NOTE: Be sure to check out an exclusive note from the author at the end of the post.

Sad Perfect by Stephanie Elliot

Stephanie Elliot’s raw YA debut, Sad Perfect, holds nothing back. Beautifully written, straightforward, and most importantly: real.

Now I know there is a lot of controversy out there about this book as it relates to being a trigger to anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder in the past. I can’t speak to that as I nor anyone close to me has struggled with that. And to be quit frank, I did not know anything about ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) before reading this book.  All I can speak to is the storytelling and simply put the second-person perspective this was written in had me hooked – its not very often books are written this way. And honestly, I have never read a book in the second person before. Its different in a way that it make everything that much more real.  One things for sure is that Stephanie Elliot is a promising new voice in YA.

Synopsis

For sixteen-year-old Pea, eating has always been difficult. Some people might call her a picky eater, but she knows it’s more than that, and it’s getting worse. And now there’s a monster raging inside of her, one that controls more than just her eating disorder. The monster is growing, and causing anxiety, depression, and dangerous thoughts. When Pea meets Ben and they fall crazy-mad in love, she tries to keep the monster hidden. But the monster wants out, and as much as she tries, she can’t pretend that the bad in her doesn’t exist. Unable to control herself, a chain of events thrusts Pea into a situation she never imagined she’d find herself in. With the help of Ben, her family, and her best friend, Pea must find the inner strength to understand that her eating disorder doesn’t have to control her.

About the Author

A Florida native, Stephanie has lived near Chicago and Philadelphia and currently calls Scottsdale, Arizona home. She graduated from Northern Illinois University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Stephanie and her husband Scott have three children: AJ, McKaelen and Luke. They are all her favorites.

A Note From the Author

I wrote SAD PERFECTwhen my daughter was going through a 20-week intensive outpatient therapy program for her eating disorder ARFID, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. This disorder greatly affected every member in our family and caused my daughter to have extreme anxiety and depression. It is our hope that if you are struggling with an eating disorder, anxiety, or depression, that you know you are not alone, that there is help out there, that all you need to do is ask. We have set up a website for those who think they might have ARFID, and my daughter has a YouTube channel where she talks openly about her experience. While SAD PERFECT is fiction, all of the ARFID pieces in the novel are true. Please visit my website, stephanieelliot.com or stephanieelliot.wixsite.com/ARFID for more information on ARFID. Thank you, and be well.

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