August 28, 2008
Many people are aware of bulimia in females, but did you think it could happen to males, too? I didn’t, but Nothing, Robin Friedman’s new novel for young adults, sheds some light on this hidden secret.
Parker Rabinowitz is a very successful high school student — smart, popular, athletic. It seems he has it all. He is involved in many extracurricular activities, such as a Jewish youth group and track, but most of these activities are done not for fun, but because he thinks he has to get into a top college: His parents have had him talk to a college consultant since he was a freshman and they dream of seeing their precious son graduate from Princeton University.
Although he puts on a good face, the stress is too much. From the first page of the book, everything goes downhill.
There is a constant link between the book’s title and Parker’s story. Basically, “nothing” is what he withers away to and what he says to cover up what’s really bothering him. People with bulimia are ashamed and often deny that what they are doing is a problem.
What I learned from this book is that you have to follow your heart. Parker didn’t. He was too concerned with pleasing his dad, who was clueless about his son’s condition.
Robin Friedman handles the plotline in an interesting way by telling the story from the points of view of Parker and his younger sister, Danielle (they switch off in each chapter). This particular style helps express the emotion and opinions of two characters directly. Danielle is jealous of her brother and all the attention that he gets, but notices something about him is just not right. Too bad none of the adults could say the same thing.
Rachel Kaplan is a sophomore at Montclair High School.
[Editor’s note: Robin Friedman is special projects editor at NJ Jewish News.]
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