After her father's death, twenty-six-year-old Gray Lachmann finds herself compulsively eating. Desperate to stop bingeing, she abandons her lif... read full description
reviews
Oct 27, 2011
TinasBookReviews
rated it: 
I agreed to review this novel due to the witty write-up on the back cover and the promise for wicked funny laughs.
I can’t really explain on how many levels this novel ticked me off, not only for Spechler's stereotype of obese people, her preachy you’re a huge disgusting fat slob hate letters to all fat women from a girl who was not fat, but the overall message of "skinny" being the only true happiness in life, the only true way to get a man to look at your body and say wow More...
I can’t really explain on how many levels this novel ticked me off, not only for Spechler's stereotype of obese people, her preachy you’re a huge disgusting fat slob hate letters to all fat women from a girl who was not fat, but the overall message of "skinny" being the only true happiness in life, the only true way to get a man to look at your body and say wow More...
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Dec 27, 2011
Christina (Reading Thru The Night)
rated it: 
In summation:
Gray is at a crossroad in her life. Her estranged father recently died and while working through those feelings she turns to food. The final blow is when Gray, as executor of his will, finds out that she has a half sister. After some internet sleuthing, she finds out that Eden will be spending the summer at a fat camp in the Carolinas. Gray decides that she must meet Eden and applies for a camp counselor position.
In my opinion:
I admit, I request More...
Gray is at a crossroad in her life. Her estranged father recently died and while working through those feelings she turns to food. The final blow is when Gray, as executor of his will, finds out that she has a half sister. After some internet sleuthing, she finds out that Eden will be spending the summer at a fat camp in the Carolinas. Gray decides that she must meet Eden and applies for a camp counselor position.
In my opinion:
I admit, I request More...
Aug 10, 2011
Michelle
rated it: 
Skinny is Diana Spechler’s second novel after Who by Fire, and let’s end the suspense: there is no sophomore slump here.
Gray Lachmann feels responsible for her father’s sudden death and tries to eat away her pain and guilt. In the meantime, via her father’s will, Gray discovers she has an illegitimate half-sister, so she does what any reasonable 26-year-old, slightly overweight girl who recently lost her father would do: she tracks down her half-sister through her blog and finds out sh More...
Gray Lachmann feels responsible for her father’s sudden death and tries to eat away her pain and guilt. In the meantime, via her father’s will, Gray discovers she has an illegitimate half-sister, so she does what any reasonable 26-year-old, slightly overweight girl who recently lost her father would do: she tracks down her half-sister through her blog and finds out sh More...
Jul 04, 2011
Danielle
rated it: 
Twenty-six year old Gray is beautiful, intelligent and thin…at least to the outside world. For as long as she’s know she’s counted calories, cut meals in half, hardly ever ordered desert and has constantly been mindful of the things she puts in her mouth. After her father’s death and subsequent discovery of a half-sister, Eden, she never knew existed she’s thrown it all out the window gorging herself on whatever falls within her sites. To overcome her inner-demons and hopefully connect with a pi
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Jun 11, 2011
kelly
rated it:
Would it be pathetically obvious for me to say that I completley identified with this character? I'm relatively sure that most women would find similarities between themselves and Gray Lachmann. Truly, what women, be her too fat or too thin, has not struggled with a weight issue? Sure, some have it worse than others. But we've all been there, right? Right? Please say I'm right, or I'm gonna feel like a huge loser and go attack the Oreos.
Gray is struggling with so many emotions in this More...
Gray is struggling with so many emotions in this More...
