makes her imperfect, she finds it increasingly difficult to reach out for the psychological help she knows she needs.

Synopsis

The landmark novel about anorexia nervosa -- now with an autobiographical afterword by the author

Leslie Hiller is a bright, attractive, talented teenager who leads a privileged life in New York City. She is also a perfectionist. When Leslie starts to diet, she finds herself becoming obsessed, getting thinner and thinner, until she is forced to realize that her quest for perfection is killing her.

First published in 1981, this groundbreaking novel has been lauded by countless librarians, educators, and teenaged readers. This new edition features an afterword by the author in which she discusses her own struggle with the disease, the difficult road toward recovery, and the lasting effects on her life.

"The best book yet on anorexia nervosa. And the only one in which what's compelling is not the heroine's physical condition, it's the heroine herself." School Library Journal, starred review

"This is a powerful book -- one in which there are no villains -- about a family whose members are beset by a problem they are struggling to understand." Baltimore Sun

Publishers Weekly

For Leslie, wanting to shed a few pounds leads to self-destructive behavior, in one of the most harrowing stories yet on anorexia nervosa. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

For Leslie, wanting to shed a few pounds leads to self-destructive behavior, in one of the most harrowing stories yet on anorexia nervosa. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)

Children's Literature - Betty Hicks

The title refers to the familiar directions to Peter Pan's Neverland, but Leslie Hiller wants to fly away to "never-be-judged land, never-be-Mom land, always-be-me land." This important novel tells the compelling story of a teen-aged girl's battle with anorexia in a way that is as authentic as it is informative. Without casting blame, it shows both Leslie's pain and that of her family. It also makes clear some of the complex reasons why she needs to exert power over her body. First published in 1981, this reissue contains an afterword by the author, which makes it a new book in terms of further comprehending the devastating effects of anorexia nervosa. Hautzig's added personal disclosures surprise the reader with a double-barreled shot of realism that may diminish the hopefulness of the original ending, but which give the reader an even better understanding of this life-threatening but treatable disease. Not only does this highly recommended book contain a page-turning story and a winning heroine, it could be life saving for readers who have anorexia, or who know someone who might. 1999 (orig.

Book Details

Published
September 1, 1999
Publisher
Penguin Group (USA)
Pages
176
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780141305806

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