Review
Two smart, lively and complicated twelve year olds, Kirsten
McKenna and Walker ("Walk") Jones, take turns narrating this
contemporary stand-alone in fresh, memorable and
idiosyncratic voices. Choldenko's celebrated and
award-winning bestseller,
Al Capone Does My Shirts, relied on time and
place—Alcatraz in the Capone era—for much of its effect and
power.
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period could take
place in almost any American private middle school in the
suburb of almost any present-day American city. The novel's
focus is decidedly internal rather than external, and the
reader lives inside twelve year old heads for the duration.
But Choldenko's unwavering interior focus isn't gimmickry:
it illuminates her young characters' imperfect knowledge of
the...
Beyond the Book
Eating Disorders
Does Kirsten eat too much and for all the wrong reasons?
According to the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and
binge eating are becoming increasingly prevalent throughout
western countries. According to US estimates from the
National Institute of Mental Health, between 5-10 million
girls and women and 1 million boys and men suffer from
eating disorders or other associated dietary conditions. On
average, about 0.5 to 3.7% of girls and women develop
anorexia nervosa, and about 1.1 to 4.2% develop bulimia
nervosa. About 0.5% of those with anorexia die each year as
a result of their...