Jun 01, 2011
Emily
rated it:
I thought this might be a story about women, weight, and self-esteem, but instead it seems to be about grief, loss, and control. Throughout the story, I could see what would not happen, but couldn't predict what would. In the end, it felt as though very little was resolved, although Gray seemed ready to go on to the next section of her life. Each character had his or her own story line, and was discarded at the end of it. I felt like I didn't really understand the book, but perhaps that is t
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May 30, 2011
Kate
rated it:
This is a powerful, beautiful, and often funny book that made me look at myself and my own body perceptions in a new (and ultimately healthier) way. Even though Gray, the main character, isn't always the nicest or most moral person, why should she be? Her humanity makes her interesting and I loved this character's honesty about eating, hunger, control, body image, and relationships; how she saw herself and other people felt so true to me--so much like things I secretly find myself thinking but d
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May 22, 2011
Kasey
rated it: 
This book was alright. All about fat camp which I always find entertaining and I thought it might be similar to one of my fav abc family shows Huge, which was devastatingly cancelled. However, it was not. Not a single character was likeable especially the main character. She was so annoying and most of the time I just wanted her to get over it. Her father died of a heartattack and she blames herself even though he was morbidly obese. Clearly she didn't kill her father even if he didn't approve o
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Jun 04, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
I just finished reading Skinny, by Diana Spechler. This was a book I won from a giveaway on Goodreads. If I hadn't won this book, I can't say with certainty that I would have ever read it. Even after coming to the end of the novel, I'm still not completely sure of my feelings about the book. It was an easy, quick read, but dealt with some dark issues as well. Would I recommend it? Depends on the person and situation. But for the most part, probably not. There are definitely better books to be re
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Aug 08, 2011
Tanya
rated it:
I just want to start by saying I HATE goodreads' rating system. Really a simple 1-5 stars is not enough to give a proper understanding of how I felt about the book. Not all my 4 star rated books are equal. Some are 4 stars because I love the protagonist and I ignore that the writing style is subpar. Some are 2 stars even though the writing is wonderful but the book's plot is just plain boring. See what I mean?
I rate this book a very high 3 or a low 4. Because I want people to read th More...
I rate this book a very high 3 or a low 4. Because I want people to read th More...
May 28, 2011
Nicole (All I Ever Read)
rated it:
I received a digital copy for review from NetGalley. I really, really wanted to like this book, but was unable to find anything about the book that I liked personally which was very disappointing. The premise sounded both interesting and witty and it was a topic that I have never really read about before. From the moment we are introduced to the main character, she lacks any kind of personality and comes across as unbelievably whiny and self-absorbed.
It’s not very often that after I More...
It’s not very often that after I More...
Sep 25, 2011
Erika
rated it:
I really liked this book. I thought that it was very well written and very interesting.
This book is about a girl named Gray who is dating this guy named Mikey who is a comedian. Gray's father doesn't like Mikey so Gray and her father stop talking for like three years, then one day on her birthday they go to a steak house. Her father has a heart attack and dies in the parking lot. After her father dies, Gray goes on an eating binge for a year.
A few months before she stopped More...
This book is about a girl named Gray who is dating this guy named Mikey who is a comedian. Gray's father doesn't like Mikey so Gray and her father stop talking for like three years, then one day on her birthday they go to a steak house. Her father has a heart attack and dies in the parking lot. After her father dies, Gray goes on an eating binge for a year.
A few months before she stopped More...
Jun 27, 2011
Meredith
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. Spechler is an incredibly talented writer who is able to write for both a commercial audience - the book was a fast read and I was never confused, bored or bogged down by big/pretty words - and a literary audience - despite the relatable and fast moving plot, she has a way of writing that is almost poetic. I thought the characters were extremely well developed, especially Gray who, while a troubled woman, was not fatally flawed and despite her issues, I always knew s
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Apr 22, 2011
Willie
rated it:
Check out my review: http://dog-earedreads.com/2011/04/review...
Skinny
By Diana Spechler
Paperback, 368 pages
Published April 26, 2011
Harper Perennial
In Skinny, twenty-something Gray Lachmann develops an uncontrollable hunger for food after her father’s death. To stop her new addiction, she leaves her life in the big city to take a job at a weight loss camp in the South. She also discovers the she may have a half sister that she never knew existed. As More...
Skinny
By Diana Spechler
Paperback, 368 pages
Published April 26, 2011
Harper Perennial
In Skinny, twenty-something Gray Lachmann develops an uncontrollable hunger for food after her father’s death. To stop her new addiction, she leaves her life in the big city to take a job at a weight loss camp in the South. She also discovers the she may have a half sister that she never knew existed. As More...
