I can't say that I know a whole lot about eating disorders, but this is not the first book I read in the matter so I know enough to realize it's a very misunderstood disease. It's a monster that takes over the body; an ugly, nasty monster that consumes it. Some people think they're simply being selfish, wanting attention, or completely mad to continue eating habits that have a negative affect on their health to the point of no return, or death. But this is a real mental illness. It takes over yo More...

I really liked this book in the first 300+ pages, but then I found myself skimming it until the end. I felt Loann's pain and I completely understood how overshadowed she felt by her older sister (despite the fact that in our family, I AM the older sister). Because of this book, I actually found myself thinking, "What if my little sister feels this way?" So with Loann, I felt so completely fascinated by her and her sister's character and I found myself deeply engrossed in the story. The writing w More...

This is a powerful novel dealing gracefully with very sensitive subjects. It is gritty and tough to read at points because of all of the issues the characters I came to love were dealing with. It is hard stuff, stuff that teens should never have to deal with but they do everyday. Bullying, peer pressure, abuse, and eating disorders. We see how things effect the families and recipients of these tough issues and how painful and lonely it can be.
I think that I've only read about people with eati More...

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Never Enough sneaked up on me and took me by surprise. Neither the blurb, nor the beautiful bright cover have prepared me for the intensely emotional ride I was taken on. Dealing with issues like eating disorders, physical abuse, and the fragility and meaning of life, it's a character-driven, powerful novel that is sure to resonate with its readers. Jaden's evocative an More...

Review originally posted at Y.A. Love

For some reason I’m having a tough time writing this review like normal, so I’m going to try a bullet list review today featuring what worked and didn’t work for me.

What Worked for Me:

I like the dynamics in Claire and Loann’s relationship. It’s easy to identify with Loann and understand how disconnected from Claire she’s become. In the beginning of Never Enough it’s hard to say whether Claire feels this way as well, but Loann feels it. She feels awkward and More...

4.5 stars

When I finished this book I basically just wanted to scoop up Loann and Marcus and hug them and put them in a protective bubble so that nothing could ever hurt them again. Because, really, people should not have to go through what they went through. And sadly... of course people actually go through scenarios like that. That’s probably the worst part. But do not despair, because despite the sad situations in this book it’s not entirely a downer. The connection that Loann and Marcus forms More...

Love the voice! Author has nailed the am-I-good-enough conflict/struggle teens experience.

YA Books Central Review:http://www.yabookscentral.com/...

This was a pretty hefty and deep read for being a contemporary young adult novel. The issues brought up were heart wrenching and realistic.

Loann and Claire's relationship was hard at times, but the sisterly love was always there. I enjoyed them as characters, as well as Marcus.

By the end it was so emotional and sad, I couldn't help but tear up.

Even the author's note made me feel like this story was a part of my story. It was an eye opener, and it left me with feeling so much love and sympathy fo More...

Loann and Claire used to be very closed sisters. Claire was pretty and popular, often surrounded by friends and her boyfriend Josh. Loann watched enviously, longing to be her perfect sister. one day Josh started flirting with her and people from the popular group started showing interest in her, even stopping by the cafe where she and her friend, Marcus worked. Loann was eager to step into their world, eager to experience the world her sister was in. but soon she discovered Claire's world was a More...

Lately, whenever I go in Barnes and Noble, I get annoyed. Which is absolutely ridiculous because going into my favorite store should not annoy me. But they never put the books that I am looking for on the shelf where books are supposed to be in alphabetical order by the authors last name. I mean, I know it’s all about marketing and books are more likely to be noticed when they’re not tucked away in a gigantic shelf, but would it hurt to put just one on the shelf? After wandering around the young More...

Loann is always being overshadowed by her older sister Claire. Claire is prettier, smarter, more popular- in short, Claire is everything Loann wants to be. As Loann begins to learn more about Claire's world though, Loann realizes things aren't as wonderful as they seemed. Claire's destructive behavior is much worse than Loann ever imagined, and Loann wants nothing more than to fix everything for Claire. Some things however are not easily fixed.

I put off writing this review for a long time becaus More...

It started out dealing with one issue, a more simple issue and the book ended on a more deeper level and the way the two emerged was like opening a door. Loann wants to be more like her sister Claire, popular and outgoing. She watches and takes mental notes so if her chance comes along she will not blow it, but she doubts her chance will ever come along. Claire has everything going for her at least that is what Loann sees. Claire becomes obsessed with food and she starts to have an eating disord More...

I've been waiting to read this book since last year. Even before it came out. And I finally got to read it today.

This book... was sad. Not depressing but sad. The entire story moved me. I swear a few times I almost cried. Along with it being sad it was wonderfully written. And thats basically why this book is five stars.

The story is about Loann, a girl who's always been an outsider and in the shadow of her perfect sister Claire. She's always heard "Claire this" and "Claire that" She's always had More...

It’s never enough to be beautiful, talented, or everyone’s favorite. It’s never enough to be perfect. Loann, sweet young Loey, learns tough lessons about self-image and the pressures of popularity in the span of her junior and senior years of high school. Denise Jaden’s contemporary realistic fiction novel, Never Enough, may seem like just another high school drama examining the classic tension between the popular and the outcasts. However, beneath the surface lie two girls’ struggle with body i More...

