Review: Marni

It should be noted that as this is a non-fiction book, this is bit of an unconventional review for me. {P.S.- Marni=Book, and Marni=author}

Marni by Marni Bates
Published: by HCI Teens - 8/3/09
Pages: 159
Series or Standalone? Part if the Louder Than Words books, but they all stand as standalones.

Summary (from GoodReads):
Marni Bates has battled a stress-related disorder known as trichotillomania for roughly six years. The impulse to pull out all her hair (including her eyelashes and eyebrows), has been a source of much pain, frustration, and in rare moments, humor. It wasn't until Marni googled 'hair-pulling' that she discovered what she was doing had a name and an explanation. Hiding her condition took a lot of work, but being confronted with it was far more difficult. Unfortunately, the majority of high school students don't know how to react when faced with trich. Health courses tend to focus on already highly publicized conditions such as anorexia and bulimia, ignoring other stress-related disorders.

In Marni, author Marni Bates powerfully shares her journey, from the roots of her anxiety which was caused by her parents' messy divorce when she was eight, a dysfunctional relationship with her sister and father, and feeling like such a misfit that she convinced her mom to let her drop out of middle school to be homeschooled, to having her emotional turmoil give birth to trichotillomania. The urge to pull out all of her hair felt as uncontrollable and natural as breathing or cracking her knuckles. Unfortunately, her new habit led to social embarrassment, crushingly low self-esteem, and years of therapy.

First off, let me say that going into this book I was extremely nervous. I usually hate non-fiction books- I avoid them like the plague- but this one has left me to actual question that. It was that good.

Straight from the getgo Marni gets you immersed into the inner workings of her head, and its quite an interesting place to be. Like I said, I'm not an usual fan of non-fiction, and I'm not sure if it was because Marni is a teen or her story is just that awesome, but I loved this book!

I found Marni a really relatable book, though I personally don't have trichotillomania, or hadn't even heard of it before. I think this is a major reason why I loved this work of non-fiction while I usually hate the others; This one I could make a definite connection with , while the others I felt lacked that.

In any case, regardless of why I loved this book, the point is I did! The writing was fantastic and flowing, the story enthralling, and the narrator genuine. A fabulous book from page 1 to close. I recommend this to all, mostly girls though I guess, who want a good non-fiction read or want to learn more about trichotillomania. If Bates were ever to write anything else I would surely pick it up. Oh and as soon as I track them down, I'm definitely reading the other two Louder Than Words books!*

When Hooked: Immediately.
Hookability: (9/10)
Writing: (9.5/10)
Characters: (10/10) <--Marni was awesome!
Plot: (10/10) <-- Uhm its her life though, so its kind of hard to judge!
Originality: (10/10)
Romance: (--/10) <-- I loved how it ended, but once again with the real life thing.
Ending: (9.5/10)
Remembarable: (10/10)
Recommendability: (10/10)
Enjoyability: (10/10)

Overall: (9.21/10)








(If you are a "letter person" 87.5/90 = A+)

*There are a couple more Louder Than Words books to be released this year (?), and Chelsea (of the Page Flipper) is to be one of them! see here.
**Also: Thats not the real Marni on the cover, though she is shown on the back flap inside book, but the cover is quite gorgeous. Cover= (9/10)

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You can find Marni Bates on:
her website/blog (http://www.louderthanwordsbooks.com/marni/blog/)
or on GoodReads (though she isn't a member)

You can find Marni at:
GoodReads / Borders / Barnes&Noble / Amazon / Indie