Apr 11, 2011
marymurtz
rated it:
Gray Lachmann is spending the summer at a "fat camp" run by a spectacularly unqualified charlatan who hires other unqualified people to help him get obese youth to "surrender to my program!" Gray is there to get to know one of the campers, who isn't aware that she and Gray have a link in the past that ties them together.
The story, narrated from 27-year-old Gray's point of view, is emotional, hilarious, and raw. In minute and perfect detail, she describes emotional More...
The story, narrated from 27-year-old Gray's point of view, is emotional, hilarious, and raw. In minute and perfect detail, she describes emotional More...
Sep 20, 2011
Christine
rated it:
I'm not sure what to say about this. I did not find the main character, Gray, wholly likeable, which I suppose is not that important, as there have been plenty of anti-heroes in literature, but Gray, while confused and struggling, is also incredibly shallow and selfish. The story builds up the stories of various girls at a weight loss camp, but then never offers any real resolution - in fact, it really drops the story line like a hot potato when Gray moves elsewhere. The story starts by focus
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 10, 2011
H.
rated it:
rating: 2 stars
I kinda regret purchasing this book. I wish I could return it somehow, but oh well. The idea behind it was great. Exploring the connection between emotions and eating and how our body's impulses reflect our hidden thoughts and desires. I got into the book right away after I read the first few chapters and bought it. But then I got out of it quickly. The main character, Gray, alienated me with her thoughts and her actions. I couldn't sympathize with her. I couldn't connec More...
I kinda regret purchasing this book. I wish I could return it somehow, but oh well. The idea behind it was great. Exploring the connection between emotions and eating and how our body's impulses reflect our hidden thoughts and desires. I got into the book right away after I read the first few chapters and bought it. But then I got out of it quickly. The main character, Gray, alienated me with her thoughts and her actions. I couldn't sympathize with her. I couldn't connec More...
Jul 27, 2011
Megan (Book Brats)
rated it:
When I entered a contest and agreed to participate in an author discussion, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with SKINNY. I thought I would be getting a book about one woman’s acceptance of herself. I rarely read into details about things and this has often led me down weird paths with books. SKINNY was kind of a discussion about acceptance and body image, but more so about grief, blame, and realizations about one’s self and one’s life. Gray is a 26 year old (note: I think the ma
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May 17, 2011
Clementine
rated it:
Compulsively overeating after her father’s death, Gray Lachmann uproots from her life in New York City for a job as a counselor at a weight-loss camp in the south. Fueled partly by her desire to stop overeating and partly by a pull to get to know the half-sister she never knew she had, Gray encounters a variety of characters at the camp. While she deals with her insatiable hunger and sea of lies her father left in his wake, Gray also starts to discover herself.
This is Spechler’s seco More...
This is Spechler’s seco More...
Sep 14, 2011
Cynthia
rated it:
Gray believes her behavior toward her obese father had a hand in causing his death. Their relationship was strained by her father’s refusal to accept her live-in boyfriend, Mikey, a comedian who the lawyerly father felt was not good enough for his daughter. Mikey is also not Jewish. And Gray’s father had become obsessed with religion, and a particular Rabbi’s counsel. Perhaps to thumb her nose at her father, or perhaps because she just likes the job, and is good at it, Gray becomes her boyfriend
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Jun 01, 2011
Jael
rated it:
"After I killed my father, he taught me that honesty is optional. But, of course, I'd always known that. This was why I loathed being naked -- my choices were stripped away."
That first line of Skinny by Diana Spechler grabbed me. I took that line literally. Look at that cover, do you think anything sinister is going on? There isn't, but I was intrigued as to why someone thought they killed their father.
Twenty-six year old Gray Lachmann has struggled with weight More...
That first line of Skinny by Diana Spechler grabbed me. I took that line literally. Look at that cover, do you think anything sinister is going on? There isn't, but I was intrigued as to why someone thought they killed their father.
Twenty-six year old Gray Lachmann has struggled with weight More...