2.5/5

Let’s face facts… Loann could twists just about any drama around her and make it about her. ‘Oh, Marcus is stoically being all silent boy independent and closed mouthed about his problems.’ Boohoo. Does this mean he hates me? Or, ‘oh, my sister is laughing about something with her friends.’ Does this mean she’s really laughing at me behind my back..ergh… to my face but from a distance? Then take: ‘oh dear, my mother is worried about what’s become of our family.’Does she really have to ask More...

Hmmm... Well, I think there could be many ways to interpret this book. You could think of it as an eating disorder story, or maybe a friendship-turned-love story, or maybe even a family-on-the-brink-of-a-meltdown story. But ultimately, I saw it as all of them.

I picked up this book at the library because of its gorgeous cover and crisp, new pages (something that's pretty hard to find at my library). I didn't really pay any attention to the synopsis, only reading it once I got home.

And let me say, More...

I picked this book up on a whim at B&N simply because I thought the cover was pretty. It has an awesome green spine and the blurb on the back looked interesting so I decided to give it a go.

This book was a pleasant surprise for me. It starts with a lunchroom scene that sets it up as a superficial, younger-audience YA novel. Then, it meanders into a love story along with the struggle between the protagonist, Loann, and her sister, Claire which are messy. Somehow, the author created suspense i More...

This book is such a touching story and I don't even know where to begin with my review. I sat on this one for a few days because I really don't know how to do this book justice. This book is about two sisters trying to navigate through their teenage years. We all know that being a teen is never easy and that there are many issues of self esteem that come into play. The title Never Enough sums it up pretty well I think. We are always thinking that something is never good enough in comparison to s More...

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Although, the plot is a little bit slow in the beginning, things start to pick up as things start to steadily get worse. This is definitely a character driven plot that explores the sibling relationship really well, while also delving into some serious issues. I also appreciated that the romance of this book was really slow paced and took the whole length of the book to develop. I thought it was a nice change from the books that make the romance the More...

My Summary: Claire and her sister Loann have always been close. But a few years and opposite social circles separate them, and slowly, Loann feels her sister begin to slip away. What start as a nagging suspicion soon develops into a full-blown realization that Loann's perfect sister is anything but, along with the knowledge that her sister is on an all-consuming downward spiral that can only end one way.

My Thoughts: I absolutely adored this novel. I started it a few hours ago and just turned th More...

Honestly I have never read a book that made my cry in this type of ache, I really didn't want that type of an end but all in all it taught me some lessons. There are so many aspects in this book that Denise covers and I enjoyed sacrificing my one night sleep to know what happens to Claire. I just hope this authors other books keep me amazed too.

Wow. I read this book super quickly. I couldn't bring myself to put it down.

The protagonist, Loann, was a really relatable character. She was like a REAL person. Those seem increasingly hard to find in YA novels. So, yes, I definitely liked her. I also definitely didn't agree with all of her decisions. I let out a relieved breath (LOL) every time she picked Marcus over her other "friends".

Marcus--I loved him. Just loved him.

Claire was confusing--kind at times, mean at others. And *sigh* the en More...

I really liked it. I gotta admit that in the beginning it was a little hard for me to really connect with the characters and I thought the end was a little precipitated but overall it is an awsome story and it was really unexpected.



Omg the author like my comment!

I think my biggest fascination, when it comes to literature, would have to be the exploration of mental illness -- specifically, that of eating disorders, for sure. So, of course I was drawn to NEVER ENOUGH once I determined that it was the story of two sisters coping with the anorexia and bullimia that threatened to tear apart their relationship as well as the rest of the family dynamic.

Now, of course, I wasn't disappointed by this read -- anything on this topic is sure to keep me engaged from More...

Review:

Told from the beautifully honest and realistic voice of plain Loann (No middle name) Rochester, "Never Enough" will swell up to fill your heart with a bittersweet story of family, friendship, love, and the ultimate image of true beauty. Loann's narration is downright average, but as the book goes on, it reveals a compelling contemporary tale that will win you over in the end.

The characters are quite realistic so to be honest, completely average (seeming) Loann did not bind me to her stor More...

This book changed my life! Seriously, it did. And I hope it is impacting for you as well. I'll be blogging more about my process of writing it as the publication date approaches. http://www.denisejaden.com/Blog.html

This book was definitely an emotional thrill ride. Upon first glance, it may seem like Never Enough revolves around Loann's relationship with her sister and Claire's battle with eating disorders, however, it is so much more than that. Never Enough also combats issues such as domestic abuse and unwanted teenage sex. While these issues may be very uncomfortable to some readers, they are handled in a very respectful and honest way that does not glamorize or give too many details. There were also a More...

I won this book through the give away program. I was excited to see that it was signed and had a special note written to me. Denise Jaden did a wonderful job incorporating numerous sensitive subjects including, but not limited to, family problems, bullying, eating disorders, and division among different groups on high school. The main character Loann is easy to relate to with her wittiness and eagerness to be more like her sister Claire who seems perfect from afar. Claire, however, has an imper More...