Dancing With Ana

By Nicole Barker

From the back of the book:

“Beth is a lucky girl … She comes from a loving family. She has three best friends. She loves to surf and lives five minutes from the beach. … Beth has every reason to smile. Every reason to be happy. … Then why is she sticking her fingers down her throat?”

Written to appeal to a younger audience, “Dancing With Ana” provides a portrait of a confused teen who wants too much to just fit in. As she looks around her, the one girl she sees getting all the attention is also the prettiest and thinnest and all the boys are attracted to her.

Beth sets out to become like that girl. First things first, though – she has to lose a few pounds.

Unfortunately, the dieting and exercise become an obsession and she’s soon too thin and having health issues

I’ve read other books about eating disorders and this is the first geared toward teens. Nicole Barker puts the reader into real-life situations and she’s drawn some very positive comments from young people who have read her book.

We watch the main characters as they spend their time at school, home, parties, the beach … all the places teens hang out together and socialize.

I think this would be an excellent book for mothers of teens to read. It will help give some insight into what their own daughters are thinking when it comes to fitting in and the need to be popular.