May 08, 2011
Charlotte
rated it:
http://charlotteswebofbooks.blogspot.com...
Every woman young or old has a body image issue of some type. Big nose, big hips, fat thighs, or all of the above. It is a rare woman that does not have a body issue of some type. After Gray eats her grief, "fat camp" is really the place for her. She is not the most perfect heroine by any stretch of the imagination. She is deeply flawed in several ways, but it wasn't until camp that she started to realize that being flawed is okay. I More...
Every woman young or old has a body image issue of some type. Big nose, big hips, fat thighs, or all of the above. It is a rare woman that does not have a body issue of some type. After Gray eats her grief, "fat camp" is really the place for her. She is not the most perfect heroine by any stretch of the imagination. She is deeply flawed in several ways, but it wasn't until camp that she started to realize that being flawed is okay. I More...
Jun 04, 2011
Dana
rated it:
I absolutely loved this book! Diana Spechler is such a unique, witty, smart writer who has crafted a complex story that doesn't really let anyone off the hook. Though maybe I didn't always like Gray, the narrator, I realized that for me, what I didn't like about her were actually the moments when I totally related to her and realized she was boldly stating things that I connected to, but was ashamed to admit. This novel addresses some deep, thought-provoking issues about the ways women use food
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Jul 10, 2011
Cori
rated it:
This is the story of a woman who is haunted by the past of her dead father. The protagonist is a lost an tortured girl who can't seem to find what will absolve her of the terrible thing she believes she's done. Will the absence of food; being skinny help her? Will food giver her the solace she so desires? Will the love of different men in her bed provide her with the magic potion for happiness? Gray explores all of these options but in the end, she learns that her happiness comes from withi
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Jul 17, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
After her father’s death, Gray is struggling: mentally, emotionally and definitely physically. Gray finds comfort in food and begins compulsively eating. She quickly packs on the pounds and slowly spins into a depression like she’s never felt before. With a desire to get back to her old self and get away from it all, Gray applies for a job as a camp counselor at a southern weight loss camp. At camp, Gray meets a cast of characters from Eden, her mysterious possible half-sister to sexy Bennett,
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Jun 13, 2011
Tonya
rated it:
Where to start.. I have so many things I could say about this book. I read a lot of reviews before writing this, so the actual book subject has been talked about a lot. Overweight vs skinny people.. Gray's father passes away, which Gray feels that she killed him. (You will find out why she thinks this almost at the end of the book) When she finally talks to the man in charge of her father's will, she finds there is a trust for a woman. When she looks this woman up on the internet, the woman has
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Aug 13, 2011
Jlaurenmc
rated it:
Gray Lachmann is a fabulously flawed main character whose story jumps off the page in Diana Spechler's new novel Skinny. Although some have billed it as a young adult novel, Gray herself is 27 years old. After her father dies, she spirals off the deep end, giving up everything important in her life in a quest to squelch her guilt. Because, of course, she claims to have killed him.
Gray has a successful business booking and selling tickets at comedy clubs, a career she embarked upon af More...
Gray has a successful business booking and selling tickets at comedy clubs, a career she embarked upon af More...
Jul 16, 2011
Tracy
rated it:
The protagonist of this novel gains weight, learns she has a sister she never knew about and then goes to work at a fat camp to be close to her sister. I read the first 50 and then the last 50 or so of the book. It wasn't horrible, but I probably wouldn't have finished it if it weren't the middle of the night and I didn't need to fall asleep. That sentence sounds harsher than I meant but the book just didn't click with me, even though it was well written.
May 16, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I read an excerpt somewhere online. I think Spechler has a way of storytelling that sucked me in to the book. Gray is a flawed and well-developed character, but I felt like she was the only one. Granted, it's told from her perspective but her way of describing other characters is either a device by the author to show Gray's self-absorption or an oversight. I hope it's the former.
May 24, 2011
Sable
rated it:
I absolutely LOVED this book. Having fought with an eating disorder myself, this novel truly struck a chord. The descriptions of each eating disorder included in this book is accurate and the plot was expertly woven. I read it twice over the course of 48 hours. You can see my full review here.
